Once a Hulk, Always a Hulk

Following their battle with the Wendigo, the Hulk and Sasquatch are containing the cursed beast as the RCMP arrive to help contain the monster. Bruce Banner, now in full control of the Hulk, marvels at the show of strength that he has at his disposal. Although the Hulk helped capture Wendigo, he is still wanted by the Canadian authorities for his past rampages through Canada and the RCMP prepare to apprehend him. Banner loses his temper, allowing the Hulk's persona to come to the fore. The officers open fire however, Hulk's bulletproof skin protects him while Sasquatch remembers how easily the Hulk's persona briefly taked the control when Banner angered during their battle with Wendigo. Menwhile, Hulk smashes the ground, defeating the RCMP officers. Hulk then says that the untrust of the humans is what makes the Hulk a monster and flees the scene, leaving the Sasquatch to wonder how long Banner will be able to retain control of the Hulk.

Back in New Mexico, Rick Jones is still dying of radiation poisoning thanks to an ill-advised attempt to turn himself into a second Hulk in order to both helping the Hulk fight the Hulk Hunters and so the world could still having a Hulk even if Banner cures himself from turning into the Hulk. Betty Ross pleads to the alien Bereet, who has arrived from her homeworld to film a documentary about the Hulk to help save Rick. Bereet is reluctant to help as her involvement will affect the authenticity of her film, but bows down to reason when Betty convinces her that the death of Rick Jones would be a huge loss to her project. Needing a place to go, Betty suggests that they go to the recently decommission Gamma Base. Putting on her Banshee Mask, Bereet forms a ship that will take them to their destination. Their ship flies past an Air Force ship that is collecting samples of the atmosphere. The pilots spot the alien ship passing by but decide not to report it as nobody would believe it. As they continue along their radiation scoop suddenly explodes, and the U-Foe known as X-Ray is flies away laughing.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the Hulk is leaping in the sky when Banner re-takes the control of the Hulk, only to realize that he is many foots over the ground and he will be killed as he falls, only to see that he is alive and well. Surprised, Banner then remembers that Hulk has done many incredible things before and realizes that he is nerly indestructible while he remains in his Hulk form. Banner then discovers that he crashed near a logging camp and watches as some French lumberjacks choppings trees. Overhearing one of the men joking about blowing the trees down, the Hulk decides to oblige by using his breath to knock down all the trees that they are chopping down with one blast of air. Needing to get back to the States to let Betty and Rick know that he is okay, the Hulk reverts back to Bruce Banner, steals some clothing from the lumber camp and walks to the nearest town. When he arrives he is surprised to see that they have set up sandbags in front of the town.

Bruce is quickly subdued by the townspeople and at first thinks about turning into the Hulk and smash them, but quickly demises that idea, as he is not a monster like his Hulk persona, the Banner learns that they don't consider him a threat. In fact, they are trying to defend their crops from some insectoid aliens who have been feasting on their crops. Banner finds this hard to believe until the alien ship returns and aliens come out of the ship to consume more wheat. The locals try to fight back against these creatures but the aliens can fire energy beams from their antenna that destroy their weapons. Fearing that the people might be next, Bruce allows himself to change into the Hulk. He fights off the creatures until his ship strikes at him. Furious, the Hulk smashes his way into the ship where he fights the alien creatures. He's confused when he knocks them into a sealed container full of seeds.

Suddenly, the leader of the aliens, Queen Ba'T'Ll stops him telepathically. She explains that her people have ventured out into the universe to find food because their planet can no longer sustain crops. She explains that they feed on other worlds out of necessity but exchange the food they take with a super-seed that can eliminate hunger on the worlds they visit, in exchange for food to feed themselves. However, the Hulk's attack has broken the canister of seed that must remain airtight and now it is useless. Realizing his grave error, the Hulk asks if the aliens will return, however, their queen is unsure. The Hulk is then teleported back to the surface where he gives his apologies to the people of the town. However, they are forgiving as they heard the telepathic message from Ba'T'Ll as well, and point out that they attacked the aliens before they could know their reason for coming as well. This makes Banner realize that with great power comes great responsibility and that if he needs to learn about the Hulk's power and how to control it.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Sasquatch, Betty Ross, Bereet, Rick Jones, Wendigo, X-Ray, Sturky

Continuity Notes

• Banner recounts that his newfound intelligence has resulted in a series of concentrated gamma ray exposures between Incredible Hulk #269-271. Banner maintains his intelligence until Incredible Hulk #296.

• Betty mentions that Gamma Base has recently been shut down. This happened by an act of Congress in Incredible Hulk #256.

• X-Ray was dissipated because his powers ran out of control during the events of Incredible Hulk #254.

• The aliens encountered here are first identified as the Klklk in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5.