Dark Side

At Gamma Base, General Ross oversees the testing of a new Cryogenic Inducer cannon. They field test the device against a mannequin of the incredible Hulk. The test proves successful, but there is still concern about whether or not it will work against the real Hulk.

Meanwhile, Bruce Banner arrives at Desert State University to visit one of his old professors, Geoffrey Crawford. The wheelchair-bound Crawford welcomes Bruce into his lab and shows him some of his most recent projects. Crawford has developed teleportation technology that enables him to disassemble material on the molecular level and re-assemble it at an alternate location. Theoretically, he can use this technology to remove the mutated cells from Banner's body that turns him into the Hulk. Crawford takes a sample of Bruce's DNA to examine.

That night both men go to sleep, but Bruce awakens when he hears Crawford leaving the house. He follows him to the laboratory where he finds the Professor locked inside of one of his telepod containers. Crawford is teleporting himself and introducing Banner's gamma radiated blood into his system upon recomposition in the hopes of curing him of his infirmity.

Bruce knows that manipulating gamma radiation is too dangerous and tries to get Crawford out of the pod. The stress overtakes him and he transforms into the Hulk. When Crawford emerges from the second pod, he transforms into a version of the Hulk. Although not as strong as Banner, Crawford manages to maintain his intellect. The two Hulks begin fighting one another.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, General Ross, Major Talbot, Ravage

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 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.