United, Part 1

Bruce Banner thinks back to his last memories, of waking up on an island after being separated from the Hulk and being abandoned. Then came a period of insanity where he battled the Hulk only to die in a gamma bomb explosion. Then, darkness for a time until the Hulk had a romantic interlude with the Red She-Hulk. Then Banner managed to push his personality back to the fore and take back control of the Hulk's body. He managed to slip away before the Red She-Hulk woke up. He then went to Nevada where he wins big at a local casino. With his winnings, he got all the equipment he needed to begin his mission. After getting the location of the drug dealer known as Pit Bull, he then booked a flight to Mexico.

One Week Later

After his battle with Wolverine and the Thing, Bruce Banner runs across the Antarctic wasteland until he collapses from the extreme cold. He is recovered by a team of men and taken back to a secret facility. There he is looked over by a doctor who gives him a clean bill of health. He then asks the doctor what he has heard of him. The doctor explains that he heard that Banner had gone insane and died. He then pleads over what to do next and that he doesn't know who he is anymore. The doctor tells Banner of the Aokigahara Forest in Japan at the base of Mount Fuji. How hundreds of people have used massive woodland as a means of committing suicide. A lot of these people would use ribbon to help them find their way back in case they change their minds and often a line or ribbon ends with a dead body. The doctor concludes by drawing an analogy, telling Banner that he is in the middle of the woods with the ribbon in his hands and recommends that Banner use it to find his way home.

Two Days Later

Armed with weapons, Bruce Banner attacks Castle Doom in Latveria and fights his way through the castle defenses to confront its owner. He is confronted by what appears to be Doctor Doom who demands to know what Banner wants. Banner knows this is just a Doombot and shoots it. Another figure dressed as Doom who asks what Banner wants. Banner demands to see the lab where Doom succeeded in cloning his body. When he is brought there, Banner shoots this second Doombot in the face. Another comes out with a file folder with all the information on how Doom accomplished this feat. Reading over the notes, Bruce asks why Doctor Doom would do something like this. The Doombot tells him that it was to show Bruce Banner how weak he is without the Hulk, how he is nothing more than a madman. Grabbing a chainsaw off a rack, Banner decapitates the robot and yells out that Doom will need more robots when he finally goes after him.

He is soon greeted by a group of Doombots who reveal that they are aware of everything the Hulk has been up to, listing off all the places he has been in recent moments. They then mock Banner, asking if he has what it takes to mix all the objects he collected together.

Three Weeks Later

Banner has completed the chemical concoction that will finally cure himself of being the Hulk. He then straps himself in a chair and allows himself to transform. It's then that the video footage he recorded for the Hulk putting all the pieces together. The Hulk struggles as the video play through and even though Banner admits to developing a cure for himself, he wants to apologize for everything that has happened of late. He also explains that he realizes that it was the Hulk that kept him sane all of these years and that if it wasn't for his alter-ego, Banner would have been dead years ago. He then points out how they were both manipulated by Doctor Doom, that he is up to something, and that they are the only ones who can stop him now. The video concludes with Banner saying that now that he made this cure, he refuses to use it and has grown tired of fighting himself. As the seat harnesses disengage, he tells the Hulk that they need to get back to what they are good at, smashing. Just then, Amanda von Doom and her Mad Squad come crashing in through one of the walls. They are shocked to see the Hulk arming himself with weapons, ready to go to war.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Mad Squad (Amanda Von Doom, BRAIN, Mister Gore), Red She-Hulk

Continuity Notes

• Banner uses his credentials as Mr. Fixit to get what he wants from the casino. The Hulk previously operated as a bouncer in Las Vegas under that identity from Incredible Hulk #347-359.