Dead Like Me

Doc Samson and Betty Ross just barely manage to escape the nuclear blast that destroys the secret headquarters of Home Base. Miles away, the blast is watched by Bruce Banner and Nadia Dornova. Bruce hopes everyone got away from the blast but doesn't hold much hope. He then begins the business of burying his clone in the yard. When Nadia tries to put a cross as a marker, he rips it away telling her that the clone is not like them. Back aboard the helicopter, Doc Samson directs Betty to where he has a cabin, where there is equipment that will allow them to track the Hulk. When Betty tries suggests that maybe Sandra and Ricky made it out alive, Leonard tells her to stop trying to console him. He is certain that they are dead, senselessly dead. Back at the diner, Bruce Banner decides that it is time to leave since he is still hunted. Nadia tries to convince him to let her come along with him, but he tells her that he doesn't need a partner. With the noonday sun blazing, Nadia at least convinces him to wait until the next morning to leave.

At that moment, Leonard and Betty arrive at the cabin that has a secret facility underneath. That evening, Nadia goes out into the night and tries to set up the cross on the grave of the Banner clone. As she does, the creature underneath the dirt bursts free and grabs her. Nadia then wakes up, the entire experience was just a dream. Bruce has had enough and is about to leave until Nadia begs him to stay the rest of the night, then he can go to be with his wife. Meanwhile, Doc Samson uses his equipment to track the Hulk and they track him back to Nadia's place. Betty is unimpressed by this discovery and tells Leonard to leave them for the night. She then tries to seduce him, but he isn't interested in partaking because she is married to Bruce. When she tries to force herself on him, he keeps trying to remind her that she is married to Bruce. Betty insists that her old self is dead. He shoved her off, and liking the rough play, surprises Samson by picking him up and tossing him across the lab. She explains that her enhanced strength is a byproduct of being injected with the Abomination's blood. She then tosses him again, and the two start to struggle. Leonard asks her what has gotten into her and she tells him cancer.

The following morning, Bruce explains to Nadia that he has no right to love anybody as long as he is cursed with the Hulk. Banner also tells her that he doesn't commit suicide because he fears that if he does it wrong he will unleash the Hulk upon the world with no way to control him. Although he still wants to leave, Nadia convinces him to stay yet another day. Back at Samson's cabin, Betty explains how she managed to cheat death. She talks about a counter-organization seeking to stop Home Base, called the Team, were the ones who brought her back after months of work. They also programmed her with the very dreams involving the beach, and metronome that Banner used to keep calm. The Team gave her an ultimatum: watch after Bruce Banner or go back into stasis, warning her that in order to revive her the side effect was ovarian cancer. However, when Samson asks about who the Team are, but Betty doesn't know as they are highly secretive. After telling Leonard all of this, Betty asks the Doc to hold her. As they sit in bed together, all Doc Samson can think about are Sandra Verdugo and Ricky Myers, while back at the diner, Bruce thinks about Betty.

Recurring Characters

Bruce Banner, Doc Samson, Nadia Dornova, Betty Ross,

Continuity Notes

• Mention is made to how Bruce and Betty were married. That happened in Incredible Hulk #319.

• Betty mentions if Leonard ever wanted to be with her. Both seem to forget they briefly dated from Incredible Hulk #141-147.

• Betty's reappearance here is a complicated one, especially since the Leader seems surprised that she is there. Some facts:

  • Betty died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. As revealed in Incredible Hulk #473-474 this was due to Betty being injected with the Abomination's Blood.

  • The memories of a government organization resurrecting her are false. In reality, she was actually brought back to life by the Intelligencia as seen in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1.

  • Betty's memories are part of a scheme by Nightmare as a roundabout way of birthing a child named Daydream as revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #81 so some elements here, such as Betty's facelift and the fact that the Leader doesn't know that Betty is alive again are all part of this scheme. Her plastic surgery, cancer, and the organization known as The Team are a hoax.