Hulk (Vol. 2) #27 — Nick Peron

Mar 16

Mar 16 Hulk (Vol. 2) #27

Pressure

Sent into space with Thor, the Red Hulk is attempting to stop one of the Intelligencia's Scorched Earth doomsday weapons that saw two comets redirected toward Earth. While the two comets were destroyed, the Red Hulk finds himself being sucked into a micro-black hole that was created to divert the comets. Watching this moment of peril is Uatu the Watcher. The Watcher explains that once he passes through the black hole there is no escape. Suddenly, the Red Hulk can no longer hold onto the meteor he has been holding onto for dear life and is sucked into the black hole. As he enters the black hole he begins to see and hear past moments in his life, starting from his alliance with the Intelligencia, the gamma bomb test, the birth of his daughter Betty, his early relationship with his wife Karen and a plane crash he witnessed as a child. Suddenly, the Red Hulk is pulled out of the black hole by Thor and the two crash-land back on Earth.

The pair report back to Commander Rogers and Bruce Banner, when the Red Hulk explains his encounter with the Watcher, Banner cannot believe what Uatu had said as he is certain the black hole had already collapsed. Bruce theorizes that perhaps Thaddeus made an enemy after he had struck the watcher. Rogers tells the Red Hulk that he is to wait at Gamma Base for his next mission and he and Thor depart for a mission in Sir Lanka. Reverting back to human form, Thaddeus goes to the commissary for some food and is disappointed that he is being fed tofu and quinoa. Chuck, a Life Model Decoy that serves as the base's cook, goes into the kitchen and sees Banner getting fixing himself up some soup before heading back into his lab. Chuck suggests to Bruce that she should provide some company for Thaddeus as everyone else on base is a LMD. Even though Banner thinks that might be a bad idea because of their history, Chuck says some human interaction would be good for him nonetheless.

Banner sits down with Ross and the old soldier asks when he will be allowed to see his daughter, Betty Ross. Bruce tells him that is not something that he is exactly in charge of. Ross is silent for a moment then asks what his next mission is. Bruce isn't sure as he is still trying to crack more of the Scorched Earth program and MODOK and the Leader are of no help now that they have been restored to human form. Ross tells him to interrogate them anyway and to pay attention to whatever is between the lines of what they are saying. Suddenly, Bruce's watch begins to beep alerting him that there are two new doomsday weapons that just became active. After checking things out, Thaddeus is deployed along with Commander Rogers over the Philippine Sea in the Atlantic. They dive into the ocean aboard an amphibious Quinjet. Along the way, Steve tells Thaddeus that once they have vanquished Scorched Earth he may have more work for him. Ross tells him that he would like to hear them. Reaching the meeting point with an Atlantean delegation, Thaddeus turns into the Red Hulk, and he and Rogers gear up to go into the water. They are soon greeted by the Sub-Mariner, who irks the Red Hulk by saying he thought that Banner had destroyed him.

They then discuss the situation with Namor and his scientist Parsus. The plot involves a device drilling into a pocket of methane below the ocean floor and igniting it with magma. The resulting combustion would first evaporate Earth's oceans, and then burn away all the oxygen on the planet. With little time to stop it, Namor has the Red Hulk fitted with a propulsion unit so he can keep up with Namor's great speed while swimming and the two head off to interrupt the magma flow. When they arrive at the point of impact, the pair are suddenly attacked by a massive creature constructed out of sound. The Red Hulk keeps the creature occupied while Namor pierces its solid sound membrane to try and destroy the projection device inside. Unfortunately, the device is an illusion and Namor is expelled. A second creature emerges and Namor finds himself facing them alone. Thinking he is betrayed, he is surprised when the Red Hulk comes out of hiding and destroys the real projectors, having realized Klaw changed his design sometime after he left the Intelligencia. With the creatures destroyed, Namor and the Red Hulk plug up the magma flow. With the danger over, the Sub-Mariner lashes out at the Red Hulk, blaming him for Scorched Earth due to his involvement with the Intelligencia. Namor rips off the Red Hulk's breathing mask and then begins choking the air from his lungs....

Recurring Characters

Red Hulk, Bruce Banner, Thor, Steve Rogers, Sub-Mariner, The Watcher

Continuity Notes

The black hole in this story causes the Red Hulk to have flashbacks to earlier points in his life that have previously been covered before these are:
- The Leader and MODOK approaching Ross and turning him into the Red Hulk, which was told in Hulk Vol 2 #23.
- The gamma bomb test that first turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk is from Incredible Hulk #1.
- His relationship with his wife Karen and the birth of his daughter were first explored in Incredible Hulk #291.
- The childhood plane crash is explored in further detail in Hulk Vol 2 #39.

Mysterious Island

Sent to San Diego to stop a sea monster unleashed as part of Scorched Earth, A-Bomb sent the beast fleeing back home. In order to find out where it originated from, Rick anchored a boat to the monster so he can follow it. With time to kill, he takes a nap and has a dream about being a massive celebrity due to his newfound powers. He's woken up by a radio call from Bruce Banner who is warning him that the monster is heading to a massive whirlpool. A-Bomb tries to stop the creature from going swimming into it but despite his efforts, he cannot stop the creature from swimming into the swirling waters and is swallowed up in them as well.

When they emerge on the other side, A-Bomb finds himself washed ashore onto an island. At first, Bruce cannot find any record of the island but soon discovers that it is Monster Island, it's location hidden from the general public because of the danger associated with it. Seeing that all the monsters on this island are mobilizing and heading out to sea to cross through the whirlpool. Detecting a sonic signal controlling the beasts, Banner tells Rick to leap onto the back of one of the monsters and search for a device that might be driving them. Rick complies, but the creature he lands on detects its presence and is soon caught off guard when its exoskeleton comes to life and begins binding him. In deep trouble, Rick cries for help. Bruce tells Rick not to worry, as he is sending someone to give him a hand...