Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #56
Inside Out
Trying to find answers behind the mysterious suicide of Judy Laughton, Bruce Banner follows her friend Pamela Grayson into the New York Subway system after she stormed on him after she thought Banner was suggesting she pushed her friend in front of a subway train. Finding her waiting for the subway, he tries to apologize to her for anything he might have said to offend her. However, she is suddenly possessed by Carl Creel and she pushes Bruce in front of the oncoming train. Meanwhile, at a secret prison facility under an abandoned cemetery in New Jersey, Dr. David Zahn confronts the Absorbing Man in his cell, convinced that his prisoner has managed to send his mind out into different bodies while imprisoned. Simultaneously, Banner turns into the Hulk in order to save himself from getting killed by the train. Zahn fires his gun at the plasma shield that contains Creel, but it has no effect. Desperate to stop the villain from causing more harm, he deactivates the force field to try and shoot Carl. However, the Absorbing Man releases his hold on Pamela, who helps Bruce out of the wreckage and they flee. Creel then possesses David and is about to make him blow his own head off when the alarm brings guards into his holding cell. He then has Dr. Zahn shoot the officer, shortly thereafter the other guards enter the room.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Pamela have fled to Fort Washington Park where they discuss what just happened. When he gets her to try and think about her last thought before she had her memory blank in the subway, she hallucinates Creel sitting next to her instead of Banner and panics. He snaps her out of it and she describes that she saw a man, a horrible man, one that she recognized from television. While at the prison, Warden Johnson arrives and orders Dr. Zahn out of cuffs. When he learns what happened, the warden covers up the shooting by altering the video footage to make it look like the shooting was an accident. As it turns out, the warden is being possessed by the Absorbing Man and is doing this to further discredit Dr. Zahn's attempts to expose him. While in New York, Bruce shows Pamela a newspaper article about the Absorbing Man and asks her if this was the man she saw. Pamela is reluctant at first but confirms it. They also make the connection with Judy, as she worked at the same facility where Creel is being held. Walking along the George Washington Bridge, Banner is suddenly possessed by Creel and pushes Pamela out onto the traffic. He quickly pulls her to safety before she is hit by a big rig. Realizing Creel is trying to goad a transformation into the Hulk, he is forced to turn into the Hulk to avoid getting killed by the truck. However, as soon as he transforms into the Hulk, Creel takes possession of his body.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Absorbing Man, C.J. Johnson, David Zahn, Pamela Grayson
Continuity Notes
The appearance of the Absorbing Man here is due to a distortion of the timeline by Captain Marvel. As explained in Captain Marvel Vol 5 #18, this warp created two versions of the Absorbing Man. One which tried to reform after learning that Titania contracted cancer (as seen in Thor Vol 2 #55-56) while the one seen here is still a criminal. This "duplicate" of the Absorbing Man is merged with his other following the end of Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #59.
