Heart of the Monster (Part 3)

Thanks to a Wishing Well down below Las Vegas, the Tryojan ruler Armageddon has summoned his ship over Las Vegas and vows to take over the planet Earth. Onboard, he has She-Hulk and A-Bomb prisoner. They are being experimented upon by High Lord Vittio, but She-Hulk breaks free and gets A-Bomb loose. However, before they can escape that is assaulted by Armageddon, who incapacitates them and injects them with a chemical he created after his examination of them. Down on the Vegas Strip, a holographic projection of Amadeus Cho tells the Hulk to try and resolve the situation without harming any of the innocent people in the city. It's then that Armageddon calls out to the Hulk from the top of his ship. When he has the Hulk's attention, the alien tosses A-Bomb and She-Hulk to the ground, angering his foe. As the Hulk leaps toward his friends, Armageddon reminds the Hulk how he killed his son, laughing both times, and how he vowed to get revenge against him. As the Hulk lands near the crater where his allies fell, he looks down and sees that they have been stripped of their gamma-spawned powers. Not only this, but Armageddon poisoned them and they will soon die.

This gets the Hulk so angry he begins to transform into the Worldbreaker, threatening to destroy the entire planet with his titanic strength. As the Hulk is about to stomp his foot, Amadeus Cho pleads to him to get under control before he destroys the world. The Hulk suddenly reverts back to Bruce Banner before he can strike the ground. Amadeus is relieved and tries to convince Banner that they can figure the situation. Bruce tells Amadeus that he has to figure out a way to save the lives of Rick and Jennifer by finding Monica Rappacini as he doesn't expect to be around for much longer. Cho suggests making a wish in the hopes that if it is worded properly, they will be able to cure their allies. Bruce tells Cho that it won't work because he wished for his family to be cured. Banner says goodbye to his friends and then runs off as he allows the Hulk to resume control. Becoming the World Breaker, the Hulk tells Armageddon to come at him. The alien emperor is more than happy to oblige and leaps off his ship to battle the Hulk. The Hulk lands the first blow, seemingly destroying his foe. However, Armageddon has found a way to channel the Hulk's gamma radiation to empower himself much in the same way he once overloaded the Silver Surfer by channeling and redirecting the Power Cosmic against the Surfer himself. Now, the angrier the Hulk gets, the more powerful Armageddon becomes.

Armageddon then unleashes a powerful energy blast, causing massive chunks of debris to fly toward the city. However, the Red She-Hulk leaps in and begins smashing the rocks, saving the city. Armageddon vow to kill her after he has destroyed the Hulk. The Hulk quickly overpowers Armageddon and turns his own weapon upon him. Although, as the Red She-Hulk commends the Hulk for a job well done, Armageddon -- still alive -- commands his ship to blast her. He mocks the Hulk by telling him he has decided to kill the Red She-Hulk first instead. This effectively increased the World Breaker's rage to its extreme levels. The gamma-spawned monster then begins pummeling his foe. Armageddon commands his ship to ram the Hulk. Not only is Armageddon stomped to death, but the ship also crashes without causing any harm to the Hulk. His anger raging out of control, threatening to destroy the world once more. Amadeus wakes up the Red She-Hulk and tells her to try to calm the Hulk down. He is horrified when the Red She-Hulk refuses, telling him that she prefers the Hulk this way. Suddenly, Umar teleports onto the scene and tells Amadeus not to worry as she will save their dimension.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, She-Hulk, A-Bomb, Amadeus Cho, Umar, Red She-Hulk, Armageddon, Vitto

Continuity Notes

• Armageddon says that the Hulk killed his son twice. The Hulk originally killed Armageddon's son Trauma in Incredible Hulk #416 and foiled Armageddon's plans to resurrect his son in Incredible Hulk #464. Incredible Hulk #416 was also the same issue that Armageddon was able to turn the Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic against him.

• Amadeus Cho tries to remind the Hulk that his World Breaker form almost destroyed the entire East Coast. He is referring to the events of World War Hulk #1-5.