Incredible Hulk #256
Power in the Promised Land!
Colonel Glenn Talbot is brought before a United States Congressional Committee regarding the operations at Gamma Base. The Committee is unimpressed with the amount of tax dollars that are being spent at the facility given the fact that they have failed to carry out its mandate: capture and cure the Hulk. As his ex-wife Betty Ross and Rick Jones watch from the audience, Glenn Talbot tries to justify the work that is being done. When Talbot explains how Hulkbuster Base was renamed Gamma Base and shifted its focus to also researching gamma radiation, the congress points out that the only thing to come out of Gamma Base was the creation of Doc Samson. Talbot is thanked for his testimony and the session as adjourned for the day. Eventually, Congress makes their decision to cut funding to Gamma Base and shut the facility down.
With the story hitting the news, Rick Jones wonders what will happen to the Hulk now that nobody is out looking for him. Meanwhile, Betty Ross takes her private plane out to deliver the news to Fred Sloan, who is living among the reclusive Changelings to finish his biography about the Hulk. The news also hits the staff at Gamma Base pretty hard. Samson wonders what will happen next, while General Ross wonders if there is a future for him as a retired soldier. The vice-president contacts Colonel Talbot and apologizes for having to shut down Gamma Base, especially for Talbot having to learn through the news. After he ends his call, Glenn pulls a gun from his desk drawer and contemplates using it on himself before vowing that no matter what, he will not rest until the Hulk is dead.
Meanwhile, the S.S. Star of David pulls ashore in Isreal after being out at sea for days. Aboard is Bruce Banner who has been hiding in the cargo hold the whole time after the Hulk smuggled him aboard. When a load of cargo he is hiding in is being pulled out of the hold, Banner wakes up and fearing he has been discovered panics enough to trigger a transformation into the Hulk. Not knowing where he is the Hulk goes on a rampage on the dock, attracting the attention of Mishteret Yisrael officer Ruth Bat-Seraph. No sooner does she try to radio in the sighting does the military arrive on the scene. While the Hulk batters around the soldiers, Bat-Seraph tries to change out of her uniform in secret only to be temporarily knocked out. With the immediate threats dealt with the Hulk then storms off. When Ruth wakes up she quickly changes into her costumed identity, as the state-sponsored hero known as Sabra. As she takes to the air, her search for the Hulk soon becomes futile as the brute has since reverted back into Bruce Banner.
Coming upon a market, Bruce spots a small Arab boy stealing a watermelon from a fruit cart. When the kid is chased, Banner helps him hide and sends his pursuers going the wrong way. Discovering that the young boy can speak English, he gets Banner up to speed. The boy, Sahad, tells Banner that he is in Tel Aviv. He also explains the tensions between the Arab and Jewish people who fight over what is considered Holy Land. The boy is uninterested in religious squabbles or what is spoken of in religious texts, quipping that he can't read. Getting some change, the boy decides to thank Banner for helping him by buying him something to eat. However, no sooner does the boy go into a shop does it suddenly explode. The explosion is caused by a group of terrorists and seeing Sahad's lifeless body amid the rubble, Banner gives into his anger and changes into the Hulk once more.
The Hulk makes short work of the terrorists but is spotted by Sabra who mistakenly believes that the Hulk is helping the terrorists and attacks him. She is surprised that her energy quills do nothing more than get the man-monster angry. However, after a sufficient bombardment of these quills the Hulk does begins to feel their effect. Stumbling to the ground, the Hulk sees Sahad's body and remembers the boy and this puts him into a fresh rage again. When Sabra swoops in for another attack, the Hulk knocks her aside and into the arriving police officers. Picking up Sahad's lifeless body, the Hulk leaps away. Sabra flies after the Hulk and when she finally catches up to him at a rock quarry in Jordan she accuses him of murdering the boy. This angers the Hulk even more as he has done no such thing. Dimly recalling the religious conflic in the region, the Hulk explains that the boy was a victim of the pointless ideological conflict. The Hulk then bursts into tears and even more upset than before leaps away, leaving Sabra to dwell on what has just transpired.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Sabra, Rick Jones, Betty Ross, General Ross, Glenn Talbot, Doc Samson, Fred Sloan, Edwin Maxwell, Thomas Bowman, Diane Perrywinkle, Ruth Messinger, Woodgod, Siren
Continuity Notes
At the congressional hearing a number of historical facts about the hunt for the Hulk are stated:
An image of General Ross presiding over a captured Hulk is from Tales to Astonish #61.
Project: Greenskin was officially coined in Incredible Hulk #145 it was later renamed Gamma Base in Incredible Hulk #198.
Rick Jones refers to Glenn Talbot as Betty's ex-husband. The pair got married in Incredible Hulk #158. After irreconcilable differences the two got divorced in Incredible Hulk #238.
Reference is made to Doc Samson getting his powers at Gamma Base, that happened in Incredible Hulk #141.
The Vice-President of the United States is depicted as Walter Mondale in this story. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
Likewise, although religious conflict has continued well into the 21st century, the reason for conflict in Israel should be considered a topical reference as well.
