The Doctor's Name Is... Samson!

Following his adventure in Scotland, Bruce Banner manages to get cheap fare back to America aboard a the RMS Black Wraith provided that he stay below deck and keep a low profile. However, Banner decides to go up to the deck and think about his current plight. This angers the crew, who are very strict on their rules for Banner's passage. Banner soon realizes why: The crew of this vessel are illegally dumping radioactive waste into the ocean. Furious at being discovered, the crew attacks Banner prompting him to transform into the Hulk once more. He easily over powers them and smashes the ship, causing it to sink. As the crew gets to life boats, the Hulk jumps into the ocean and swims away.

At Hulkbuster Base, Leonard Samson prepares the base for the eventual capture of Bruce Banner/the Hulk so that they can use him to restore Glenn Talbot's mind. To this end he is running a test on the Gammatron device however, it reaches critical mass. Pushing General Ross, Betty Talbot and Clay Quartermain to safety, Samson is too late to protect himself when the device explodes and bombards him with gamma radiation. Instead of killing him, the exposure causes him to mutate back into his gamma ray powered form, heralding the rebirth of Doc Samson.

The Hulk meanwhile has managed to swim back to the shores of Manhattan where he is spotted and attacked by police, he destroys their weapons before bounding off into the city. With reports of the Hulk's return to America, they decide to send the empowered Samson out to try and capture the Hulk personally. Travelling to New York aboard a SHIELD robot helicopter, Samson orders Hulk to surrender, however the Hulk refuses and smashes the remote controlled device. This distracts the Hulk long enough for Samson to get close enough to strike him.

The Hulk and Samson then engage in battle across the city, however the Hulk gains the upper hand and easily defeats Samson in battle, knocking him into the middle of a nearby sand lot where children are playing baseball. As the Hulk bounds away, Samson pulls himself up and demands to capture the Hulk if it's the last thing he does.

Continuity Notes

• Clay Quartermain states that they believe that the Hulk had died in Incredible Hulk #188 the same story where Glenn Talbot was put into the catatonic state they are trying to cure him of.

• This story sees the return of Doc Samson's powers, which he first gained in Incredible Hulk #141. He lost said powers during the events of Incredible Hulk #147.

• There is a Daily Bugle newspaper with the headline "Talking Duck in Cleveland?" this is a reference to Howard the Duck who had just recently surfaced in Cleveland in Giant-Size Man-Thing #4.

• The depiction of the Twin Towers a the site of the World Trade Center should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.