Incredible Hulk #180

Jan 25

Jan 25 Incredible Hulk #180

And the Wind Howls... Wendigo!

The Hulk drops down out of the air and lands on a farm in upstate New York, crashing through farmer Jasper's brand new $658.27 knotty-pine fence. Unlike most that the Hulk encounters, Jasper does not turn and flee, but instead stands his ground and berates the Hulk for the damage he has caused. At first, the Hulk seems truly apologetic, but then he realize how silly it is to apologize to a "puny human" and bounds away.

Before long, he crosses the Canadian border and is instantly detected by the Canadian Air Force. They remember the Hulk from the last time he visited Canada, and are prepared to deal with him. In fact, this particular facility was built for the express purpose of monitoring the Hulk’s activities. Following the Hulk's progress on their radar, an unnamed military commander barks the order, "Mobilize – Weapon X!"

The Hulk finds a quiet patch of forest to relax in, but his comfort is quickly disrupted as a pack of ravenous wolves surround him. The wolves pile on top of him, driving backwards into a ravine. The Hulk flexes his muscles causing the wolves to scatter.

Meanwhile back at Hulkbuster Base, General Ross meets with Colonel Armbruster and Major Talbot. They discuss a pending visit by the President of the United States, and Armbruster is concerned that Glenn (having only recently escaped from imprisonment in Russia) may not be ready just yet to greet the Chief Executive. Glenn stands up and animatedly announces his determination to meet the President. Betty comforts him, and succeeds in calming Glenn down.

In Quebec, the Hulk continues wandering through the woods. Suddenly, he hears a mysterious feminine voice in his ear. He doesn't know where it is coming from, and the buzzing in his brain is driving him into even greater fits of anger. The sound eventually lures him to a small cave. Inside the cave are Marie Cartier and Georges Baptiste. Marie, having acquired knowledge of the dark arts, wishes to free her brother Paul of the curse that transformed him into the monstrous Wendigo. Her plan is to use an occult ritual to pull the essence of the Wendigo out of Paul's body, and transplant it into a surrogate host form – namely, the Hulk. Georges thinks that Marie’s plan is reprehensible, but she is more than willing to curse another, so long as it saves her brother.

As the Hulk enters deeper into the cave, Marie approaches him and offers him food and broth. The food is laced with a drug that renders the Hulk incredibly sleepy. As she prepares the ritual, the Wendigo enters the cave. The Hulk’s body chemistry quickly burns the drug out of his system, and he rises to fight the Wendigo.

The two monsters engage in an epic struggle that nearly tears the entire forest down. The Hulk hurls large boulders at the Wendigo, and the Canadian creature responds by bashing a tree trunk overtop the Hulk's head. As they continue to trade blows, another player enters the scene – a costumed adventurer with metal claws named the Wolverine.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, General Ross, “Major Talbot”, John Armbruster, Marie Cartier, Wendigo, Georges Baptiste, Wolverine

ontinuity Notes

Multiple references are made to the last time the Hulk was in Canada which occurred in Incredible Hulk #161-162 and Amazing Spider-Man #119-120. (This issue only mentions the Incredible Hulk issues.)

This story states that Glenn Talbot was believed to have been killed in action in Incredible Hulk #166 however he survived but was taken prisoner. It is believed that he managed to escape in Incredible Hulk #176. In reality, this is a Russian spy named Gregori Kronski, his duplicity is revealed in Incredible Hulk #188.