Avengers (Vol. 4) #14
Background
Fear Itself is the latest Marvel event. It involves the Red Skull's daughter and a bunch of other baddies getting massive power upgrades via hammers that dropped from the sky. The villains are tasked with one job, to wreak havok and spread fear!
Story 'Fear Itself'
Avengers (Vol. 4) #14
| Executive Producer: | Alan Fine |
| Publisher: | Dan Buckley |
| Chief Creative Officer: | Joe Quesada |
| Editor In Chief: | Axel Alonso |
| Editor: | Tom Brevoort |
| Associate Editor: | Lauren Sankovitch |
| Writer: | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Pencils: | John Romita, Jr. |
| Inker: | Klaus Janson |
| Cover Art: | Dean White, John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson |
| Lettering: | VC's Cory Petit |
| Colorist: | Dean White |
The first few pages are basically recap for the Fear Itself event, with more of those annoying 'interview' snippets from the previous issue.
Then we get to the good stuff! The Red Hulk vs The Thing (in his Fear Itself form, aka weird pink worms attached to his body and a big hammer in hand)! The Red Hulk and The Thing brawl, with the Red Hulk getting pounded all around the place. The Thing takes some time out of the brawl to destroy Avengers Tower, toppling it on top of the Red Hulk and then continuing to blast it. As The Thing turns from his handywork, the Red Hulk launches from the rubble, tackling The Thing to the ground. Finally, with The Thing in close quarters, the Red Hulk is able to really lay into The Thing. It doesn't last long, The Thing blasts the Red Hulk with energy from his hammer and then continues to brutally beat him until finally he smashes him with a mighty hammer blow off into the stratosphere!.
As the issue wraps, Jarvis comes up in one of those interview snippets and reflects: "The Red Hulk never returned. And after what I had witnessed... one of the bravest performances of heroism I had ever seen..."
General Comments
Wow, this was a great issue. I'm glad that interview style was only used briefly at the start to make way for some breathtaking and brutal action! This issue, Bendis just really gets out of the way and lets Romita Jr loose, with spectacular results. This Thing vs Red Hulk battle is epic and in the end, poignant. At the end of the day, it's not so much a battle, but more of a beating, as the Red Hulk fights valiantly against a superior foe. The Red Hulk is hurt, but keeps getting up for more, until he taken out by The Thing.
Is this really the end of the Red Hulk? I doubt it, even seemingly conclusive deaths don't often last that long.
Overall Rating 
This issue was an enjoyable brawl, with awesome art and a little gravitas thrown in at the end for good measure.