Hulk (Vol. 3) #4 — Nick Peron

Mar 16

Mar 16 Hulk (Vol. 3) #4

Who Shot the Hulk #4

Some Time Ago

Bruce Banner is propositioning Maria Hill to work for SHIELD. As part of his pitch, he informs her that he selected Matt Murdock to disseminate information that would be damaging to SHIELD in the event that Banner fails to contact him each day to report that he is okay.

Now

Captain America is recovered by Hill and his fellow Avengers after they are knocked out during a battle between the Hulk and Abomination. When Cap is back on his feet they all notice that his shield is missing. They see that the Hulk is using it to beat his foe. Before the Avengers can leap into the battle, Captain America stops them and has Maria inform them about the brain damage that Banner had suffered and that his Hulk form is healing his injuries poorly. She explains that even though there was a risk he would become vegetative in human form, Bruce allowed himself to become the Hulk anyway so he could save his friends. Captain Marvel and Sunspot are about to go back into the fray, but Iron Man reminds them that the Abomination is increasing his radioactivity exponentially and they are all at risk. It's then that Maria shows Stark the teleportation device of the soldiers who came with the Abomination. Tony scans it to understand it's technology, saying he will need a few minutes in order to send the Abomination back to his keepers.

While Captain Marvel and Sunspot use their powers to absorb the Abomination's excess radiation, Iron Man wires up the teleportation device to Captain America's shield. He then gives it to the Hulk and tells him to throw it at the Abomination. The gamma-spawned monster is more than happy to oblige. The shield passes through the Abomination teleporting him away to the planet Jupiter, based on Stark's estimations. With the immediate threat over, Marvel and Sunspot fly up into the air to release the radiation they absorbed. By this point, Bruce Banner has reverted to normal, but he speaks in nothing but gibberish. Iron Man insists on taking Banner to try and cure his damaged mind. When Maria protests this, Captain America tells her to worry about what her superiors think when they find out what happened to SHIELD's most powerful weapon. A few days later, Maria Hill seeks out Daredevil in San Francisco and tells him what happened. Murdock is furious and is about to leap off and release the information Banner left in his care, but Hill convinces him to stop. She convinces him to hold back until they can determine who really shot him. Daredevil then demands to know where Bruce is, warning her not to lie.

Later, on Tony Stark's island of Troy, his brother Arno and Aaron Carpenter prepare to use Extremis to repair the damage done to Bruce Banner's mind. Although the process is incredibly risky, all three men agree that this is the best chance that Banner has. Soon, Carpenter begins performing the delicate surgery needed to implant Extremis into Bruce's damaged brain. When the surgery is completed, the three men wait to see how their patient reacts when he comes around. Much to everyone's surprise, Banner's mind is back to normal when he wakes up from his medically induced sleep. Even though Banner appears to be back to normal, Arno Stark warns Carpenter about how unpredictable Extremis can be and worries about how smart Banner has become.

This story continues in the Original Sin...