The Jack of Hearts Is Wild!

The Hulk leaps into an alleyway with his friend Jim Wilson to get away from the authorities who attacked him. The Hulk is furious over being hounded and attacked once again, but Jim manages to calm the Hulk down enough to trigger a reversion into Bruce Banner. Bruce is happy to see Jim and invites him to his home so they can talk about what happened. On the other side of town, the hero known as Jack of Hearts helps the authorities dig out the Quantronic Man and its operators from the rubble following the robot's bottle to the Hulk. Hearing the police officers lamenting over not having the power to deal with a threat like the Hulk, Jack vows that he will stop the Hulk once and for all, even if it means killing him.

At that moment, Bruce and Jim arrive at the building where Banner rents a room. Fearing another series of uncomfortable questions from his landlord, April Sommers, Bruce warns Jim that they need to sneak up into his room. They manage to get there, but they quickly discover someone in there already. Jim jumps the intruder who is outraged at being jumped from behind. As it turns out the intruder is Kropotkin the Great, the magician who was the former tenant of the apartment before he was evicted for not paying his rent. The pompous and arrogant magician denies that he was evicted and demands that his possessions be returned to him. Bruce and Kropotkin get into an argument which attracts April. Sommers reminds Kropotkin that he owes her months worth of rent and she is keeping his possessions until he pays up. She then begins demanding that Bruce explain himself and who Jim Wilson is. Banner gets into a heated exchange over it and suddenly Banner feels a transformation into the Hulk coming on. Jim quickly gets both April and the magician out of the door. With a transformation moments away, Bruce throws himself out of his apartment just in time. The Hulk, more frustrated than ever bounds off to try and find somewhere where he can be alone. Watching the Hulk leap away, Jim is determined to find him before the Hulk can cause and damage to the city.

Meanwhile, aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier the agents on board have discovered that the strange capsule recovered from the ocean floor has somehow opened and the occupant is somewhere in the facility. As they begin their search, the occupant -- a strange creature -- begins investigating the equipment on board the helicarrier. While it finds the technology aboard the ship primitive it believes it can be used for its own end.

Back in New York City, the Hulk continues to leap through the city to find a quiet place to think when he is suddenly attacked by Jack of Hearts. As the two battle it out, they crash along the New York shoreline. As Jack of Hearts continues to lay into the Hulk, he knocks the brute into a warehouse building, knocking it down sufficiently enough to reveal some firefighters trying to put out a ship that is on fire on the opposite side. Realizing that innocent people could be harmed, Jack tries to incapacitate the Hulk but only succeeds in getting himself knocked closer to the firefighters. With the firemen in danger, Jack of Heart tells them to flee while he jumps up into the air. As he hoped, the Hulk leaps up after him and pulls Jack down to the ground. The pair crash into the burning ship where they continue their slugfest. The Hulk ultimately gets the upper hand when he buries Jack under one of the ships smokestacks. As the Hulk gloats over his victory the ship suddenly explodes. As the firefighters watch, Jack of Hearts pulls himself out of the water, more or less unscathed. When he is congratulated, Jack of Hearts isn't so positive about how the battle turned out.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Bi-Beast, Jack of Hearts, Jim Wilson, April Sommers, General Ross, SHIELD (Clay Quartermain, Gaffer) Kroptotkin the Great

Continuity Notes

• Bruce Banner started renting out his apartment in Manhattan after Kropotkin was evicted as seen in Incredible Hulk #208.

• Jack of Hearts explains that his father was murdered by criminals, this happened in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #23.