Asunder (Part 1)

Deep below the surface of the Earth, the Hulk hunts a massive subterranean creature. Finally free of Bruce Banner, the Hulk enjoys the peace he has found in this underground realm. He slays a number of creatures and drags them into nearby Moloid colonies for a massive feast. The Moloids rejoice the return of their new protector, the Hulk. While his charges feast, the Hulk goes off to be alone. He is soon joined by the Moloid elder who asks why he does not feast with the others. The Hulk tells her that he believes "they" will come for him as they always do. The elder tells him that they will deal with "them" when they come and until then, the Hulk should not let his life pass him by. The Hulk decides to come down to feast with the others, although he finds the idea of living in peace difficult to work himself into, even though he has managed to kill every part of Bruce Banner that is inside of him. However, this peaceful life is about to come to an abrupt end as a robotic device has just located him and reports back to its masters.

Suddenly, a bunch of boring devices comes ripping through the ground, unleashing an army of spider-like droids that warm everyone to surrender or be incapacitated. When the Hulk orders them to leave or die, the human controller Commander von Doom has the droids blast him with sonic disruptors. The Hulk is staggered for a moment and he slams the Commander back and lays waste to the robotic units. In order to get the Hulk to stop his rampage, Commander von Doom removes her armor, revealing that she is a woman. Amanda von Doom introduces herself as being no relation to the infamous Doctor Doom, and how she works for the United States government. She tells the Hulk that she hasn't come to fight him this day, that this show of force was only to demonstrate how serious they are. She then explains that she needs the Hulk's help to stop Bruce Banner.

Meanwhile, on an island on the surface, two gamma-mutated wild bores named 26 and 27 capture a small monkey to bring back to their creator. The pair takes two sacks full of animals back to a massive facility where they were created. The two simple minded beasts recount how their master loves them and not the "hated" one. They enter the facility which is a massive lab where animals are being exposed to gamma radiation in an effort to mutate them. They announce their return to their "father", Bruce Banner, who has just finished mutating a massive gorilla. He is upset that this latest experiment is a failure because it is not like him. When 26 and 27 announce the last animals on the island have been caught, Banner is not interested because all of his experiments have failed as he has not been able to recreate the Hulk.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Mad Squad (Amanda Von Doom), Bruce Banner (clone), 26, 27

Continuity Notes

• How the Hulk and Banner got separated is explained through the course of Incredible Hulk Vol 3 #1-7.