Incredible Hulk #441
Hulk Fiction
With the Hulk seemingly dead, Betty Banner lights a candle for her husband and places it at the window of her home. She then sits down in front of her computer and begins to write about her relationship with her husband. Outside, paparazzi have lined up outside to try and snap photos of the apparent widow. When the She-Hulk arrives at the scene, they begin snapping photos of her instead. Annoyed, Jennifer grabs all the cameras and crushes them and sends the vultures fleeing. While at army headquarters, Matt Talbot and his troops celebrate the apparent death of the Hulk. While some believe that the Hulk has survived this like other apparent deaths, Talbot believes that his destruction was assured. That's when Henry Gyrich enters the room and asks to speak to Matt Talbot privately. When Matt asks Gyrich what he wants, Henry pulls out of a photo of Matt shooting Betty Banner in the leg and says they need to discuss it. Back in Florida, the She-Hulk tells Betty that the book deal for her memoirs has been finalized and that she has an advance to write her memoirs of being the Hulk's lover. Although this is welcome news, Betty wonders if this is the right thing to do. She explains that while the rest of the world thinks the Hulk is dead, she isn't falling for it so easily. If it wasn't for the fact she needed the money, Betty wouldn't have considered the idea of writing a book. In fact, she fully expects her husband to eventually return home to her, hence the candle she has lit and left in the window. She-Hulk reminds her that this will also set the record straight about the Hulk, that his recent terrorist activities were all a ruse. When Betty makes a comment that it was orchestrated by a "Maestro", she begins to laugh.
Meanwhile, at Arlington Cemetery, soldiers are cleaning up after an Alliance bomb destroyed many of the tombstones. One of the soldiers in charge of repairing Nick Fury's grave reports to his superior to inform him that the grave was not only empty, but it is also almost as if nothing was buried there to begin with. While back in Florida, Betty continues to try writing her book about her romance with Bruce Banner. She begins with how they had first met during the final days of Bruce Banner's gamma bomb tests and how her father General Thaddeus Ross never approved of their relationship. However, Betty stops because the recounting of events is too dry. In Los Angeles, Rick Jones and his wife Marlo meet with his manager Mordecai Boggs in Los Angeles at the set of their new talk show. The meeting is interrupted when Rick gets a call from Betty, who is asking for advice on how to write her book. Rick recommends that she bend the truth to make things sound more interesting, and if at the end of the day too much is different, then the publisher can market it as a fiction. With this in mind, Betty restarts writing her book. Her first attempt is a tawdry tale that seems more like a trashy romance novel. Not liking this narrative, Betty deletes it and starts all over again.
At that moment at Freehold in Canada, Omnibus finds himself locked up by his followers for his activities posing as the terrorist organization called the Alliance. He is soon taken out of his cell by Hotshot and put on trial for his crimes. Before a jury of his peers, Omnibus explains that his actions were to push humanity to the brink of extinction as they are a threat to the people of Freehold. However, this doesn't move the jury who quickly finds him guilty of his crimes. Omnibus mocks this sentence asking if they plan on executing him. He is shocked when Hotshot confirms that this is exactly what they were going to do. Back at army headquarters, Gyrich informs Matt Talbot that amateur footage of Talbot shooting Betty in the leg will appear on live television later that day. Regardless of his motivations and that he has the backing of the president, Gyrich explains that the court of public opinion will ruin him once the footage is broadcast and that the president plans on denying any involvement in his actions.
While back in Florida, Betty continues to try and write the story about her romance with Bruce. She tries writing the story in the style of the movie Pulp Fiction but deletes it. Then like a Victorian-era romance piece, and deletes that. She then curses herself for accepting this writing gig and the She-Hulk for brokering the deal. The She-Hulk, meanwhile, returns a call to Doc Samson who is searching for signs of the Hulk. Samson explains that he has taken a break from searching for the Hulk to investigate strange happenings in the town of Luma, New Mexico. As he is explaining things he is suddenly attacked by living shadows that come out of the wall. With the phone still off the hook, he cries out to the She-Hulk to send help. When the phone disconnects, She-Hulk decides to book a trip to New Mexico immediately. Back in Florida, Betty finally finds her stride: beginning her story back when she last thought she lost her husband and became a nun at a convent. She recalls how she prayed to God about her pain and asked the Lord to forgive her and her husband for any transgressions they may have done in the past and that if her husband is still alive, to guide him back home to her.
Recurring Characters
Betty Ross, She-Hulk, Rick Jones, Marlo Jones, Doc Samson, Omnibus, Hotshot, Henry Gyrich, Matt Talbot, Mordecai Boggs
Continuity Notes
The mystery of Nick Fury's death is this: He was seemingly murdered by the Punisher in Double Edge Omega #1. However, as later revealed in Fury/Agent 13 #1, this was not the real Nick Fury, but a Life Model Decoy.
Omnibus mentions the O. J. Simpson murder trial as though it had just recently ended. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Likewise, references to the television series Hard Copy should also be considered Topical.
Betty mentions the "last time" she lost her husband. She is referring to the last time the Hulk was seemingly destroyed in a nuclear blast in Incredible Hulk #345. Betty believed that the Hulk was dead and became a nun shortly thereafter. She discovered Bruce was alive when he tracked her down to the convent she worked at in Incredible Hulk #372.
