You Get What You Need!

The Hulk under his control, the Corruptor has imprisoned Betty Ross and Teen Brigade under a church in the desert of California. He then demands that Rick Jones send out a distress call to the Avengers so that they might come and battle the Hulk so he can take possession of Earth's mightiest heroes as well. Rick initially refuses, but when the Corruptor threatens to order the Hulk to kill his friends, Rick has no choice. Using his wrist communicator, Rick tries to summon the Avengers, but due to the composition of the church and the Corruptor's radio signal, the transmission is weakened and only reaches out as far as Arizona. With the dirty deed done, the Corruptor then begins to wait the inevitable arrival of the Avengers, little knowing that he will get something very different.

Near Phoenix, Arizona, an officer with Indian Affairs is chasing after drug dealers who have been selling narcotics to the people of his reservation. The criminals are suddenly stopped thanks to the arrival of the Native American warrior known as Red Wolf. After the drug dealers are rounded up, Red Wolf hears Rick Jones' distress signal from the police radio and decides to go and see if his allies in the Avengers could use his help. Borrowing the officer's jeep, Red Wolf makes his way toward California and the source of the signal. In the impoverished immigrant town of Buena Vista, outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, aid worker Bonita Juarez checks in on one of her clients. Inside, she learns that the woman's son has taken up radio operation as a hobby. It's here that Bonita also hears Rick Jones' distress signal. Juarez quickly excuses herself and, recounting how a strange meteor granted her superhuman powers, she transforms into Firebird and flies off to lend a hand. While in Pasadena, California, the Texas Twister and Shooting Star put on a show at a local rodeo. After getting their dismal pay they also hear the distress signal and decide to go to the aid of Rick Jones. Lastly, the supernatural powers of Hamilton Slade pick up the radio signal, prompting him to once more become the Night Rider.

Back at the church, the Corruptor suspects that Rick has played some kind of trick on him and orders the Hulk to kill Rick. Suddenly, the Night Rider and his horse Banshee come through the wall and knock the Hulk outside of the church. There he is surrounded by the arrival of the Texas Twister, Lobo, Firebird, and Shooting Star. While these are not the Avengers, the Corruptor decides to watch the course of the battle in order to take control of these heroes. The gathered heroes all try to stop the Hulk at once, but their lack of teamwork proves their undoing. But when the Hulk is about ready to kill for the Corruptor, Rick Jones rushes out and tries to appeal to the Hulk one last time. His pleas strike a chord, triggering a transformation back into Bruce Banner, freeing him from the Corruptor's control. Banner is furious that the Corruptor would violate him so and almost kills him with Red Wolf's spear, but Lobo leaps into the way. Soon, the Corruptor is taken into custody, the the western heroes decide to band together as a team known as the Rangers.

In the aftermath of the battle, the authorities come with the parents of the members of the Teen Brigade. These adults are unhappy with how their children were endangered, but decide to take their kids and depart quickly once they learn that they are in the company of Bruce Banner, for fear of a transformation into the Hulk. With the current crisis over with, Bruce tells the others that he now wants to focus on finding a way to end the Hulk once and for all. Betty and Rick agree to join Bruce on this journey, no matter what.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Rick Jones, Betty Ross, Teen Brigade (Specs, Wheels, Rider, Candy Barr), Rangers (Texas Twister, Shooting Star, Firebird, Night Rider, Red Wolf, Lobo, Banshee), Corruptor

Continuity Notes

• The way the Rangers are formed here is reminiscent of the way that the Avengers were first formed in Avengers #1. In that story, Rick attempted to contact the Fantastic Four to try and deal with the Hulk. Instead, the transmission was intercepted by Loki and it was picked up by the founding members of the Avengers instead. The Hulk also became a founding member of the Avengers, as mentioned in this issue.

• The members of the Teen Brigade are said to be using wrist radios. The technology used by Teen Brigade should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

• Red Wolf refers to himself as a former member of the Avengers. He is referring to the time he fought alongside the group Avengers #80-81. However, Red Wolf was never a member of the team, he was merely an associate.

• Texas Twister mentions the times he went up against Captain America and the Human Torch. These battles happened in Captain America #229 and Fantastic Four #192 respectively.