A.I.M. for the Top!

MODOK's AIM facility off the coast of Maine is being attacked by a rogue faction that is against his rule. MODOK leads the counter-attack but is suddenly surprised when his own loyal troops turn against him. Realizing that he's in the middle of a coup, MODOK makes his escape, confident in the fact that at least the Abomination will destroy the Hulk. However, MODOK's boasts are premature, as the Abomination is outside of Bruce Banner's Northwind Observatory. After so many defeats at the hands of the Hulk, the Abomination is afraid to fight his long time foe again. Inside the facility, Bruce Banner has fallen asleep in the middle of his work. It's at this moment that the Recordasphere reveals that it knows that Kate Waynesboro is secretly an agent of SHIELD spying on its creator. Before the Recordasphere can slay Kate, the Abomination comes crashing through the wall demanding the Hulk. When the Recordasphere tries to defend its master from the Abomination, the gamma-spawned monster swats the machine aside, destroying it.

The din of battle wakes Banner who is saddened to see his Recordasphere has been destroyed and is surprised that it came to his defense given that it wasn't programmed to do so. Meanwhile, Kate tries to incapacitate the Abomination with an ion-disrupter, revealing to Banner that she is a SHIELD agent in the process. This recent betrayal upsets Banner who transforms into the Hulk just as the Abomination breaks free of the ionic energy. Seeing the Hulk puts the fear into the Abomination, but his fear of being hurt by MODOK forces him to attack. Furious over how Kate has betrayed him, Banner is angry enough to channel enough strength to beat the Abomination into submission. Bruce almost beats his foe to death, but stops as he begins to fear that the savage persona of the Hulk might come back.

Kate tries to explain to Bruce that although she was assigned by SHIELD to observe him she was legitimately interested in his work and has also started to develop feelings for him. As she tries to explain herself to Banner, the Abomination recovers from the attack. Fearing the reprisals if he goes back to MODOK empty handed, he grabs Kate and flees, hoping that the Hulk will follow him. Bruce then begins working on a gamma-tracker when a military helicopter arrives with General Ross and Betty. Ross intends to show Betty that the Hulk has been destroyed in the hopes that she will give up her love of Bruce Banner. However, they find that the Hulk is very much alive. The General's shock exposes him as MODOK's ally. This act of treason upsets Betty, who becomes even more distraught when she learns that her opportunity to come back to Bruce has been dashed now that he has feelings for Kate Waynesboro. As Bruce leaps off to track down the Abomination, a heartbroken Betty Ross tells her father that he has hurt her for the last time and tells him to stay out of her life from now on.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, General Ross, Kate Waynesboro, Betty Ross, AIM (MODOK), Abomination

Continuity Notes

• Bruce Banner now has control of the Hulk and its transformations since a series of bombardments of gamma radiation between Incredible Hulk #269-272. He retains this ability until Incredible Hulk #296.

• In this story there are two factions of AIM, a group in yellow costumes that up to this point were loyal to MODOK, and a group in blue costumes that broke away from MODOK's command. This schism first began in Ms. Marvel #7-10. Interestingly, MODOK commanded the blue AIM faction against the yellow. When MODOK regained control of AIM, a new blue faction, which opposed his rule, formed in Captain America Annual #7.

• The reason the Abomination is afraid of the Hulk is after his many defeats at the hands of his foe. The most recent defeat happened in Incredible Hulk #270.