Warbound, Part III

This story takes place between World War Hulk #2 and 3...

During his initial onslaught on the city of New York, the Hulk has been confronted by Amadeus Cho and his group of Renegades which consists of Hercules, the Angel, and Namora. They and a group of normal people who support the Hulk have come to him to offer their aid, something that the Hulk was not expecting. As this tense moment unfolds, the situation is observed by Rick Jones, the Hulk's sidekick, and Miek, the Hulk's most ardent follower. Seeing how Cho envies the Hulk, the two are aware that the boy is unaware of the force of nature he is dealing with. While Miek waits for the boy to learn the hard way, Rick tries to rush down and get Amadeus out of harm's way. However, the Hulk stomps his foot on the ground before he can get there, sending every toppling to the ground. The shockwave from the blow reminds both Rick and Miek of their first encounters with the Hulk. For Rick, it was when Bruce Banner pushed him into the safety trench during the gamma bomb explosion that turned Banner into the Hulk. For Miek it was when he was knocked aside so the Hulk could battle the Red King on Sakaar. Although these two memories are vastly different, both recall how the Hulk had acted to save their lives.

This causes the two very different, yet very similar beings to think about their lives were vastly changed thanks to the Hulk...

Rick Jones remembers how nobody had cared about him before, especially when he was sent to languish at the Tempest Town Home for Troubled Teenagers when he was orphaned. Everyone beat him down until the day that he first saw Banner transform into the Hulk. It was then that Rick truly felt free. However, that freedom proved short-lived as he spent his nights making sure the Hulk remained contained until Bruce Banner could assert control again. Something that the sixteen-year-old boy like Rick Jones should not have had to shoulder, but took on because Bruce Banner was his friend.

Rick thinks about how that it is always friends who get you the worst. He thinks about all the times that he thought of the Hulk as a misunderstood hero, except the times when he wasn't. He recalls how he saw Captain America in action against the Hulk and tried to stop the gamma-spawned brute from fighting anymore, only to be injured by the monster for his troubles. He thinks about all the times that the Hulk hurt him over the years. How the monster hit him twice the first day they met. How once the Hulk even broke his back. Despite this, Rick still thinks of himself as the Hulk's only friend and that he needs him.

Miek thinks about how he was enslaved most of his life and was forced into the arenas in Crown City on Sakaar. It was there that he saw the Hulk for the first time and after so many years of feeling weak, Miek realized that he could finally be strong. Miek knew that the only way to survive was to never be weak and never stop making them pay. Whenever the Hulk faltered from this endless task, Miek was there to remind him of this new path. In fact, when Crown City was destroyed and the Hulk's queen killed, Miek was the one who convinced him to get revenge against those responsible. Miek witnessed as the Hulk returned to Earth and got revenge against Black Bolt, Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic for exiling him in space and vows to stand by him until this world is torn asunder.

As Rick tries to join the Hulk, he is approached by a squad of SHIELD commandos who recognize him immediately. Believing that Jones could help calm the Hulk, they give him cover as he approaches his long-time ally. However, they are attacked by Miek who doesn't want them to try and stop the Hulk. Rick manages to get a hold of one of the soldier's guns and uses it to make a building collapse on the insectoid. As Rick dives to cover, another Sakarran insect named Mung appears and threatens to kill one of the SHIELD commandos if Rick doesn't surrender. He demands this, even though the Hulk ordered that the only people to be hurt were the ones he blamed for the destruction of Crown City. When Miek pulls himself out of the rubble, he witnesses as Mung slaughters one of his own men. Furious of this, he tries to attack Mung. However, Mung manages to leap over Miek and slaughters all of his other men. Mung explains that this is what the Hulk has taught them, to never stop making them pay, never stopping until everything has been destroyed. When Miek leaps in to kill Mung, Rick tells him to stop, that they are all wrong about the Hulk or his goals and that if Miek kills Mung, then he's just proving his foe's point. He reminds Miek that the Hulk is their friend and that they need to help him.

However, the two part ways so that they can help the Hulk in their own way.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Rick Jones, Miek, Mung, Renegades (Amadeus Cho, Hercules, Namora, Angel), Tom Foster, Kirby, SHIELD

Continuity Notes

This issue recaps the past lives of both Rick Jones and Miek and their involvement with the Hulk.

• Rick recollections are:

  • The day that Bruce Banner was turned into the Hulk as it was depicted in Incredible Hulk #1. The Hulk changes between his gray skinned form and his green skinned one as the Hulk transformed further between the first and second issue of Incredible Hulk.

  • His time at Tempest Town as a young teenager as it was originally told in Incredible Hulk #268.

  • When Rick was forced to contain the Hulk circa Incredible Hulk #3.

  • The time that the Hulk injured Rick while fighting Captain America in Captain America #110.

  • Rick also recalls the first three times the Hulk tried to harm him in Incredible Hulk #1 and 2.

  • Lastly, Rick recalls the time that the Hulk crippled him circa Incredible Hulk #457. Although Rick was ultimately cured of his disability in Avengers: Forever #12.

• Miek's recollections are:

  • Miek's early days as a slave as they were seen in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #96.

  • His first encounter with the Hulk circa Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #92.

  • The times Miek used violence to convince the Hulk to keep on fighting in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #97-98.

  • When Miek convinced the Hulk to get revenge against the Illuminati in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #105.

  • Lastly the Hulk's battle against Black Bolt, Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic as seen in World War Hulk #1-2.