The Gentleman's Name Is... Hulk!

While checking in on his Aunt May, who is still taking care of the estate owned by Dr. Octopus, she asks Peter to go and check the apartment she shared with Anna Watson. There he finds a telegram from a man named Rimbaud, asking May to come up to Quebec, Canada for important and sensitive business. He decides he needs to think this through and deal with it on his own. Walking back to his apartment, he runs into Harry Osborn, who doubles over in pain. When Peter comes to aid him, Harry's father Norman arrives and yells at Peter to stay away from Harry. As Harry is rushed into Norman's car and driven away, Peter wonders if Norman is becoming the Green Goblin again.

When Peter happens upon a news story about the Hulk being up in Canada, he realizes that he has an excuse to go up to Canada and see what the telegram was all about. He convinces J. Jonah Jameson to send Peter up to Quebec to take pictures of the Hulk because he has good reason to believe that Spider-Man will appear. Jameson, not wanting to pass up the opportunity of getting photos of Spider-Man getting pummeled by the Hulk, begrudgingly allows Peter to go.

When Peter checks with Mr. Rimbaud's secretary about the telegram, she tells him that he's away on business. To pass the time, Peter goes to a nearby hotel where General Thaddeus Ross is briefing the press and the Canadian military on the Hulk. When Peter tries to hop in with the press convoy, he is not allowed because he's not on any of the lists. However, with the help of his spider-powers, he manages to jump aboard while the truck is pulling away.

When their truck is attacked by the Hulk, Peter slips away and changes into Spider-Man, setting up his camera to take pictures. During the fight, the military catches up and attacks the Hulk as well, and the Hulk bounds away. Spider-Man follows not to far behind, and his chase leads them to the nearby Maskattawan Dam. Their battle there compromises the structural integrity of the dam causing it to crumble, knocking both Spider-Man and the Hulk into the water below. Before Spider-Man can swim up to the surface, he's hit by a large chunk of debris and is pinned under it as it sinks to the bottom, threatening to drown him.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Hulk, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Ned Leeds, Harry Osborn, Aunt May, General Ross, Norman Osborn, Frances Delon

Continuity Notes

• Aunt May has been living at a mansion owned by Doctor Octopus following Spider-Man's battle with him in Amazing Spider-Man #113-115.

• Spider-Man mentions his clash with the Smasher in Amazing Spider-Man #116-118.

• Harry has relapsed on his drug addiction which came to the fore in Amazing Spider-Man #96-98.

• Peter fears that Norman Osborn may become the Green Goblin again and remember his double identity. Osborn discovered Peter's secret identity in Amazing Spider-Man #39-40. This ended with Osborn being stricken with partial amnesia, forgetting his entire Green Goblin identity. He has had previous relapses in Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #2 and Amazing Spider-Man #96-98.

• J. Jonah Jameson mentions how the Hulk has been spotted in Canada. The Hulk has traveled up there (as seen in Incredible Hulk #160) to try and track down Betty Ross. This story takes place after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #162.

• The airport in Canada is referred to as Montreal International Airport. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. This airport has since been re-named after the late Pierre Trudeau.

• Aunt May had inherited an entire island with a nuclear facility as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #131.

• Years later, Peter would receive a letter that was written by Gwen around this time that revealed that she had children through a secret affair with Norman Osborn, per Amazing Spider-Man #509-514. However, it is revealed some time after that they this letter was a forgery fabricated by Harry Osborn as part of a complex scheme against Peter Parker. See Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #73-74.