Hulk and Power Pack: Pack Smash!

I guess there's something to be said about pure innocence soothing the savage beast. When Dr. Bruce Banner collaborates with the Power children's scientist father, it provides a cluster of opportunities for Marvel's youngest superheroes to team up with the Hulk. The action starts fast and furious as, predictably, it's not too long before Bruce Banner sees red and goes green. In this instance, Bruce and the kids had just ran into each other on the subway train, when the Absorbing Man violently intrudes. So, then, bring on the Hulk smashing, with Alex, Julie, Jack, & Katie Power lending a hand. In these four issues, the Hulk and Power Pack tangle not only with the Absorbing Man, but also with others in the mean green's rogues' gallery (Zzzax, the Abomination). And there are also sightings of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the terrorist group Hydra. In the final issue, things culminate with a massive faceoff between the Hulk and an intimidating roster of Marveldom's superheroes, with the Power kids caught in the middle. But which side will Power Pack be on? Especially since there's a suspicion that the Hulk may have gone berserk and had rampaged thru parts of New York. After nicely holding their own for a while in their monthly comic book (1984-1990, 62 issues), Power Pack, beginning in 2005, was given fresh (and rebooted) life in several limited series runs, published under Marvel Adventures (formerly Marvel Age), an imprint which caters to the younger readers. HULK AND POWER PACK: PACK SMASH! is the fifth Power Pack trade in this imprint and collects the 2007 4-issued limited series in the smaller digest-sized format. Writer Marc Sumerak and artists David Williams & Gary Martin (with Andy Kuhn handling the artwork in issue #3) bring a bright, breezy feel to the comic book, complete with smart-alecky sibling banter (although most of it is from Jack a.k.a. Mass Master). As a bonus, David Williams' very nifty covers are also reprinted, as well as a 6-paged very cartoony tale of Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius bumping into the Hulk. So, okay, because this title is under the auspices of Marvel Adventures and contains material intended for all ages, it's quite family friendly. Understandably, as well, there's an absence of true jeopardy. Going into these pages, you just know that nothing bad will really come down on these kids. The flip side is that the stories aren't as complex or as fraught with deep character development or disturbed psychological underpinnings. Note also that these issues fall outside mainstream Marvel Universe continuity. I just relish the juxtapositioning of the surly green monster sharing pages with these tiny middle-school superheroes. The readers, of course, know that the Hulk is more misunderstood than anything else. But it's very cool that the Power children manage to see thru the monster's ill temperament and brutish looks and are able to make friends with him. I wish that the writer had had more scenes of the Pack and the Hulk