Fear Itself: Hulk vs Dracula #3

Huh, this mini-series sure went by quickly... On the one hand that really helped me not forget what was going on from issue-to-issue, on the other hand? This is STILL Hulk vs Dracula, a battle I doubt very many people were clamoring for...

Fear Itself: Hulk vs Dracula #3(of 3):

Summary: Upon leaving Dracula's castle, Raizo Kodo heads to his band of Forgiven vampires, grabs one and tells the rest to do whatever they could to try to buy Raizo an hour against the Serpent-possessed Hulk. As for Dracula, he puts out the call for every vampire in his kingdom to prepare for a last-ditch attack on the Hulk. Dracula plans to lead the Hulk to a small castle where his forces would stage the final battle, with Dracula himself leading the charge. The best The Forgiven can do is gain the Hulk's attention, as he simply knocks them around. After dispatching of The Forgiven, Dracula sends a portion of his army out to draw the Hulk towards the castle. The vampires do as told and Dracula taunts the Hulk, leading him to the castle's gates. When the Hulk is in range, the vampires launch an adamantium laced net covered with gravity generators that make the Hulk several hundred times heavier than normal and manage to snare Hulk in it. Before the vampires can celebrate though, the Hulk TEARS the adamantium netting(!!!) and throws the entire contraption at the castle, destroying it. With that, the Hulk approaches the fallen Dracula and raises his hammer with the intention of ending Dracula's long reign of terror. However, Raizo arrives on the scene with Betty Banner, who causes Hulk to momentarily stop in his tracks. Betty begs Hulk to fight off the Serpent's influence and tells him that the only thing she feared was losing him. Momentarily conflicted, the Hulk grabs the Serpent's hammer and destroys it(!!), transforming back to Bruce Banner. It's then we learn that “Betty” was actually the vampire Raizo picked up at the beginning of this issue who had used the rare, and nearly lost vampire ability of mesmerization to trick Hulk into thinking she was Betty. By this time Dracula has risen and prepares to behead Banner, but is stopped when Banner transforms into the Hulk. Realizing he had a more important battle, Hulk leaps away, leaving Dracula and Raizo behind. Dracula tells Raizo that with the danger passed their truce had ended, and as such he wanted Raizo and his Forgiven out of his lands. This issue ends with Dracula commanding his troops to collect the broken pieces of the Serpent's hammer...

Thoughts: I'm not exactly sure what to say about this comic... Dracula came across as a real moron... How the hell did he survive for so many years? Seriously, how could he possibly think confronting THE HULK and dropping a net on him was a wise strategy? Raizo had the right idea. I mean hell, EVERYBODY knew that you couldn't defeat the Hulk with brute force, so he tried a different tactic, attacking the Hulk's emotions. I have to admit though, the Hulk being free of the Serpent's influence should make Fear Itself #7 that much more interesting when it comes out. All in all this was an okay little mini-series, but it's not something I'd go out of my way to recommend or anything.

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.Brilliant plan... Make the Hulk even madder!