Incredible Hulk #412

Mar 4

Mar 4 Incredible Hulk #412

Bi Me That

IMG 2020 20 03 04 13 53 46 u2njb.png — Credits

The Hulk has come to pick up his cousin the She-Hulk at the airport so that they can spend time together. Taking a limo ride back into Reno, She-Hulk expresses her concerns about the Hulk's recent activities with the Pantheon. The Hulk tells her that he is doing what is right, and hopes that now that he has his facilities back that they would become enemies over such things. This thinly veiled threat disturbs his cousin. As the limo drives along, a strange flare of energy appears behind it. This is detected at the Pantheon's headquarters the Mount, but Hector dismisses it as a glitch. This proves to be wrong as the energy is actually the arrival of the Bi-Beast who has been teleported to Earth with the powerful Family Jewels.

Soon the Hulk and his cousin are at the apartment of Rick Jones to celebrate the recent engagement between Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler. When Rick mentions how the Avengers haven't committed to coming to the wedding, She-Hulk promises to look into it. She-Hulk then learns that Betty is in charge of the bridal shower and insists on getting an invitation. Outside, Doc Samson arrives and is happy to see that the Hulk is inside because they need to talk about his current condition. However, the Bi-Beast teleports in front of him and knocks him out. This is picked up by the Pantheon again who then warns the Hulk via his wrist communicator. No sooner is he warned does Doc Samson comes crashing through a window.

When the Hulk and She-Hulk go outside to face the Bi-Beast. Although both faces of these creatures face want revenge against the Hulk, one of the faces falls instantly in love with the She-Hulk. Watching this battle from his homeworld is the Stranger who has sent the Bi-Beast to Earth with the Family Jewels as part of a test. He finds it interesting that these creatures of Earth always seem focused on vendettas. He then decides to set the Family Jewels to self-destruct to see if they can look past their rivalries to notice. Back on Earth, the Hulk continues his battle against the Bi-Beast. Noticing the Family Jewels he tries to remove them but is jolted back by the energies contained in them. With the Hulk down, She-Hulk begins to fight their foe.

As the Hulk recovers, he is contacted by the Pantheon who warns him of an energy build-up that will destroy them all. The Hulk instantly figures out that it is the Family Jewels. The She-Hulk then tries to seduce the Bi-Beast to distract it enough for the Hulk to pull the jewels from around his neck. During the struggle they get the necklace removed, but it is knocked away. It is picked up by a boy who stuffs it inside his Felix the Cat doll that has a hole in it. When the Bi-Beast tries to recover the doll he is attacked from behind by the two Hulks. Unfortunately, they knock their enemy into a toy factory that makes the same dolls. With two minutes to go, they manage to find the Family Jewels. With no time left to get rid of the jewels, the two Hulks shield the blast with their bodies. In the aftermath of the battle, She-Hulk disturbs her cousin by talking as though they are comic book characters being watched by people all the time. The Hulk tells Jennifer to calm down. As they walk away, he suggests that she acquaint herself with Doc Samson.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, She-Hulk, Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Doc Samson, Hector, Bi-Beast, Stranger

Continuity Notes

Betty Banner mentions how she has only been with Bruce for "a few years" but it felt more like 30. This is a nod and a wink to the fact that the Earth-616 universe operates on a Sliding Timescale. Based on this scale, Bruce and Betty first met about 9 years prior to this story.

She-Hulk complains about how yet another villain has become obsessed with her. This was a common trope in her series Sensational She-Hulk. She-Hulk also breaks the Fourth Wall in this story, which is yet another trope of the She-Hulk series. Although here it is presented as though She-Hulk might not be entirely sane.

Heir Apparent

With the death of Ulysses, the members of the Pantheon have a funeral in his memory, led by the group's prerogative, Andromeda. Near the end, Andromeda begins to go into labor, prompting Jason to carry her to the infirmary. After she is rushed off, the Pantheon's leader Agamemnon approaches Walter Charles and asks what Ulysses’ final words were. Walter cannot bring himself to speak because he is in years. However, Achilles steps in and tells their leader that Ulysses’ final words were that Walter was to succeed him as the new Ulysses. With that, Agamemnon tells Walter to pick up Ulysses energy weapons and re-christens him as the new Ulysses.

Later, the new Ulysses witnesses as young protests against Achilles and storms off telling the impervious man that he hates him. Ulysses tells Achilles that he didn't have to cover for him considering his predecessor was not very fond of him. Achilles points out that Ulysses probably already knew that Walter was slated to succeed him and pushed him harder than normal. They go down to the infirmary where they find that Andromeda has already given birth to her baby daughter. Looking at the child in the nursery, Walter is told that the child's name is Delphi and that she is believed to become an even stronger precognitive than her mother. Ulysses says hello to the newborn and remarks that he hopes that they will become friends someday.