Giant-Size Hulk #1
Green Pieces
Some years ago...
The campus of UCLA is going to be the site of a ceremony honoring the superheroes known as the Champions for their part in liberating the United States from the mind control of Doctor Doom. The Champions arrive on the scene amid tight security in the area as they prepare for the arrival of the President of the United States. When the Champions arrive on the scene, their government liaison, Agent Spooner, gets a "Code Jade". The Black Widow inquires as to what that means and they are told that Bruce Banner has been sighted driving in close proximity to where the President's motorcade is scheduled to pass through. The Angel assures Agent Spooner that they can resolve the situation, grabbing the agent's walkie-talkie and flies into the air to see if he can spot Banner. Flying to the highway, the Angel wonders if Banner might still be under the control of Doctor Doom's mind control gas. He spots the car that Banner has been sighted in and approaches it. Suddenly, the Hulk comes tearing out of the car, confirming his presence in Los Angeles. The Angel calls into his teammates to tell them to help as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Hulk tosses one of the doors of the car he has emerged from and tosses it at the Angel, this forces the hero to fly after the debris and stop it from hurting anyone.
As the Hulk struggles to remember what he was doing, Iceman and Ghost Rider arrive on the scene. When the Hulk picks up the car he emerged from, he is frozen in a block of ice by Iceman. The Hulk easily breaks free and dodges a blast of Ghost Rider's Hell Fire. The Hulk tells them all to go away because he is preventing them from doing what he needs to do. Suddenly, Darkstar teleports Black Widow and Hercules on the scene. The heroes continue to attack the Hulk, who refuses to throw or put down the car, fighting off his attackers even though his hands are full. The Hulk eventually gets fed up and gently puts the car down and then begins slamming his fits into the highway, knocking the heroes off their feet. The Hulk then picks up the car again and leaps away. The Angel follows the Hulk and is surprised when the gamma-spawned monster lands at a nearby hospital and turns over a woman inside the car to the doctors. The Hulk then leaves the scene after the woman is turned over to doctors who quickly identify that the woman is suffering from a burst appendix.
Later, after the woman has come out of surgery, the Champions question her. They learn that she is Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner. She explains that Bruce was trying to get her to a hospital after her appendix burst and scolds the heroes for attacking him without cause. Ashamed by this, the Champions return to their headquarters. On the roof of the building, that night, the Black Widow and Hercules talk about how they botched things that day. Hercules thinks about the heroic thing that the Hulk did and wonders if they will ever make it up to him.
Continuity Notes
This story takes place following the events of Champions #16 wherein the Champions stopped Doctor Doom's plot to control the world, battling the villain on the lawn of the White House.
In this story Iceman states that the President that is arriving to congratulate them is Bill Clinton, confusing Hercules who believes the President is Jimmy Carter. This is a tongue in cheek reference to the fact that the Earth-616 universe operates on a Sliding Timescale. Champions #16 was published in 1977 when Carter was the President of the United States. Per the Sliding Timescale, roughly 7 years of the Modern Age had passed between the events of Champions #16 and the "present-day" of Giant-Size Hulk #1. As Giant-Size Hulk was published in 2006, "seven years ago" would have been 1999 at the time, when Bill Clinton was President. At any rate, any references to who the President is in this story should be considered a topical reference.
The events of this story is the catalyst that leads to the formation of the Renegades during the World War Hulk crisis as seen in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #106-111.
Banner War
On the planet Sakaar, the Hulk and his allies have just been freed from the gladiatorial arenas and fled into the woods for cover. There the mind of Bruce Banner confronts the Hulk over their current situation. Banner demands to take back control of his body, but the Hulk refuses. This conversation is happening in Hulk's mind as he sleeps, and his voice wakes up Miek who wonders who the Hulk is talking to.
In the dream, Banner soon finds himself on the planet K'ai where the Hulk is reliving his days as the champion of its queen, Jarella. Bruce tries to remind the Hulk that Jarella is long dead and this is just an empty dream. Watching the Hulk being celebrated by the people of both K'ai and Sakaar, Banner takes control of the dream, taking Jarella away from the Hulk, reminding the Hulk that Jarella fell in love with Bruce Banner, not the Hulk, before disappearing.
Furious, the Hulk leaps after his alter-ego, but he lands among the many heroes of Earth who begin laughing at the Hulk. He responds by attacking the heroes, ripping them apart with his bare hands before his weapons and armor from Sakaar appear around him, allowing him to slaughter the heroes he has come to hate so much. This carnage frightens Jarella who flees and then disappears. Banner then reappears and points out that the Hulk is nothing more than a monster and demands to be allowed to repair their ship and go back home. Banner refuses and there is a brief struggle. In the waking world, Miek wakes up to see Banner sitting in the oversized armor of the Hulk, celebrating his ability to break free. However, as Miek rubs his eyes, the Hulk takes control of his body again and reverts back to normal. The Hulk assures Miek that there is nobody around except for monsters like them.
Continuity Notes
The Hulk and Banner relive a moment from one of the Hulk's many visits to the Microverse world of K'ai. He first came to this world in Incredible Hulk #140. Jarella was eventually killed in Incredible Hulk #205.
When the Hulk rips Iron Man in half, Wolverine thinks "Better him than me!", this is a reference to how the Hulk of Earth-1610 ripped the Wolverine of that world in half in Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #1.
The Nick Fury in the dream claims that he wasn't responsible for shooting the Hulk into space, saying that it was a Life Model Decoy. This is true, as Fury has been in hiding since Secret War #5. SHIELD began using a LMD of Fury to hide this fact. It was later revealed in New Avengers: Illuminati #1 that the Illuminati used a LMD of Fury to trick the Hulk into being exiled into space.
