In the face of the whole re-boot - and relative success of VEI today... I wanted to hate this.
I did not.
I think I liked everything about it. I wasn't a fan of the whole re-creation of everything in the comic, but after where Valiant had sliced up the entirety of the comic - it needed this. I liked the change. A lot. I know that most of this isn't going much of anywhere, but this one works. I liked the aggression and believable ignorance of Rand, and Donovan's comparative brilliance - and stupidity. His insistence that something MIGHT be wrong with the armor and user - excellent. In short, the comic had a lot working for it. It could have had the whole flashing imagery, and raging beatings. It didn't. It had a story. Limits. And hearts. And it really decided to build the background, too. The fifty year background is great, too. Great connection to what is to come. It feels like the universe was built as a whole. Truly too bad.
This is what the title needed.
I wish that this had been the last chapter of the story - crossing over. I haven't READ the last one yet, but it seems like this could have been the best kind of closure. Good to bring Puppet Master into the mix, too. That way, Hulk wasn't the WHOLE reason for the conflict. The comic focuses around the battle - and that's fine for this era of comic. It needed it some of the time. Of course, Namor's big attack on the surface world is forgotten - yet again. But we see that both heroes are masters of their own landscapes, and not outside. If they were to cross on equal footing, neither could be victorious. And that's how the old conflict always ends.
Pretty east choice.
X-O is x-cellent. I am sorry. For that decision and the bad pun.