Blast Off

After Atalanta was kidnapped by Trauma and the Troyjans, the Hulk returns to the Mount where he has the Pantheon construct a ship to follow their foes into space, the Argo IV. While in Reno, Rick Jones is upset that he was made to left behind by the Hulk due to his engagement to Marlo. This leads to an argument between the couple in front of Betty. It ends with Rick calling off the wedding and storming out. Suddenly, the astral form of Doctor Strange appears and informs Betty and Marlo that he will not be able to attend Rick's wedding. Marlo tells the Doctor that the wedding is off and the Hulk is in space.

Back at the Mount, the Hulk and the Pantheon are preparing for take-off. As the Hulk and Paris put in the final preparations, Cassie takes the opportunity to hit on Hector, even though he isn't interested in her. After final checks with Prometheus, the countdown begins and soon the Argo IV takes off into space. Once en route, the Hulk asks Achilles if they have a chance of catching up to Trauma and his minions. Achilles is confident that Atalanta is probably giving them all sorts of trouble to slow them down. As it turns out, Achilles prediction is correct as aboard the Troyjan ship, Atalanta is giving the warriors a run for their money while incapacitating their ship as well. Trauma orders his men to capture her but not to harm her as he intends to make her his bride. While this is happening, one of the Troyjans reports back to Trauma's father, the dread Armageddon. When learning that the Pantheon is closing in on his son, Armageddon orders his warriors to stand back and watch to see how his son handles the situation.

Soon the Pantheon has arrived and Hector, Ulysses, Cassiopeia, and the Hulk try to force their way into the ship. However, they are confronted by Trauma who refuses to let them foil his plans. While the Hulk battles their foe, he orders the rest of the Pantheon to break into the ship. They accomplish this thanks to Cassie's energy blasts. Meanwhile, the Hulk is prepared for most of Trauma's weapons, but when his spacesuit is damaged he is blasted off the ship by one of its onboard weapons. Aboard the Argo, Achilles refuses to do anything to help save the Hulk. When Prometheus tries to instead he is knocked out. Suddenly, the Silver Surfer comes and rescues the Hulk. Seeing the battle as lost, Trauma jumps back into his ship and orders his crew to activate the warp drive. When the ship goes into warp, the Hulk and the Silver Surfer get pulled into the warp field and dragged along for the ride, leaving Achilles and Prometheus alone in the middle of space.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Silver Surfer, Pantheon (Ulysses, Hector, Cassiopeia, Atalanta, Achilles, Prometheus, Paris), Armageddon, Trauma, Doctor Strange

Continuity Notes

• Betty is frightened by Doctor Strange appearing out of her fridge is because Agamemnon did the same thing to her back in Incredible Hulk #400.

• Doctor Strange offers his condolences to Betty due to her miscarriage. Betty discovered she was pregnant with Bruce Banner's child back in Incredible Hulk #340 and suffered a miscarriage in Incredible Hulk #360.

• The two women also comment on Doctor Strange's "new look", Strange adopted this appearance in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #60. This is one of many of Doctor Strange's fragmented aspects that were active during this period until Strange reconstituted into an individual entity again in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #80.