Liberation Day

The Hulk and the Pantheon have broken into Fort Cheer to try and rescue his old girlfriend Susan Jacobson who has been imprisoned for giving CIA information to Israel. The prison break was almost a success until there was intervention from Nick Fury and SHIELD. Fury now has the Hulk and Ulysses incapacitated with sonic blasts that threaten to destroy their minds. While outside, the Pantheon ship flown by Hector is caught in a dogfight with the SHIELD ships. Ultimately, the Hulk manages to protect himself from the sonic blasts and radios Fury, telling him to stop interfering or things will get ugly. Fury then sends an attack force to the prison where they discover how the Hulk managed to escape the sonic blasts: He dug a hole deep into the ground to get out of range. Deep below, the Hulk and Ulysses have dug themselves under a fallout shelter that will shield them from SHIELD's detection methods. The Hulk then begins to dig himself toward the command center so they can try and find Susan and bust her out. Meanwhile, the warden of the prison is getting reamed out by his contacts in Washington for allowing the Hulk to infiltrate his prison.

Outside, Hector is losing the dogfight with the SHIELD ships when he is suddenly joined by Achilles and Atalanta who arrive as reinforcements. Back inside, Nick Fury is brought into the control room where he is told to contain the situation. Fury isn't happy about it as he doesn't entirely agree with how the CIA treated Jacobson. However, the argument is cut short when the Hulk suddenly comes smashing through the floor.

Meanwhile, in Reno, Rick Jones is calling various members of the superhero community to tell them that he is going to get married. He calls the Avengers and talks with the Black Widow. He is confused when she doesn't commit to coming to the wedding, telling him that he "knows how it is" in the superhero business. This bothers Rick, and when Betty and Marlo try to tell him that he's just getting paranoid, Rick explains that he got the cold shoulder from US Agent when he called the Avengers' west coast branch as well. While back at Fort Cheer, the Hulk incapacitates the SHIELD agents and grabs the warden. This leads to a Mexican stand-off between the Hulk and Nick Fury. While Fury has a gun trained on the Hulk that has ammunition that can pierce the Hulk's eye and destroy his brain, the Hulk will crush the warden's head in his death spasms. While outside, one of the SHIELD planes shoots down a Pantheon craft. However, they made the mistake of shooting the ship carrying Achilles. Impervious to all harm, Achilles emerges from the flaming wreckage and blasts the SHIELD craft as it swoops in to look for survivors.

Back in Reno, Rick, Betty, and Marlo are looking over photos trying to decide on a wedding dress for Marlo and possibly hiring Peter Parker to take photos. When Rick brings up the recent death of a famous fashion designer as the result of an auto-immune disease, Betty makes a commentary of the ribbon campaign not doing enough to find a cure for the illness. That's when the phone rings. Rick answers and is delighted that it is a call from the She-Hulk. She explains that she is on vacation and will be coming up to see what her cousin is up to in a few days. Back at Fort Cheer, the stand-off continues between Hulk and Fury. When it is learned that the SHIELD planes have all been shot down, the Hulk orders the Pantheon to be prepared to enact plan "alpha" that will destroy the entire facility with tactical nuclear weapons, the Hulk then calls Fury's bluff.

Later, Nick Fury is in Washington to answer for letting Hulk leave with Susan Jacobson. Fury expresses that he was never happy with Jacobson being imprisoned as the information she gave to Israel prevented a chemical weapons attack in that region. He then points out how the United States imprisoned Susan to appease their allies in a Middle Eastern country. Fury then warns the secretary that if he is forced to resign from SHIELD, the first thing he's going to do is take this information directly to the press and calls his bluff. The secretary storms out, having decided not to push Fury any further. While back at the Mount, the Hulk tells Susan that they are collecting her family members and setting up a reunion at a Pantheon safe house.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Pantheon (Ulysses, Achilles, Atalanta, Hector), Susan Jacobson, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Vicky Jones), Black Knight, Black Widow, US Agent, She-Hulk

Continuity Notes

• This story refers to Mary Jane Watson as the wife of Peter Parker. The pair were married in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. However, this marriage has since been erased from history years later thanks to the demon Mephisto as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In this altered reality, Peter and MJ were a long time couple and never got married.

• The reason everyone appears to be blowing off Rick's wedding is that the super-hero community is becoming increasingly disturbed with the Hulk's recent activities. Particularly when he aided the Pantheon in liberating the nation of Trans-Sabal in Incredible Hulk #390-392.

• This story makes references to the death of fashion designer Willi Smith, the 90's AIDS epidemic, and Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons during the Gulf War as though they all happened in recent history. These should all be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

Dead Heat

August 1965

While trying to recover young Nathan Taylor from the LA neighborhood of Watts, Walter Charles and Ulysses find themselves caught in the middle of race riot. While Walter keeps the rioters at bay with a tranquilizer gun, Ulysses radios to the Pantheon for immediate evacuation. During the battle, Ulysses tells Walter to try and get clear but Charles refuses to leave his teammate aside. Suddenly, someone takes a shot at Ulysses and fatally hits him in the head. As he dies, Ulysses calls Walter a jerk for not listening to his orders. When Ulysses dies the energies of his bodies leave his body reducing him to ashes. The blinding flash of light distracts the rioters long enough for Walter to escape with Nathan Taylor in a Pantheon ship.

Recurring Characters

Walter Charles, Ulysses, Nathan Taylor

Continuity Notes

• Because the members of the Pantheon are nearly immortal this story does take place in 1965. The only affect the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 has is on the length of time between this story and the start of the Modern Age.

• The shooter who killed the original Ulysses is revealed to be Achilles in Incredible Hulk #424.