Amazing Grace!

Bruce Banner is spending time at Northwind Observatory when he notices a shaft of concentrated gamma radiation beaming down from outer space. Turning into the Hulk, he races out into the woods to investigate it. He finds that the ray is actually a transport beam, and a green-skinned woman named K'Rel is now running through the woods. Soon after, a spaceship arrives and several red-skinned warriors capture the Hulk and K'Rel.

They take them back to the planet Cygnet VII. Cygnet VII is run by the 'reds', a race of religious fanatics known as the Proselytes. But Cygnet VII's other indigenous species, are a race of green-skinned humanoids, who are of a different and obviously offending faith than the Proselytes. The Hulk finds that the Proselytes have deemed all 'Greens' to be heretics and routinely imprison and torture them.

K'Rel tells the Hulk that their own priests foretold the coming of a great champion who will help them overthrow the shackles of their oppression. It doesn't require the brain of Bruce Banner to realize that the Hulk is destined to be the champion of the Greens.

After a grueling experience in the Proselytes' slave arena, the Hulk inspires confidence in the enslaved Greens and leads a revolt against the Reds. With the Hulk in charge, they take command of the royal temple and overthrow the Proselytes. K'Rel is made the new priestess of the Greens. She wants the Hulk to remain with her on Cygnet VII, but he has to return to Earth. She places him on board a ship that begins to ferry him back to his birth planet.

On board the ship, the Hulk uses the ship's instruments to monitor the current activities on Cygnet VII. He is heartbroken to discover that the Greens have now become the planet's dictators and have enslaved the Reds just as they were once enslaved.

Recurring Characters

Hulk

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.

• Bruce Banner makes a few recollections:

  • How the Hulk was a founding member of the Avengers. This was depicted in Avengers #1, although the Hulk later quit in the following issue.

  • Bruce then recalls how he turned down a recent offer to join the Avengers. This was after the team assisted him in stopping the Leader in Incredible Hulk #282-284.

  • He also recalls being a member of the Defenders, which he also founded as the Hulk back in Marvel Feature #1.

• He recalls how Betty left him because she couldn't handle the fact that he was still the Hulk, even if Bruce Banner was still in control. That happened in Incredible Hulk #279.

Continuity Errors

• The Vision and the Scarlet Witch are depicted as member of the Defenders. This is an error on the part of the artist as neither character was ever a member of the Defenders.