Incredible Hulk #394

Mar 4

Mar 4 Incredible Hulk #394

Cold Storage

IMG 2020 20 03 04 15 49 23 3ab0m.png — Credits

Shot down by an unseen foe, Atalanta finds herself stalked in the frozen wastelands of Antarctica. Suddenly she sees a vehicle approaching in the distance, her hopes of rescue are dashed when it turns out to be the ship responsible for shooting her down. Although Atalanta manages to shoot the ship down, it causes an avalanche when it crashes. Emerging from the ship is a massive being in body armor who calls out to Atalanta, telling her that hunt is not over and goes after her. Not far away, the Hulk is out searching for Atalanta, but thanks to the blowing snow he finds the search nearly futile. While at the Pantheon's headquarters the Mount, Ajax is throwing a tantrum because he wasn't allowed to go on the rescue mission. Paris tries to explain to his simple-minded teammate that he is too heavy to walk in the frozen terrain and could easily get lost in the wasteland like Atalanta. He also points out that Ajax that he has poor vision so he wouldn't be able to be much help in searching for her. Ajax curses himself for being too big and stupid to do anything to help her. Paris reminds him that Hulk and Ulysses are doing what they can to find her.

As the Hulk continues to search for Atalanta and comes across the ship of her attacker. As he examines the ship, the massive occupant manages to sneak up behind the Hulk and stun him with blasts from his weaponized guns. The attacker, named Trauma, fends off the Hulk's counter-attack and seemingly slew the gamma-spawned powerhouse with his helmet-mounted blaster before continuing his hunt for Atalanta. Back in Reno, Rick Jones sits alone in the darkness of his apartment, drinking beer and watching the latest news coverage about the situation in Trans-Sabal. Betty and Marlo come over and are surprised to find the state of his apartment. They turn on some lights and open the blinds. The two women try to get through Rick's depressive funk by telling him about the woman who contacted them that claims that she is his biological mother. Hearing this snaps Rick out of his funk and he asks again, who called.

Back in the Antarctic, Ulysses and Hector check-in with the Hulk to see if he has had any luck finding their teammate, however, something is jamming their radio. When Hector asks what they should do next, Ulysses insists that they keep on looking, but not for much longer. However, neither man likes the idea of going back to Ajax empty-handed. Elsewhere, the Hulk recovers from the blast he received from Trauma and begins tracking his footprints. Not far away, Atalanta pulls herself free from the snow and is confronted by Trauma. She is upset that he is stalking her again. He is still upset that she had killed his brother, but while he has already come at her for revenge, he now finds himself falling in love with her. When she laughs in his face, he tries to attack. However, before Atalanta could be harmed, the Hulk lunges in and knocks Trauma and himself down the side of a hill. As they battle, the Hulk fends off Trauma's attacks, and eventually rips off his helmet, revealing an alien face underneath. The battle alerts Ulysses and Hector to the Hulk's location.

The Hulk finishes disarming Trauma's weapons, and Atalanta strikes him with her energy arrows staggering him toward the edge of a cliff. Hulk then claps his hand causing the ice under Trauma's feet to crumble. The villain begins to fall as tons of ice collapses around them. The Hulk grabs Atalanta and they leap away to safety. Back aboard a Pantheon cruiser, Atalanta is looked over by a doctor who informs her that other than some frostbite that will heal, she will recover from her ordeal, thanks to her natural-born abilities. When the Hulk asks just who the Pantheon are, Ulysses explains that they were "touched by godhood" and hard to kill. While back in the ruins of the battlefield, Trauma's hand busts through the ice.