Hulk (Vol. 3) #6
The Ω Hulk: Chapter Two
Years Ago
Rick Jones has ventured onto the site of the gamma bomb test on a dare. Seeing the boy in danger, Bruce Banner rushes out to the site to get the boy to safety. Banner pushes Rick into a protective trench just moments before the bomb goes off blasting Bruce with gamma radiation. Rick watches from the trench and quietly thanks Bruce for saving his life.
Present
Doc Green is attempting to cure Rick Jones of his gamma mutation that allows him to transform into A-Bomb. However, Rick is unwilling to give up his newfound power and fights back against the creature formally known as the Hulk. A-Bomb insists that he uses his powers for good and would not become a threat like the Hulk has been for many years. Doc Green refuses to accept this as a viable answer. The force of one of A-Bomb's blows breaks Doc Green's nose. Knocking Rick aside, the Doc resets his nose and then calls Damian Veteri back at the Beehive using a communicator that courses inside his fingertips to create a portal using nanite technology. Green asks Veteri to provide him with another vial of the blue serum like the one he originally brought had been broken at the start of his fight with A-Bomb.
Daman rushes across the facility, getting the help of Melinda Leucenstern along the way. As they go to the lab where the serums are kept. Along the way, Melinda expresses her concern over their employer, pointing out that he no longer sleeps. Meanwhile, the battle rages on between Doc Green and A-Bomb. Green tries to explain to Rick that he is a possible threat since his powers were given to him by MODOK and there is no way of knowing if Rick might lose control or develop a neurological disease or worse. Unfortunately, A-Bomb refuses to listen and continues to fight Doc Green. Rick explains that he is not a weapon but a human being and that he will not be treated in such anyway. As they fight, a rocket carrying the blue serum flies overhead. By this point, Doc Green has subdued A-Bomb and bound him in steel girders. While Doc Green recovers the serum, Rick breaks free from his bonds and the two begin fighting anew. Ultimately, Doc Green manages to slam the serum into Rick's chest with such force that the needle breaks through his armored hide. The nanites are then injected into A-Bomb's bloodstream and they begin purging the gamma radiation from his body. Suddenly, A-Bomb begins growing weaker and reverts back to human form.
Now that Rick Jones has been restored to human form permanently, Doc Green offers his help but Rick tells him to back off and he wants to kill him. This convinces Doc Green that he was right and that the gamma radiation was poisoning his mind. He then asks Rick for his assistance, recovering clothing from the rocket. Rick questions why the Doc would ask for his help, especially after he had attacked him. However, when Doc Green explains that he needs help so that he can cure Betty Ross. Rick reluctantly agrees to give his assistance but asks how Doc Green can stop the creation of more A-Bombs. Green tells Rick not to worry as he will deal with MODOK. A short time later, Doc Green has forced his way into the SHIELD facility where MODOK Superior is now employed. After incapacitating the SHIELD agents and overpowering MODOK, he has the mad scientist vow never to use gamma radiation again. MODOK Superior assures Doc Green he has no interest in developing new gamma weapons for himself or his current employer. Satisfied, Doc Green leaves the ruins of the facility. The news about Rick Jones' depowering eventually reaches the secret base of Thaddeus Ross. Deducing that the Hulk will be after him next, he transforms into the Red Hulk, and vows that there will only be on Hulk left standing and it will be him.
Recurring Characters
Doc Green, Daman Veteri, Melinda Leucenstern, A-Bomb, SHIELD, MODOK Superior, Red Hulk
Continuity Notes
The flashback at the beginning of this story is a recap that retells the moment when Bruce Banner was turned into the Hulk circa Incredible Hulk #1. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 the birth of the Hulk happened roughly fourteen years prior to this story.
Doc Green mentions how Rick Jones was turned into A-Bomb by MODOK. This was revealed in Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #3.
MODOK Superior mentions a few facts about his past:
That he is not the original MODOK but a reborn incarnation of him. The original MODOK was restored to human form in Incredible Hulk #610. MODOK Superior was brought online in Hulk Vol 2 #29.
MODOK Superior joined SHIELD in Secret Avengers Vol 2 #15.
