Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #3

Mar 17

Mar 17 Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #3

The Hulk, possessed by the Hammer of Nulk, is cutting a swath of destruction across the nation of Romania putting him in conflict with the Nation of Vampires. On the front line are the Forgiven, vampires under the leadership of Raizo Kodo who were easily trounced by the Hulk. Their leader has come up with a means of stopping the Hulk and quickly picks up his teammate Inka to help with this plan. Meanwhile, Dracula gathers his armies in the event that Kodo and his followers fail their attempt to stop the Hulk. With the armies ready to go and weapons forged out of Adamantium, the Lord of Vampires orders his men to begin mobilizing. Meanwhile, the other members of the Forgiven are no match for the Hulk and decide to fall back before they are destroyed. However, they quickly prepare to go back as Kodo has asked that they keep the Hulk distracted.

Back at Castle Dracula, intelligence reports note that Hulk is just wandering around as if trying to find his next victims. Seeing that the Hulk is near St. Sebastian and decides to use it as a means of drawing the Hulk in. After sending word that the Hulk was attacking, Dracula orders his men to prepare for battle. He then tells his son Janus to get his sword. Having private counsel with his son, Dracula notes how ineffectual Kodo and his Forgiven have been ineffectual against the Hulk, he wonders if making an alliance with the Forgiven was a mistake.

Meanwhile, the Forgiven continue their battle against the Hulk in order to lure him to St. Sebastian. When the Hulk arrives he easily smashes through the first wave. From the walls of St. Sebastian, Dracula challenges the Hulk to come and battle him. When the gamma-spawned brute leaps at the castle, he is snared in an Adamantium net. Much to the vampires surprise, the Hulk easily snaps through the seemingly indestructible metal and shatters the castle walls. With Dracula down, the Hulk is about to smash him with the Hammer of Nul when Kodo arrives in his jet with guns blazing. The Hulk rushes toward the ship when suddenly he sees what appears to be the Red She-Hulk aboard the ship. She tells the Hulk to stop and reverts back to the form of Betty Ross. Seeing a woman who appears to be his wife is the trigger that causes the Hulk to fight off the control from the Hammer of Nul and crushes it in his hands. He reverts back to Bruce Banner and sees that "Betty" was actually Inka, who is a shape-shifter. Furious, Dracula tries to kill Banner but he turns back into the Hulk to defend himself. Learning that his wife is not anywhere nearby, the Hulk tells Dracula he would destroy him had he not saved millions of lives and leaps away.

With the battle over, Dracula recovers the remains of the Hammer of Nul. He then tells the Forgiven that they are still banished from his kingdom and tells them that if they return they will die. Once Dracula and his forces leave, Kodo tells his Forgiven to prepare to sneak into Castle Dracula and steal the Hammer.