Rampaging Hulk (Vol. 2) #1
The Monster or the Man?
General Ross shows a video presentation to military leaders, providing a threat assessment of the incredible Hulk. Major Talbot supplements the presentation by showing a pictorial history of the Hulk's origins, including the initial Gamma Bomb explosion. Suddenly, an officer enters the room interrupting the presentation. He tells General Ross that Bruce Banner has been sighted outside Chicago. Ross tells him to mobilize the troops.
In Chicago, Bruce Banner sneaks into a laboratory at a Brand Corporation facility. Hiding under a false identity, Bruce works at the Brand Corporation as a janitor. He begins modifying a device called the Gamma Accelerator in the hopes that it might cure him of turning into the Hulk. Something goes wrong, however, and Bruce begins to change. His metamorphosis halts in mid-transformation, and he is stuck in a half-Banner/half-Hulk form.
Ross, Talbot and a squad of army personnel arrive on the scene and open fire on him. Although his strength is greatly weakened, Banner/Hulk is still tough enough to resist gunfire. Talbot somehow manages to fire a tranquilizer dart into Banner/Hulk's back, knocking him out.
When he awakens, he is still stuck in mid-transformation and contained within a special holding cell. Inside the creature's mind, a war of egos takes place. Banner's psyche battles that of the Hulk. On the psychic plane, Banner is every bit as strong as the Hulk, but the Hulk still manages to overcome him. The physical result is that Banner/Hulk transforms completely into the Hulk. He pounds his way out of the holding cell and leaps away into the desert.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Betty Ross, General Ross, Major Talbot
Continuity Notes
This series is stated as happening "six years ago", this measurement of time passed in the Modern Age between stories published in 1998 and roughly around Incredible Hulk #209 per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
This story recounts the origins of the Hulk as they were published in Incredible Hulk #1.
This story takes place during a period of time that Betty Ross was married to Glenn Talbot. The couple got married in Incredible Hulk #158. From the perspective of this story, the pair have been married for roughly a year. After a troubled marriage, the couple get divorced in Incredible Hulk #238 roughly a year after this story based on the Sliding Timescale.
Bruce states that the Hulk represents everything he hates about his father. This is a vague reference to Bruce's abusive childhood, first chronicled in Incredible Hulk #312.
Outsiders
In Billings, Montana, a high-school jock named Brad "Hulk" Beford torments a weaker kid named Stilwell. Brad is angry because he thinks Stilwell was trying to flirt with his girlfriend, Jennifer. A shadow falls across the field and Jennifer and Stilwell run away. When Brad turns around, he finds the Hulk standing in front of him. The Hulk asks him why he was tormenting the other boy, and Brad tells him that Stilwell is an outsider - an outcast. These are the same things that people often call the Hulk. The Hulk bellows at Brad, and the jock runs away.
Recurring Characters
Hulk
