Call of the Desert

This story follows the events of Alpha Flight #29...

Back on Earth, the Hulk leaps across the Colorado Rockies, when he lands he startles a buck. When it tries to ram into the Hulk, he kills it with a single blow. With the creature killed by the strike, the Hulk examines the body momentarily before leaping off again. The Hulk's passage is witnessed by a young boy who also sees a strange ship buzz overhead. Excited about this sight, the child runs back to town to tell everyone what he had seen.

At the Evenston campus of Northwestern Univesity, Doc Samson has been working a job in the psychology department since the Hulk was exiled from Earth. However, he is quickly informed by his fellow faculty members that the Hulk has been spotted in Colorado. Samson tells the others that he has to take some leave and begins leaping toward where he believes the Hulk is going to go. Meanwhile, at an apartment where Betty Ross has been sharing with her new boyfriend Ramon, she snaps at him for calling her "babe". When he snaps on the radio and she hears a report about the Hulk, Betty realises what she now must do.

Twelve hours later, Doc Samson arrives at the ruins of Gamma Base, thinking that the Hulk will be drawn here as it is the only place the brute can consider home. As he recounts the accident that led to the birth of the Hulk, the very creature he is seeking lands right before him. When Samson makes the mistake of calling the Hulk by Bruce Banner's name, sending the Hulk into a frenzy. Samson dukes it out with the Hulk, but is quickly defeated. Suddenly the Hulk begins to hallucinate, fighting with imaginaty foes like the Juggernaut, MODOK, the Rhino, the Abomination, and the Leader. Witnessing the Hulk fighting at nothing but the thin air, Samson bides his time. When he goes to resume his fight with the Hulk, the gamma-spawned monster is led to believe that Samson is just an illusion as well. Samson takes advantage of this and manages to lands a blow that is strong enough to knock the Hulk out.

With the battle over, Samson has figured out a way to remove Banner from his prison forever.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Doc Samson, Ramon Morales, Betty Ross

Continuity Notes

• The events of Incredible Hulk Annual #14 take place between pages 7 and 8 of this story.

• Doc Samson recounts the Hulk's origins as they were originally told in Incredible Hulk #1. Some facts are omitted (such as the involvement of Russian spy Igor Drenkov) for narrative pacing.

• Ramon Morale's full name is revealed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #9.