In Memory Yet Green!

Following the Hulk’s exile from Earth, the laboratory once run by Bruce Banner is in the process of being secured by the United States military.[1] This is because it has become a tantalizing place to plunder. Sure enough the facility is attacked by the Fixer, but luckily, Captain America is present to take the villain down. When Captain America reports back to the Vision and NSA liaison Raymond Sikorski, both agree that the Avengers should be on hand to help the military defend the lab while it is being decommissioned by a team of expert scientists.

This team includes Douglas Cartland from Cross Technological Enterprises, as well as former Avengers Hank Pym, and the Beast.[2] They are greeted on the ground by Captain America, Thor, the Wasp, and Captain Marvel. As the former Avengers play catch up, Cartland is unimpressed with any of them, particularly the Beast and his unprofessional behavior. Moments later, the last scientist — Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four — arrives in the Fantasti-Car with the She-Hulk.[3] While more pleasantries are being exchanged and everyone enters the lab, nobody notices a flock of birds that land on the grass and begin pecking at the ground. Moments after this some kind of creature that resembles the Hulk begins rising out of the ground.

Inside the lab, the She-Hulk is amazed by the amount of work her cousin, Bruce Banner, put into the lab. She recounts how she used to spend her summers with her cousin and while he was incredible bright, she didn’t realize how intelligent he really was. The two lost touch when Bruce headed off to college and went on to work for the military. She was still in law school during the gamma bomb explosion that turned Banner into the Hulk.[4] She then tells how Bruce re-entered her life recently when she was shot by mobsters, forcing him to give her an emergency blood transfusion to save her life. While this was a success, the gamma radiation in Bruce’s blood turned her into the She-Hulk. However, unlike her cousin who was tortured by his double-life, Jennifer Walters embraced being the She-Hulk and became a hero in her own right.[5] She mourns for her cousin now that the Hulk had taken full control and had to be banished from Earth. That’s when Thor suggests to her that Banner isn’t dead as long as she keeps his memory alive in her heart.

That’s when the Avengers and their allies become aware that the facility is under attack by what appears to be the Hulk. Jennifer tries to rationalize with the creature she thinks is her cousin but it won’t listen. In the ensuing battle, this Hulk is killed by a single burst of the Wasp’s bio-sting, leaving it a charred husk on the ground. Little do the Avengers know that this isn’t really the Hulk, but a creation of the mad geneticist known as Arnim Zola. Zola intended to steal Banner’s biological equipment to learn their secrets. Seeing that Reed Richards and Hank Pym are also present, he decides to kidnap them as well since he has use for their knowledge of biology. He then sends his trained birds back to the lab with more tiny capsules which he used to grow more Hulk-like creatures.

Meanwhile, Mister Fantastic, Hank Pym, and the Beast have taken the dead Hulk to the bio-lab to examine it. While Reed and Hank discuss the creature’s composition, the Beast feels out of his league because he hasn’t been keeping up on the latest science. When he begins scanning the remains, he is surprised when he begins picking up life signs from the Hulk’s pants. Outside, the other Avengers wait to hear the results and Thor expresses his doubts that this creature was anything but an impostor.[6] That’s when Reed and Hank come out of the lab and confirm Thor’s suspicions, that this Hulk was some kind of psudo-life-form. That’s when the Beast comes running into the room warning them that the “Hulk’s” pants have come to life.

Elsewhere in the facility, Cartland snoops around thinking what a benefit Banner’s work will be to Cross Technological Enterprises. He is then approached by Captain America, who suspects what Cartland is doing and warns him that he will not profit off Bruce Banner’s work.[7] That’s when the alarm goes off and when Captain America rushes to the sound of battle he is shocked to discover that the “Hulk’s” pants has become a massive amorphous blob that is trying to capture Reed Richards and Hank Pym. The Avengers try in vein to free the blob’s prisoners but it holds on tight. Witnessing this, Captain America instantly recognizes the work of Arnim Zola. Hearing his name, Zola appears before the heroes via a holographic projection and admits his involvement.[8] In order to escape with his captives, Zola unleashes an army of psudo-Hulks against the Avengers.

While the heroes are busy, Zola heads into the biolab, but not before dismissing Cartland as a nobody and leaving him tied up. As Zola begins getting down to work, Reed and Hank try to come up with a way to get loose. Meanwhile, the battle rages on and with the destruction of each psudo-Hulk, their “pants” slough off and add their mass to the construct under the control of Arnim Zola. Needing to get the captive scientists free, Captain Marvel is sent to help them. Invisible to the naked eye in her energy form, Marvel lets Reed and Hank know she is in the room with them. Suggesting a powerful electrical shock can free them, Captain Marvel turns into electricity and jolts the bio-mass which free the captive scientists. They then lock the bio-mass into a steal vault. Hank then begins wiring up a device to pick up where Zola’s signal is coming from.

Pinpointing Arnim’s hideout to a nearby cave, Captain Marvel is sent ahead of the others to scout around. She is able to manipulate Zola’s machines to shut down his creations. Reconnection with his physical body, Zola attacks Captain Marvel but the Avengers soon arrive at his hideout. Trying to flee in an escape ship, Zola accidentally drops some of his psudo-Hulk capsules and the creatures begin attacking him causing his ship to crash land in a nearby lake. Having escape, Captain Marvel then dives into the water to look for Zola, but finds no trace of the mad geneticist. In the aftermath of the battle, She-Hulk is furious that someone would try to pervert her cousin’s work and fears that it could still be used for evil in the future. That’s when Reed and Hank put her mind at ease by telling her that they will conclude their inspection with a recommendation that all the equipment be destroyed. That’s when Captain America realizes that Cartland hasn’t been seen for a while and neither have the Beast. Their worst fears turn out to be true as the furry mutant has found Cartland still tied up and is taking pleasure making fun of him.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Wasp, Vision, Beast, Captain Marvel), Fixer, Arnim Zola, Raymond Sikorski, Mister Fantastic, She-Hulk, Hank Pym

Continuity Notes

1. Prior to this story, Bruce Banner went through a period where he was in full control whenever he transformed into the Hulk starting in Incredible Hulk #272. This lasted until Incredible Hulk #296 as Banner began to lose control and finally giving up struggling against the Hulk committed a sort of psychic suicide. The Hulk then went on a berserker rampage across America until he was banished to the Crossroads dimension by Doctor Strange in issue #300 of that series. He will remain trapped there until Incredible Hulk #312.

2. Hank Pym retired from costumed heroics in Avengers #230 after a string of disgraces, including his messy divorce with the Wasp circa issue #213. The Beast had resigned his post on the team back in Avengers #211.

3. It is mentioned here that She-Hulk had recently joined the FF. This happened following Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1-12, in which Ben Grimm discovered that he could change back and forth between his human and Thing forms on the Beyonder’s Battleworld and decided to stay there. He convinced the She-Hulk to take his place and she officially joined the team in Fantastic Four #265. Having just previously joined the Avengers in issue #221 of their series, she holds membership on both teams at this time.

4. That happened in Incredible Hulk #1, as if I needed to tell you that.

5. Jennifer’s story about becoming the She-Hulk was taken from Savage She-Hulk #1.

6. Here, Thor wishes he could have offered the medical experience of his former mortal identity of Donald Blake. However, at the time of this story, Thor had just given up his mortal form in Thor #340.

7. Captain America mentions CTE’s past unethical business practices. It was once run by the ruthless businessman Darren Cross, as seen in Marvel Premiere #47-48. It was later the base of operations for his cousin, William Cross, aka Crossfire, as seen in Hawkeye #1-4.

8. Zola mentions how Captain America is very familiar with his creations. Cap first encountered Zola in Captain America #209-212. Zola states here that he was making advances in biology in the early 20th Century. Indeed, Zola was a scientist during World War II and used his skills to prolong his own life. This story hints at the fact that Zola learned his skills from somebody else. X-Factor Annual #3 reveals that he received some of his training from Phaeder, an Inhuman/Deviant hybrid and master of genetics.

Topical References

• In the She-Hulk’s flashback, Bruce Banner can be seen wearing an Ohio Junior Science Fair Championship sweatshirt. Although the year is obscured by folds in the fabric it starts with “19”. The date here (regardless of how vague) should be considered a topical reference due to the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 which continues to push the Modern Age further in time and eventually, it will have been impossible for Bruce Banner to have been alive in the 20th Century.