Incredible Hulk #349
Warzone
This story continues from Web of Spider-Man #44…
The Hulk is has confronted Charlie and Alpha of the Warzone commandos and Spider-Man. The gamma-spawned mob enforcer has a bone to pick with Charlie as she is responsible for putting his girlfriend Marlo Chandler in the hospital. Spider-Man is confused as he is under the impression that the Hulk had died recently, unaware that the Hulk survived and has been operating in Vegas as Joe Fixit. Alpha steps in and tells the Hulk that all he wants to do is kill Charlie, something the Hulk agrees to stand aside and let happen. However, the wall-crawler will not be party to murder and fires a web-line, but the Hulk blocks the shot. The Hulk reiterates that Charlie is responsible for hurting Marlo and tells Spider-Man to back off. As Charlie flees with Alpha not far behind, Spider-Man fires a spider-tracer on Alpha so he can focus on Joe Fixit. By this point the Hulk is fed up and charges at Spider-Man, but the web-slinger dodges out of the way, sending the Hulk crashing into a parking structure. From there, the Hulk begins tossing pieces of cars, threatening to injure all the people around, forcing Spider-Man to hold off on his pursuit of Alpha and Charlie to deal with him. Although Spider-Man puts up a good fight, he is no match for this smarter, more sinister version of the Hulk.
Not far away, Charlie manages to buy some time by throwing a dagger at Alpha, hitting him in the arm. She then rushes into a nearby chapel and tells everyone to run for cover as the bullets begin to fly. Watching from a nearby rooftop is Delta who hopes the two other soldiers below kill each other when he is suddenly shot point-blank by his other opponent, Bravo. While at his base of operations, Anthony Gold meets with his superiors who are unimpressed with his failure to set up the Maggia in Vegas. In response, they shoot him point blank in the chest and leave him for dead. Meanwhile, the battle between Spider-Man and the Hulk wages on. The two fight to a standstill as Bravo steals an SUV to get around faster to chase after Delta. While in the church, Alpha impales Charlie with a candle holder, apparently killing her in the process.
Hearing Charlie's screams, Spider-Man breaks off his fight with the Hulk and goes to her. Spider-Man asks the Hulk if he is happy with this outcome and is shocked when he expresses that he is and means it. Fed up, Spider-Man tells the Hulk to go to hell and swings off to stop Alpha and the other members of Warzone. In the middle of the desert, Delta and Bravo continue to fight it out, with Delta blowing up Bravo's SUV, leaving him at the mercy of his opponent. Back in town, Alpha is attacked by Spider-Man, who is seeking to avenge Charlie's death. However, Spider-Man's reaction is premature as Charlie wakes up and, seemingly unharmed, pulls the candle holder out of her body. Seeing this the Hulk grabs the woman by the throat and demands answers as to what's going on. Meanwhile, Alpha tries to take advantage of Spider-Man's sense of valor by shooting out the supports to a massive neon sign. This forces the wall-crawler to try to support it before it can fall on the innocent people around them. Before Alpha can shoot Spider-Man in the back, the Hulk arrives and breaks off his arms, revealing that Alpha is a cyborg. After mocking Spider-Man for being altruistic when he, in fact, was responsible for bringing Warzone to Vegas and endangering people to begin with, the Hulk agrees to help. Showing Spider-Man Alpha's severed arms, he explains what's going on.
At that moment, Bravo manages to get the better of Delta by activating a series of hidden weapons that he rigged around the desert. The Hulk explains that Warzone are a bunch of trained mercenary cyborgs who pit themselves against each other once a year. After explaining everything to the wall-crawler, sufficiently rubbing it in the hero's face, the Hulk then leaps off. Meanwhile, the members of Warzone regroup to discuss the location for next year's game. The Hulk returns to his apartment and is surprised to be visited by Doctor Doom, who has a proposition to make.
This story is continued in Fantastic Four #320...
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Spider-Man, Warzone (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta), Maggia, Doctor Doom
Continuity Notes
Marlo Chandler was injured during the events of Web of Spider-Man #44.
Spider-Man, like the rest of the world, believes that the Hulk was killed in a gamma bomb explosion as depicted in Incredible Hulk #345. However, the Hulk survived and set up his cover identity of Joe Fixit. The events leading to this status quo are later revealed in Incredible Hulk #351-352.
