20 best superhero comics to read after Infinity War

15. Planet Hulk

The Hulk is a bit of a problem, to say the least. Bruce Banner himself seems like an okay guy, apart from his dangerously lax lab safety procedures. Hopefully, he’s learned a valuable lesson there. Otherwise, though, Banner is generally a thoughtful, brave scientist who’s proven more than valuable as part of the Avengers.

But Banner is only one half of the equation. The other half is a huge, green muscular beast-man with a serious anger management problem. And it’s not just us puny humans that are afraid of the Hulk. Other, perhaps more powerful groups, are just as worried. That’s why the Illuminati decided to send him into space.

Wait, Illuminati? Well, you’re not supposed to know about them. They’re an intensely secretive group of powerful heroes that include Doctor Strange, Professor X, Reed Richards and the Inhumans’ leader, Black Bolt. They manage to get Hulk into a rocket, where they shoot him off into space. Alas, however, the Civil War event happens almost immediately. Everyone is so caught up in the dramatic events that they don’t really notice when Hulk’s rocket gets knocked off course.

The Hulk ends up on a planet where gladiatorial combat is incredibly popular. He quickly becomes the best and most popular gladiator on the world. Eventually, however, he feels that being a mega-popular sports star isn’t enough. Hulk teams up with the other gladiators to defeat the planet’s menacing Red King.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because significant threads from the Planet Hulk story were used in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok film. For better or worse, however, Planet Hulk is a bit more serious and definitely lacking in Jeff Goldblum-like characters. However, it’s a good way to include the Hulk in the cosmic goings-on of the Marvel universe.