Hulk! #20
Power Unchained
In a hotel room, Bruce Banner paces around trying to figre out his next move, as he is still a wanted man thanks to his alter-ego the Hulk. His thoughts are interrupted by a news report about an incident at the Mohegan Point Nuclear Power Plant, the second in many days. Since the last one there are huge public concerns about the safety of nuclear power because nobody knows what the long-term effects of radiation could be. Banner turns off the television, thinking he is the perfect example of such effects. This causes him to think back to the day, many years ago, when he tested his new experimental gamma bomb. The day that he saved the life of Rick Jones and experienced the full blast of his gamma bomb, transforming him into the Hulk for the very first time. With his recollection over, Banner decides that he should offer his expertise to help with the current crisis. He calls his old colleague Ronald Jenkins who he learns is now Chief Commissioner of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jenkins asks Banner to come down to Mohegan Point to help him out, promising to provide a ready escape via helicopter should situations become bothersome enough to trigger a transformation into the Hulk.
Banner accepts the invitation and fashions a crude disguise before hailing a taxi cab outside. The taxi driver is unwilling to drive Banner to Mohegan Point unless he pays triple the fare. With no other choice, Bruce grudgingly agrees and his thoughts go back to the potential dangers of radiation, specifically his transformations into the Hulk. When Banner arrives at the scene he calls out to his friend Ron, identifying him to reporters who swarm Jenkins with questions. Telling them that everything will be answered at a press conference, Ronald ushers Bruce into a car and they speed off.
When they arrive on the scene, they are greeted by a throng of reporters and protestors at the site of the nuclear power plant. With no other choice, Jenkins addresses the public and assures them that the situation is under control. However, despite these assurances, Jenkins is bombarded by both the press and the protesters who appear to be well versed on nuclear energy and its alternatives. When they start chanting "No Nukes", Ronald begins to lose his cool and calls off the press conference and retreats inside. There he and Banner learn that the power plant has been destabilized due to a shift in a subsurface mudslide that has caused one of a machinery housings to collapse onto a main cooling vent. While they have managed to keep it stable for now, the situation is dire unless they come up with a solution. Banner is shocked to learn that the situation is more dire than Ronald played it up for the crowd. Soon they are brought into the central control room where they see that the pressure has built up to 8000, and that a meltdown would be imminent once it reached 10,000.
Forced to release minute amounts of radiation into the air to get the pressure back down, and flooding the ractor with coolant brings the pressure back down to 6500. However, this is only a stop-gap measure, as Banner points out that the only way to repair the damage is to get past heavily contaminated containment area, something no man can survive. With the situation growing more critical, Jenkins is asked to speak to the president. While he does so, he tells Bruce to go outside and address the public, and to tell them something that won't induce a panic. Banner cannot bring himself to lie to the people outside, so he tells them the absolute truth. The idea of the utter destruction of the New York City area puts people into the panic that Ron was hoping to avoid. When Ronald hears what Bruce has done he orders another press conference to try and suppress the panic. Not liking where this is going, Banner leaves to try and make his way to a local news station to tell the truth. However, the press and the protestors outside are in a panic to get out of the area and trample him, triggering a transformation into the Hulk.
Knowing that the nuclear plant is evil, the Hulk forces his way past the police officers on the scene and forces his way inside. Inside, Jenkins and the plant workers monitor the Hulk's progress through the facility. Ron tries to talk the Hulk out of destroying the reactor as it will cause an even larger disaster, but the Hulk refuses to listen. Realising that the Hulk will do the opposite of what he tells him, Jenkins uses reverse psychology to trick the Hulk into breaking into the reactor and lifting the machinery off the cooling vent. Thinking that he is foiling some evil plot, the Hulk gloats over his victory and departs.
Recurring Characters
Hulk
Continuity Notes
This story references nuclear accident at Three Mile Island which occurred on March 28, 1979. The narrative of the story suggests that this happened recently. All references to Three Mile Island should be considered topical references relative to the date of publication per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
This story tells an abridged version of the Hulk's origins as they were originally depicted in Incredible Hulk #1. It states that those events happened "Several Years Ago". Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, those events would have happened roughly five years prior to this story. The events of Incredible Hulk #1 were published in 1962 or "Year One" of the Modern Age while this story, published in 1980 falls under "Year Five".
Continuity Errors
In the flashback depicting the origin of the Hulk, the Hulk is depicted as having green skin instead of grey as he was originally decpited in Incredible Hulk #1. This error is a technicality based on the fact that the change of the Hulk's skin color from grey to green between Incredible Hulk #1 and Incredible Hulk #2 was for cheaper printing. This change in skin color was not made official continuity until the events of Incredible Hulk #324 which was published many years after this story.
A Long Way To Dawn
Following Moon Knights life-or-death battle with the Hatchet Man, his lover Marlene Alraune has been brought into the hospital after accidentally being shot by police and gored by the Hatchet Man's ax.
With Marlene's condition being touch-and-go, the nurses tell Moon Knight that they won't know until dawn if she will survive the attack. With the police deciding to let Moon Knight off the hook for his vigilante activity, the masked hero decides to go out into the city. He helps out those less fortunate, however he is bitter and his mind keeps going back to Arlene.
He stops a security guard from drinking on the job, doubting this will stop him from taking up the habit again the following night. He gives a homeless man money, but suspects he will only spend it on booze. He watches as a cab driver deflates one of his colleague's tires. Moon Knight responds by slashing his. Spotting a man overdosing on heroin, Moon Knight saves him from drowning in a fountain and calls an ambulance, but he doubts the man will ever kick the habit. He comes across a prostitute being scolded by her pimp. When he tries to get involved, the prostitute tells him to mind his own business. Lastly, Moon Knight stops in Central Park where he foils the mugging of a homeless man and hears about his troubled life.
Later, Moon Knight returns to the hospital at dawn and learns that Marlene is stable is expected to recover and is thankful for that at least.
Recurring Characters
Moon Knight, Marlene Alraune
Continuity Notes
This story identifies the Hatchet Man as Moon Knight's brother Randall Spector. However as revealed in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #37 this was actually an impostor put in place as part of a long running scheme implimented by the real Randall Spector.
