After much hype and promotion, Marvel unleashed its new character - Weapon H - on the Marvel Universe, and collectors are playing the speculation game.

What is Weapon H?

It’s a combination of the Hulk and Wolverine. Since Wolverine was the original Weapon X, this Hulk hybrid is Weapon H. However, in the pages of “The Totally Awesome Hulk” #22, Domino nicknames these Hulk/Wolverine whatever-they-ares “Hulkverine.” So call it what you like: Weapon H or Hulkverine. Personally, I’m not a fan of either name. Actually, I’m not a fan of this amalgamation in general.

I’ll admit that I was curious. I didn’t have lofty expectations, but I thought the whole “Mutants of Mass Destruction” storyline and the Hulk-Wolverine fusion could be fun. Then I read the comic, and it really was kind of sad that this is where Marvel is at these days. Instead of creating an intriguing new character, we’ve been given an unoriginal mashup of two classics. I will say that my kids loved it - they’re 9 and 12 - and it felt like Hulkverine was created specifically for their demographic. Frankly, he seems made just to sell action figures. So, as an adult collector, it’s just not meant for me.

Therein lies the speculation game.

One thing I’m seeing with Marvel is that with characters like “The Totally Awesome Hulk,” much of Marvel’s writing and artwork is aimed at a younger audience. However, as the declining sales numbers will support, the younger audience isn’t buying. That being said, I predict that Hulkverine will eventually be lost in the shuffle and forgotten. I’ve seen on various online comic collecting groups that some people are buying TAH #22 in bulk hoping for a future payoff. If you go to eBay, these are being priced in the $50 range, give or take, and you might get lucky enough for someone to pay that. If you happened to buy five or even 10 copies of this one, you would be wise to go ahead and take the money while fans are excited. That excitement will soon fade.

On the plus side, the “Mutants of Mass Destruction” storyline has seemingly helped drive interest in classic Wolverine stories. Over the past month, the 1982 limited-series “Wolverine” #1 has climbed 18 spots and is tenth on the hottest-selling comics since the end of July.

Wolverine’s second full appearance is up as well, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Hulkverine is what’s propelling it. At any rate, “Giant-Size X-Men” #1 is up 10 positions on the same list and is comfortably at number 15.

Speaking of making big moves, Galactus and Silver Surfer are making...waves (get it?)...on the hottest comics list. Their first appearance in “Fantastic Four” #48 is up an astounding 636 positions to reach number 38. As a fan of the classic Marvel stories, I love seeing Fantastic Four comics getting the attention they deserve just for their importance in the emergence of the “Marvel Age.” Now if Marvel would take a cue from this Stan Lee/Jack Kirby story and create some original characters instead of rehashing the old ones, the comic book industry would be better for it.