Incredible Hulks #629

License To Smash

In Rome, Tyrannus has control of the Knights of Rome's flying fortress, reclaimed Pandora's Box and has reshaped the fortress into humanoid form so he can kill the Hulk once and for all. Monitoring the situation from the United States, Amadeus Cho warns the Hulk to be careful because Sofia di Cosimo is still inside the fortress. He also tells him to get the Red She-Hulk to calm down because her gamma levels are fluctuating and she risks being trapped in that form forever. When Tyrannus strikes the Hulk, sending him flying away the Red She-Hulk leaps after him, her feelings toward her former husband having softened during the battle. Tyrannus then addresses the people of Rome, promising them that he will deliver them from fear. Meanwhile, General Gladwell and his UN troops fire missiles at him, but he easily deflects the weapons.

Meanwhile, the Red She-Hulk has caught up to the Hulk and discovers that he is okay. Her concern causes her to revert to human form, and the Hulk follows suit. The two embrace and Bruce Banner expresses how he thought he would never get to hold his wife again. He promises her that he will never leave her again. It’s then that General Gladwell radios in and demands that the Hulk do something about Tyrannus. Betty begs Bruce to let the "puny humans" deal with a crisis themselves for once. Back in the city, Tyrannus is about to open Pandora's Box, but Sofia begs him to stop before it is too late, because they don't know what he will be unleashing. Suddenly, the Hulk arrives and demands Tyrannus let his prisoner go and fight him like a man. The crowd that has gathered begin to cheer, angering Tyrannus. He is preparing to attack when Betty Ross arrives and adds herself to those calling Tyrannus out. Before their foe can attack, Amadeus Cho manages to hack through the technological components in the Knights of Rome's fortress, allowing the Hulk to smash through and pull Sofia free.

Tyrannus knocks the Hulk back to the ground and impales him with a mystical spear. Betty is about to transform into the Red She-Hulk, but both the Hulk and Amadeus pleads to her not to, saying that she will be stuck in Hulk form if she does. The Hulk then hands her Pandora's Box to run. The Hulk then becomes angry enough to smash the fortress. Tyrannus comes out of the wreck and with a gun, shoots Pandora's Box, shattering it. What emerges is the embodiment of Sorrow, which quickly possesses Betty. It explains that it used to be embodied with hope but it changed and became consumed with hatred after being imprisoned for centuries alone. It then taunts the Hulk, telling it how angry Betty is inside. The Hulk quickly inhales Spero and consumes it. The ancient being ravages his body but is eventually destroyed, causing a reversion back to human form. Betty rushes to her husband's side, but he gets angry and turns into the Hulk again when she calls him Bruce. Betty has had enough, she is sick of hearing Bruce promising that he will always be there for her but always turning into the Hulk and going on to smash things.

Unable to put up with it anymore, she allows herself to transform herself into the Red She-Hulk hoping that she can. However, her alter-ego could care less. She then takes Tyrannus and leaps away. This devastates the Hulk, who can do nothing but look at the ground sadly as the crowd cheers his name.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Red She-Hulk, Amadeus Cho, Sonfia Di Cosimo, Tyrannus

Continuity Notes

• Some of Bruce and Betty's marital history is covered in this story:

  • The pair were married in Incredible Hulk #319.

  • Betty died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. His body was kept in cryogenic suspension to keep her body intact.

  • She was taken by the Intelligencia and revived circa Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1 and Incredible Hulk #610.