Following the events of WORLD WAR HULKS, Bruce Banner is able to transform into the Hulk once again. But he’s not alone. Reunited with She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), A-Bomb (Rick Jones), and Korg, as well as his offspring Skaar and Lyja (the new She-Hulk), the Hulk now heads up this unofficial team of ‘Incredible Hulks’. But, after a clash with the Red She-Hulk, the team will encounter another child of the Hulk when Hiro-Kala comes to Earth…
Crossover: The main story takes place in the Incredible Hulks series, with the three-issue Enigma Force series tying in and making this a standard crossover.
Must-Reads: Issues marked with a ✔are essential to the story.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue.
Alternate Title: On digital platforms, ‘Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force’ has been renamed ‘Microverse: Enigma Force’.
Unofficial Name: ‘Incredible Hulks’ and ‘Hulk Family’ are editorial names and not the groups official name in continuity.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- SON OF HULK – Debut of Hiro-Kala and Skaar
- REALM OF KINGS –Hiro-Kala lays claim to the planet K’ai
- WORLD WAR HULKS – The Hulks gather against the Intelligencia
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- ✔ Incredible Hulk #609 [2/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulk #610 [2/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulk #611 [2/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #612
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #613 [1/2]
- Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #1-3
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #613 [2/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #614 [2/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #614 [1/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #615 [1/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #616 [1/2]
- ✔ Incredible Hulks #617 [1/2]
| Must Reads | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulk #609 [2/2] The planet K’ai has been hurtling through the Fault since Hiro-Kala used the last of his Old Power to pull K’ai from the Microverse at the moment of its rebirth (during REALM OF KINGS). But this act cost his beloved Lihla her life, so now her father Axeman Bone wants Hiro-Kala’s head. When Hiro-Kala falls into a chasm, the Axeman follows him down… |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulk #610 [2/2] At the bottom of the chasm, Hiro-Kala finds K’ai’s World Mind which grants him its War-Mind guardians to command in exchange for his Old Power which is uses to heal itself. Hiro-Kala orders them to kill Axeman Bone, then sends them to attack the rest of his men… 1st appearance: War-Mind, Worldmind of K’ai |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulk #611 [2/2] Hiro-Kala uses the Old Power and the gift given to him by the K’ai World Mind to heal the planet. Hiro-Kala turns the surviving Axeman Bone into his chained slave and announces himself as K’ai’s ‘Dark Son’, guiding the planet through an uncertain universe… |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #612 [1/2] Despite being hailed as heroes after the ending the recent attack on Washington (during WORLD WAR HULKS, 2010), Bruce Banner, Skaar, Lyra, Korg, She-Hulk, A-Bomb & Betty Ross lay low together. Bruce’s attempt to give Betty her wedding ring causes her to turn into Red She-Hulk. She beats the shielded Bruce around until he transforms into the Hulk. Red She-Hulk leaps away leaving the Hulk with her broken ring… 1st appearance: ‘Hulk Family’/’Incredible Hulks’ |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #612 [2/2] K’ai continues to hurtle through the Fault, growing colder without a sun. Rebel K’aitians try to blow up Hiro-Kala, but he survives and punishes them. The K’ai Worldmind recounts Hiro-Kala’s origins. He refuses to take back the Old Power, so the Worldmind sends the War-Mind to remove him… |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #613 [1/2] The K’ai Worldmind forces the Old Power back on Hiro-Kala so that he can lead the lost planet to safety. But he retaliates by using the Old Power to mentally enslave the K’aian people. He then steers the planet in the direction of Earth… |
| Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #1 The Micronauts – now known as the Enigma Force – pursue the planet K’ai across the Fault. The team rescue Jentorra (Jarella’s niece who brought Hiro-Kala to K’ai) from a Psyklop attack. This prompts Commander Arcturus Rann to call in his old friend Bug – now one of the Guardians of the Galaxy – to join the fight. Hiro-Kala blocks Rann’s access to the Enigma Force power. To save their lives, Rann invites the Psyclop to join the team… |
| Must Reads | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #2 Rann’s attempt to tap into the Psyklop’s methods to locating his allies to return to K’ai and sabotaged by Marionette. The Death’s Head 3.0 cyborg dubbed Karl taps into the Psyklop instead and steers them to K’ai, turning the ship into a missile and aiming it at the Isle of Assassins. The ship destroys the island’s cache of ancient weapons before Hiro-Kala can claim it. Separated from the others, Arcturus Rann confesses to Jentorra that he isn’t the saviour of K’ai… | |
| Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #3 (pp.1-17) 1000 years ago, Arcturus Rann of the Homeworld armies was ordered to withdraw from K’ai when it became apparent they didn’t have the hidden weapons that had been rumoured to exist. But Rann attacked anyway, killing millions. Now, Rann finds a doomsday weapon beneath the Isle of Assassins, proving he was right. The Enigma Force distract Hiro-Kala with an illusion of the Hulk, then attack him. Rann decides against using the doomsday device to kill their foe, so Hiro-Kala buries the Enigma Force alive, then heads off to face his father… | |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #613 [2/2] Skaar senses Hiro-Kala’s approach to Earth. SHIELD Director Steve Rogers calls on the Hulk to lead a team to intercept K’ai. Hulk turns down the offer on Skaar’s say-so, revealing to his father than the Hulk has another son… |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #614 [2/2] Bruce tells Skaar he should remain behind on Earth when the Hulks go into space. But Skaar locks Bruce in a bunker and compares his actions to the Illuminati blasting him into space (during PLANET HULK, 2006-2007). So Bruce relents… |
| Incredible Hulks #614 [1/2] Hulk is teaching Skaar how to tap into his Old Power again when Hiro-Kala attacks Earth using K’ai as a weapon. Hulk interferes with the jets and shuttles flying up to fight them, so the Secret Avengers intercept them. But Banner/Hulk has outsmarted Steve Rogers and he reclaims his Sakaaran ship, taking his family of Hulks with him into space.. | |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #615 [1/2] Things get serious aboard the stone ship as Skaar, Red She-Hulk & Korg secretly prepare to do what the other Hulks won’t: kill Hiro-Kala. The attempt to stop K’ai from flying through space fails. Bruce Banner teleports the Hulks to the surface of K’ai in teams, with him planning to face his son alone. Hiro-Kala sends mind-controlled children to attack Banner and kills them for failing him. Bruce transforms into the Hulk… |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #616 [1/2] Hiro-Kala threatens to kill more K’aitian kids if the Hulk doesn’t withdraw his team. Axeman Bone shows the She-Hulks that the enslaved population can be cured by the Worldmind. Skaar sacrifices himself to avoid killing the enslaved. Hulk becomes Banner to use a weapon on Hiro-Kala that unleashes his Old Power. Skaar reconstitutes and stands ready to kill his brother… |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #617 [1/2] (p.1-19) Hiro-Kala tells how he destroyed a planet to poison Galactus. Skaar redirects K’ai from Earth’s trajectory and encases Hiro-Kala in stone. The K’ai Worldmind takes Hiro-Kala away and frees the enslaved. |
| Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #3 (pp.18-22) Hours after being buried alive, the Hulk rescues the Enigma Force from beneath K’ai. | |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #617 [1/2] (p.20-22) On the journey home, the Hulk broods alone… |
See how this event fits into the wider Marvel Universe with these reading orders:
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event/ Crossover |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #617 (2011) Red She-Hulk continues to operate alongside the ‘Incredible Hulks’. | CHAOS WAR |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #623 (2011) Hulk, Korg and Skaar leave the ‘Incredible Hulks’ to rejoin the Warbound in the Savage Land; the ‘Incredible Hulks’ essentially disband. | |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #626-629 (2011) Hulk pursues Red She-Hulk when she joins forces with Tyrannus to steal Pandora’s Box; Red She-Hulk tells Bruce Banner that they’ll never be able to have a normal life together. | |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulks #630-635 (2011) Hulk and Red She-Hulk continue their feud, though Betty Ross proves she still cares about Bruce Banner. | |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulk #2 (2011) Following Bruce Banner’s separation from the Hulk, he and Betty Ross move to an uninhabited to try and live a normal life; Betty discovers Bruce’s latest efforts to transform back into the Hulk and bounds off as Red She-Hulk, leaving him alone on the island. | SHATTERED HEROES |
| ✔ | Scarlet Spider #10 (2012) The Enigma Force are revealed to have returned to the Microverse; the Enigma Force are joined by new members Flare and Quark. | MINIMUM CARNAGE |
| ✔ | Avengers vs X-Men #11 (2012) Hulk rejoins the Avengers. | AVX: AVENGERS VS X-MEN |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Incredible Hulks: Dark Son | Incredible Hulks #612-617 |
| Incredible Hulks: Dark Son – Enigma Force | Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #1-3 Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk #1-4 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Incredible Hulk vol.3: World War Hulks Incredible Hulks: World War Hulks | Incredible Hulk #609-611 |
Reading Order ©Omniverse Comics Guide, 2024
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