Incredible Hulk #468

Mar 2

Mar 2 Incredible Hulk #468

A Dark Green Life

IMG 2020 20 03 02 21 20 30 d2hyp.png — Credits

In the middle of the night, the Hulk has locked himself in the holding cell located in his old cave lab. There he unleashes his full fury, as he mourns the recent death of his wife Betty. Meanwhile, at his room in Area 102, General Ross has a nightmare that takes him back to the day of the gamma bomb test. In this dream, Thaddeus is driving up to the gamma bomb where he sees his daughter Betty there. As she is in danger, the General grabs his daughter to try and get her to safety. However, she manages to pull away and push him into the safety trench, leaving Betty open to the full force of the gamma bomb when it goes off. Thaddeus watches in horror as the bomb incinerates his daughter. That's when Thaddeus wakes up, discovering that it was all a dream.

The following morning, the Hulk has reverted back to Bruce Banner who is let out of the cell by his long time ally, Rick Jones. Rick tires to convince Bruce to stop hiding in this old cell, telling him that he can't cut himself off from his friends. Bruce reminds Rick that his wife is dead and he is to blame. Rick points out that nobody knows for sure. He convinces Bruce that he needs to investigate Betty's death and find out for sure who is responsible for her death. He agrees and needs to get back to Area 102. Rick says he can help make that happen and tells him that Area 102 has been renamed to Hulkbuster Base. With fake identification provided to him by Rick, and wearing a disguise, Bruce Banner is able to get a job at Hulkbuster Base as a janitor so he can get closer to the equipment that can help him on his mission.

Meanwhile, General Ross interviews Katherine Spar, a scientist who worked for the Center for Disease Control and is interested in working at Hulkbuster Base, to continue her research on gamma radiation. Although he questions Spar's motivations, General Ross explains that most people sympathetic to Bruce Banner have since been transferred off the base. Still, Katherine isn't ready to blame Bruce Banner for Betty's death until she has time to learn the truth. Ross allows her to do her work but warns her not to interfere with his own agendas. As the two part company, Ross thinks he recognizes the janitor who has been watching their conversation but the man disappears before he can make sure. Later, Doctor Spar has blood samples of every gamma-mutate known so she can compare them to whatever killed Betty Ross. She explains to her colleagues that the idea that the Hulk's gamma-irradiated blood could kill his wife doesn't make any sense because its known that the Hulk's mutation actually stimulates cell growth. As such, she intends to get to the bottom of things.

At 4 am the following morning, Bruce has broken into Doctor Spar's lab and begins going over the samples to see if he can learn the truth himself. After running his and Betty's gamma radiation together he is relieved to discover that it is a negative match. He then begins to run other samples until he finds a match. When he tries to check the vial to see whose blood it was, he becomes excited enough to turn into the Hulk, crushing the vial in his hand before he can read it. Just then, soldiers enter the room and spotting the Hulk open fire upon him. However, they are no match for the Hulk who manages to break free and escape.