Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #1

Mar 17

Mar 17 Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #1

This story occurs after the events of Fear Itself #5...

The Hulk has been possessed by the Hammer of Nul, turning him into a creature of rage and fear. Flying across the Earth, the Hulk crash lands in the nation of Romania, much to the fright of the locals. He then begins tearing across the forests near the Carpathian Mountains. His path of destruction attracts the Krieger garrison, an elite team of Vampires charged with protecting Castle Dracula. The commanding officer on the scene figures he can reason with the Hulk and when the gamma-spawned monster arrives, he attempts to tell him that the Vampire Nation has no quarrel with him and will allow him safe passage through their domain provided he doesn't cause any harm to Dracula's people. The Hulk responds by knocking the vampire's head off with his hammer. As the soldiers open fire, the Hulk begins trashing the fortification. Not far away Captain Luna observes the situation and transmits the carnage via video feed to Dracula. Although this is a slaughter of his men, the Lord of the Vampires concludes that they have given them vital information, that the Hulk cannot be bargained with. As Legate begins amassing soldiers to fight back, Janus provides intel to his father about the Hulk. He explains that the Hulk, along with other superhumans have been further empowered by mystical hammers and have since been going on a seemingly random path of destruction across the Earth and so far, nobody has been able to stop them.

Dracula orders his minions that their primary focus is on finding a means to stop the Hulk. With a lot of distance between their foe and the castle, Dracula plans to throw everything at the brute in the hopes of finding some kind of weakness. First, a group of Charniputra are sent out to confront the Hulk. Despite having the advantage of flying, these gargoyle-like creatures are no match for the Nul empowered Hulk, who easily slaughters them. Captian Luna reports back the failure of the creatures. However, her presence is discovered by the Hulk who tosses some rocks at her plane causing sufficient damage to make it crash. Back at the castle, Dracula is going over the data and is unimpressed that the best his technicians can tell him is that the Hulk is stronger than usual. Suddenly, his chambers are intruded by the rogue vampire known as Raizo Kodo and his followers, the Forgiven. Before the sect leaders can attack these exiles, Dracula orders his minions to stand down as he realized that Raizo has come to fight by their side. Still, Dracula insists that they Kodo and his followers must be taught a lesson as to who is in charge and orders them to the dungeon. Visigoth of the Forgiven protests this, but his teammate Inka tells him to calm himself. Kodo insists that this is unnecessary, but Dracula isn't moved and the Forgiven willingly allow themselves to be imprisoned.

Down in the dungeon, Visigoth questions why they have allowed themselves to be imprisoned when they can easily break free. Sanjay explains it for their leader, he tells Visigoth that their current incarceration is the beginning of the slow process of negotiations with Dracula. Upstairs, Janus tells his father that an alliance with Raizo Kodo might be prudent given the current situation. However, Dracula won't hear of it and will deal with Raizo once the Hulk has been defeated. To this end, Dracula has a fleet of bombers drop an army of monsters to battle the Hulk.

Recurring Characters

Dracula, Kreiger Sect (Captain Luna, Legate), Janus, Forgiven (Raizo Kodo, Visigoth, Inka, Ghost Blade, Quickshot, Nighteyes), Nul

Continuity Notes

The Hulk came into possession of the Hammer of Nul in Fear Itself #2. His crash landing in Romania was due to the fact he was struck by Thor in Fear Itself #5.

Janus refers to Bruce Banner and Betty Ross as husband and wife. This is not entirely accurate. The pair were married back in Incredible Hulk #319. Betty later died in Incredible Hulk #466. After she was later resurrected, circa Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1, she has since considered that she and Banner are no longer legally married, as stated in Incredible Hulks #612.