Hulk Smash!

After a gamma bomb explosion at Stark Internationals’ Buffalo Annex, Tony Stark went to investigate with government liaison Jasper Sitwell.[1] Attacked by a giant gamma mutated behemoth, Tony is injured and is forced to put on his unstable Promethean Armor to prolong his own life. Discovering that the monster has taken Liz Ross — Stark’s head of security — Tony orders the monster (who dubs him “Iron Man”) to let her go. The creature, calling itself the Hulk, refuses and threatens to smash Iron Man if he doesn’t leave. Watching this tense stand-off is Jasper Sitwell who expects there to be battle and — unaware that Tony is in the armor — goes looking for Stark.[2]

Meanwhile, Iron Man accuses the Hulk of destroying the facility. The gamma spawned monster tries to explain that it was actually created by the gamma bomb, set off by the terrorist group known as Hydra. Unfortunately, the Hulk’s simplistic way of speaking doesn’t convey this properly and Iron Man has no idea what the brute is talking about. Since the conversation is getting him nowhere, Iron Man blasts the Hulk in the face with one of his repulsor rays at point-blank range, knocking the creature to the ground. Checking on Liz Ross, who was present when the gamma bomb went off, explains how Hydra took over the facility and detonated the gamma bomb, killing its creator Bruce Banner. Iron Man is surprised to hear that his company was developing a gamma bomb, something that Sitwell used his position to have developed in secret under Tony’s very nose. Overhearing all of this causes Sitwell to become concerned that Iron Man may ruin the plans he has set in motion.

That’s when the Hulk wakes up and begins attacking again. This prompts Jasper to finally go looking for Tony, even if he is certain that he’ll discover that Stark bled out from his injuries. Iron Man, meanwhile, lures the Hulk outside so he can have open space to fight. However, Iron Man is cautious, remembering how the Promethean Armor overloaded and killed his friend Rebel O’Reilly, something that he doesn’t want to repeat for himself.[3] The brawl takes through the nearby forest and along the edge of Niagara Falls. When Iron Man tries to reason with the monster so he can learn the truth about what happened at the Buffalo site. However, when he mentions Bruce Banner by name, it sends the Hulk in to a fury as it really, really hates Bruce Banner.[4]

The brawl causes such as spectacle soon a news helicopter arrives on the scene to capture the fight. This news footage is caught by Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s recently fired executive assistant. This angers the Hulk who tries to attach the chopper, but Iron Man manages to push it out of harms way with a reverse tractor beam.

Back at the Buffalo annex, Jasper Sitwell follows a trail of blood left behind by Tony Stark in the hopes of finding him. Instead, he finds Liz Ross who informs him that Hydra were involved in the gamma bomb explosion. Jasper is bothered by this, but tells Liz that she can give him her report after they find Tony.

While at the scene of the battle, Iron Man’s armor begins running low on power allowing the Hulk to pummel him into the ground. However, rather than kill Iron Man, the Hulk decides to go out and make the world pay for what was done to him, telling the hero that he’ll be back to explain his rampage later. With innocent lives on the line, Tony takes a gamble by grabbing a live wire exposed by their brawl. This super-charges the Promethean Armor enough for Iron Man to rush the Hulk and unleash a double blast of repulsor rays at point-blank range. This sends both men plummeting over the falls and into the water below. The sudden surge of electricity also causes a massive black out along the local electrical grid.[5]

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Hulk, Pepper Potts, Liz Ross, Jasper Sitwell, Jane Foster, Donald Blake

Continuity Notes

1. It should be noted that this is a pocket universe created by Franklin Richards to save the lives of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. As such, only Iron Man and the Hulk are the original characters in this story. Everyone else featured here is actually a construct created by Franklin to populate his imaginary Earth. See Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4 for more details on that.

2. This story makes multiple references to Hydra detonating a gamma bomb, Banner’s “death”, the creation of the Promethean Armor, Pepper getting fired. This all happened last issue.

3. Rebel’s death was chronicled last issue, however O’Reilly is notoriously bad at not staying dead. He’ll be back from the grave again in Iron Man (vol. 2) #7.

4. We all know that the Hulk is Bruce Banner, but our heroes won’t find out until Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #6.

5. One scene features a doctor and nurse in the middle of a surgery when the black out happens. While the doctor isn’t mentioned by name, he calls his nurse Jane. Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Iron Man identifies both as the Heroes Reborn versions of Don Blake and Jane Foster.

Topical References

• The newscaster documenting the fight between Iron Man and the Hulk states that she works for CNN. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world television network.

• The TVs in this story are depicted as having a CRT models, some of them even using antennas to pick up signals. This should be considered topical as this is now considered an obsolete technology.