Hulk! #17
The Biggest Game
In the jungles of Africa, game preserve operator Jason Strack breaks the law by leading wealthy Americans out on hunts to bag animals that are protected by the law. Although Strack is disgusted by his current client, a fat man with a big mouth, he does this because he has no more challenges left. After the hunt is over, Strack and his men carry in crates that are of interest to a man named Dressen who gets his ally, Yeboa an African man who is helping him investigate Strack's operations. As Jason and his men discuss the crates and who they intend to sell them to. They are interrupted by the entry of Jason's mentally challenged brother Dimmie. Dimmie asks his brother why they kill the animals when it is illegal to do so. Jason explains that they are doing it to thin out their herds so that the species don't starve to death. This flawed logic is enough to satisfy Jason's brother. Meanwhile, Dressen and Yeboa plan on investigating what is inside the creates before blowing the lid off of Strack's illegal poaching operation. After defending his younger brother, Jason tells his associates that he is going to call it a night because he expects a visit from his ex-wife in the morning.
At the moment, a plane is departing from Florida and on a course to Africa. Aboard the ship is Victoria Drago and Bruce Banner. Banner finds it hard to believe that he has listened to this woman a second time, after her first offer to help cure Banner led to the Hulk nearly being killed by a massive gamma-spawned monster. However, he recalls how Valerie managed to track him down and convince him that her former husband has a tranquilizer that could prevent him from transforming into the Hulk ever again. However, she explained that the trip requires a trip to Africa as the drug is still illegal in the United States. Despite his misgiving, Bruce Banner agreed to travel there with her.
When they arrive at Jason's camp the next day, Banner is sent with Yeboa on a tour of the camp. Left alone with his ex-wife, Jason demands to know what she is doing here with a milksop like Banner. Valerie tells him that Banner is also the Hulk and she has delivered the "greatest game" to Jason as a means of getting revenge against Banner for killing her brother. After his tour, Banner reunites with Jason and Valerie where they have a drink to celebrate their arrival. However, Banner's beverage was drugged and he quickly passes out. When he comes around Valerie and Jason have his strappe to a table and inject him with a drug that increases his blood pressure. Banner suddenly transforms into the Hulk just as Jason's associates Wileks and Kamen enter the room. They fire on the Hulk, but the creature crashes out of the building and trudges off into the jungle. Impressed by the Hulk's power, Jason orders them to prepare for a hunt.
Meanwhile, the Hulk has come across Dimmie as the simple minded man plays with a monkey. The two become fast friends and, not knowing that Dimmie's brother is the same man who attacked him, agrees to let Dimmie ask Jason to stay. The Hulk waits for Dimmie to come back, but eventually wanders off when the monkey runs away. As Jason prepares for the hunt, Valerie has her former husband promise to only kill his target as the Hulk and not as Bruce Banner. Jason agrees and soon Valerie is on her way back to the United States. When Dimmie goes to tell his brother about the Hulk he is upset to learn that he is hunting the Hulk and rushes off to tell Wileks and Kamen. As Jason leads a hunt after the Hulk, the gamma-spawned monster enjoys the beauty of the jungle. Meanwhile, Wileks and Kamen plot to stiff Jason on their plan to sell the crates.
The Hulk is finally found among a group of rhinos which greet him peacefully. The situation is ruined when Jason takes a shot at one of the rhinos, sending it on a frenzy. The Hulk fights off the rhino and as he tries to find the source of his attackers, he is shot by Jason. But the bullet does nothing more than annoy the Hulk. He rips out a massive tree and throws it at the direction of the shot. Realising he needs more firepower, Jason goes back to his camp and catches hsi partners trying to make off with the weapons they were originally going to sell to local rebels and kills them. Loading up with these weapons, Jason goes back out into the jungle to try and use them to kill the Hulk. He finds the Hulk and while his weapons fail to wound or kill the Hulk, he begins to lure the man-monster back to the jungle. There he uses a rocket launched to knock the Hulk into a massive cage he uses to secure his animals before hunting.
It's by this point that Dimmie once more comes to his brother. Having discovered that Jason was going to try and sell illegal weapons, he begs his brother not to hurt his friend the Hulk. When Dimmie tries to free the Hulk, Jason finally snaps and shoots his brother. Seeing Dimmie get killed in cold blood puts the Hulk into a rage and the gamma-spawned monster rips himself free of his cage. As the Hulk chases afer Jason, Yaboa decides that enough is enough and frees all the other animals. When Jason confronts him for it, Yaboa shoots him dead. When the Hulk catches up and learns that Yaboa has ended the life of his enemy, the Hulk is satisfied and begins to walk away. However, the Hulk is exhausted and eventually collapses reverts back to Bruce Banner. Considering the Hulk a hero for his part in stopping the rebels from obtaining weapons needed to overthrow the government, Yaboa has Banner sent to a nearby hospital and calls him a hero.
Recurring Characters
Hulk
Nights Born Ten Years Gone
Investigating a series of murders of nurses by an assailant known as the "Hatchet Man", Moon Knight realizes it's someone he knows. He tells Marlene about Rand, a fellow mercenary from ten years earlier that tried to sell out to the enemy and went mad after Marc injured him with a grenade to stop him. Marlene insists on disguising herself as a nurse to act as bait for catching the Hatchet Man in spite of Marc's protests.
Moon Knight works on a plan that involves ignoring the obvious pattern that the police will follow and stakes out at Central Park based purely on what he knows about Rand. When Marlene is grabbed, everything goes wrong when some police still show up and make Rand run off with an injured Marlene as a hostage before Moon Knight can catch him. Just as Moon Knight catches up, Rand strikes her in the back with his Hatchet and escapes, causing Marc to flash back to the time Rand betrayed him.
He didn't just sell out to the enemy, he also killed Lisa, Marc's lover, when she found him out. The reason he couldn't bring himself to kill Rand then was that he was his own brother, but he swears to kill him now.
Recurring Characters
Moon Knight, Marlene Alraune, Gena Landers, Betrand Crawley, Hatchey Man, Randall Spector
The man who Moon Knight suspects is his brother is actually an impostor set up as part of a complex deception put in place by the real Randall Spector. This was revealed in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #37.
