Royal Pain

On vacation in London, the interdimensional heroes known as Motormouth and Killpower find it coming to a quick end when the Hulk almost lands on top of them. Thinking that the Hulk is a threat, the simple-minded Killpower tries to defend Motormouth from him. Killpower's strength and weapons are no match for the Hulk who easily knocks out Killpower. As Motormouth checks on her partner, the Hulk finally recognizes them from the Pantheon's file on the pair. When Motormouth cusses out the Hulk with a string of profanity he responds in kind, pointing out that his almost landing on them was an accident. This gets Motormouth's attention and she asks what happened. The Hulk explains how he has been pursuing the gamma mutated lunatic known as Madman since he escaped from Loch Ness in Scotland. Although he managed to catch up with Madman's ship, the villain ejected and set it to self-destruct, covering his escape. Hence, the Hulk's crash landing in the middle of Motormouth and Killpower's vacation. As Killpower recovers from the Hulk's blows, the trio suddenly witness a number of police cars go speeding by. Thinking it might be madman, the Hulk leaps off to investigate, turning down Killpower's offer of aid. Ignoring this and protesting Motormouth's protests, Killpower rushes after the Hulk.

Meanwhile, in Reno, Rick Jones has taken Marlo Chandler out for a romantic dinner together to celebrate her recent resurrection. Rick admits that he fears that she might disappear if he blinks. Back in London, Madman stands atop Big Ben threatening to kill a member of the British royal family. He demands that he be made king of England in order to spare the life of the royal. As the Hulk leaps toward his foe, Killpower drags Motormouth to lend a hand. The Hulk tries to negotiate with Madman. However, the insane villain drops the royal to his death. However, Madman's victim was grabbed by Killpower who is scaling the clock face of Big Ben with his partner. The Hulk doesn't see this and when he leaps down to save the royal, he bumps into Killpower instead. Seeing Madman leaping down that them, Motormouth uses her sonic scream to send the villain flying the opposite direction.

With the member of the royal family safe, the Hulk tells Motormouth and Killpower to stay out of his way while he is trying to catch Madman. With his initial plan in shambles, Madman begins going on a rampage across the Tower Bridge. The Hulk catches up with his foe and the two fight it out on the bridge. While Madman tries to justify his transformation via gamma radiation, the Hulk calls him insane. The fight abruptly ends when the bridge collapses sending them both into the Thames River. Later, the Hulk, Motormouth, and Killpower search the rubble but find no sign of Madman. When Motormouth asks what type of person Madman is, the Hulk says he doesn't know. While back in Reno, Rick Jones ends his dinner with Marlo with a plate of clams. When she goes to shuck one of them she is shocked to see a wedding ring inside. Rick then asks Marlo to marry him.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Motormouth, Killpower, Madman

Continuity Notes

• The Hulk acts as though he never met Motormouth and Killpower before. However, he actually has on two occasions prior to this story. First, during the events of Mys-Tech Wars #1-4, and again Battletide (vol. 2) #1-4. However, his memories of both encounters were erased after the fact.

• The person who Madman kidnaps is depicted as Prince Charles of the British royal family. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

First Blood

September 1959

It's been a number of years since Walter Charles has been recruited into the Pantheon and Ulysses is starting to agree with Achilles that Walter doesn't have what it takes to be a valued member of their team. He is frustrated with the fact that Walter seems satisfied being a janitor at the Mount. As they walk away, Walter is approached by Jason and Perseus who begins mocking him for taking such a pathetic job.

As they tease Walter, he thinks about the children who used to bully him in school and he becomes furious. Elsewhere, Achilles goes into the past history of Walter Charles pointing out that they lost track of him for years when his foster parents died. Suddenly, they hear screams coming from the hallway and go out to check it out. In the hallway, they are shocked to see that Charles has beat up Jason and is working on Perseus. As Ulysses and Achilles pull Walter off his victim, Charles vows to kill them all.

Recurring Characters

Pantheon (Walter Charles, Achilles, Ulysses), Jason, Perseus

Continuity Notes

• Because the members of the Pantheon are nearly immortal, this story does take place in 1959. The only impact the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 would affect this story is in terms of the length of time between it and the Modern Age.