Review: Incredible Hercules #129

Or – “Ever Wonder Why Marvel’s Afterlife Apparently Has A Revolving Door?”

The answer is more complicated (as well as funnier and more awesome) than you might think.

Previously, on Incredible Hercules:  The paths of Hercules and Amadeus led them into conflict with both stepmother Hera and the Dark Avengers, nd the conflict led to the death of the former New Warrior Aegis (whose powers and shield came from Athena, Herc’s big sister.)  With The Olympus Group and Norman’s pet “heroes” attacking, Athena, Herc and Amadeus barely escape by turning the two side against one another, and Hera realizes that she has a traitor in her company (secretly Hercules’ former wife Hebe,  who has been stalking him for some time now.)  With the knowledge that Pluto is tied up with Hera’s evil plots, Athena realizes that now is the time to act, informing the the Greek & Geek Connection that they can acquire a counterbalance to the power of Hera, but only while Pluto isn’t watching Hades…

We open with Herc and Amadeus bathing in the waters off Atlantic City (I was going to say the East River, but that ain’t right) while Athena explains that this is the closest thing to the sanctifying rituals of the Eleusinian Mysteries…  bathing in toxins and filth.  Nice…  Hercules reminisces about a hot high priestess, and the twosome quickly changes into black suit and tie, causing Herc to remakr.  “You know what the difference between you and me is?  I make this look GOOD.”  Amadeus asks how he knows that line, and Herc hilarious replies, “Netflix.”  Turns out that the plan is for them to sneak into the afterlife by traveling through… a casino?  The twosome meets Aegis again, and are led into a room where the mortal souls thought to be dead who still have unfinished business go before they are reborn.  The shot shows Namorita, Blink, Banshee, Puck, Black Goliath, U-Go Girl, The Ancient One and more mingling with unaware Jersey normies as Aegis explains that the afterlife is kind of an interface, like a web browser.  This causes him and Amadeus to go off about their own browsers, while Hercules laments traveling through the afterlife with Nerd and Nerdier.

He is suddenly distracted by the presence of recently dead Avenger Janet Van Dyne, aka The Wasp, who sits pumping quarters into a slot machine in the hopes of hitting the resurrection Jackpot.  “They let Bucky out.  BUCKY!  The odds for me have got to be good, right?”  Hercules is disgusted by this disrespect to his fallen comrades, but is forced to rush onward before Hades catches them sneaking into his realm.  Back at the Olympus Group, Hera confrontes Hebe for her treachery, throwing HER OWN DAUGHTER OUT A FIFTIETH STORY WINDOW.  That is hardcore…  Hercules and Amadeus are forces to gamble for cash when Charon refused to take them into Hades without payment (a fee for every man Hercules has killed) but they make it through with Amadeus card-counting and Hercules beating the crap otu of everything in sight.  The find where Athena’s ace-in-the-hole (their dead father Zeus) is hiding, only to find that a welcoming committee awaits them, including Orka, Iron Monger, the original Abomination, Scourge, Commander Kraken (?) and several characters that I believe are Hercules foes from earlier issues of this title.  Herc snorts that 12 foes won’t stop him for long, but Pluto suddenly appears and intones that he doesn’t expect them to stop Hercules, but “I do believe it’s the perfect number for a JURY,” revealing a bound and gagged Zeus…

This issue is awesome, and no summary can do it justice.  The interactions with the denizens of the afterlife are priceless, and much as with the issue of She-Hulk a couple of years ago that made it possible to explain nearly every character inconsistency or retcon, it sets the Marvel Universe up with an easy explanation for when, say, Jack of Hearts returns from the dead, as he probably eventually will.  Herc and Cho are awesome together, and some quiet hints are thrown about as to the REAL association between them (something I’ve wondered about myself.)  The group at the end of the book includes a couple of folks I don’t recognize (but know that I should) and their presence indicates that last issue won’t be easy, even for the Scion of Olympus.  This issue really ratchets up the tension, even with the humor, and the art (by Ryan Stegman, a name I’m going to be watching for in the future) is quite good.  Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente combine forces to give us another winner here, as Incredible Hercules #129 earns 5 out of 5 stars, giving us the brains, the brawn, wonderful character work and a compelling plot…  This is the book that raises the bar for monthly comics.