A Hulk by Any Other Name

After an encounter with the Hulk, Spider-Man returns to New York City with a Biokenitic Energy Absorber, a device that he was blasted with during the battle. He wakes up just as the train arrives in New York. Feeling weak, the wall-crawler leaps off the train and changes back into Peter Parker. Feeling incredibly tired, Peter decides to store the Biokenitic Energy Absorber in one of the pay lockers at Grand Central Station until he can get some rest and come back for it. Suddenly, his spider-sense goes off, but it is only another commuter getting off a train, leaving Peter to think that his spider-sense might be out of whack as well. Heading outside to catch a taxi, Peter witnesses a group of young kids hassling a man. Before Peter can intervene, some beat cops arrive and break up the scene, much to his relief. As Peter gets into his taxi, he witnesses as the youths get away from the cops and run into the station to hide and come up with their next scheme. When Peter arrives at Jameson Publications to drop off the photos he took, he gets trouble from Betty Brant since he abandoned her in Connecticut without telling him where he was going. Jameson backs Betty up and as the two scold Peter for his unprofessionalism, he quickly loses his temper. He shouts at them to leave him alone and then storms out of Jonah's office.

Feeling that something is wrong, Peter rushes up to the roof, unaware that he is setting off a silent alarm by doing so. After he has finished changing into Spider-Man, two security guards confront him. Losing his temper, even more, Peter warns them not to make him mad, but it is too late. Suddenly, Spider-Man grows in size and his skin turns green, becoming some kind of Spider-Hulk in the process. The frightened guards open fire on the hulked out web-slinger, but their bullets bounce harmlessly off his skin. The Spider-Hulk swats the guards away and leaps off the building. Confused and exhausted, the Spider-Hulk lands in a decrepit area of the city and goes to sleep. As he begins to relax, the Spider-Hulk reverts back to human form. As he slumbers, a group of people surrounds the masked hero. When the wall-crawler wakes up, he discovers himself in the shantytown of homeless people who have come to his aid. Spider-Man thanks them for their charity, but fearing that another transformation will put them in harm’s way, the wall-crawler wisely decides to leave.

Hoping to learn about Armand Jones, the creator of the biokenitc device, Spider-Man swings to Forest Hills where he pays a visit to Betty Brant at her apartment. He asks for all the information that Betty had on Jones. Betty gives Peter her notes but noticing that he doesn't look well, she suggests they contact his wife. Peter assures her that this isn't something to worry Mary Jane about and leaves.[1] Changing back into Spider-Man, Peter goes to Armand Jones' lab where he finds his notes on a table. Unfortunately, when he picks up the notes he sets off a blaring alarm. The noise angers the wall-crawler enough to trigger another transformation into the Spider-Hulk. However, the wall-crawler manages to get away from the source of the noise and get himself back under control, reversing the transformation. Reading over Armand's notes, the web-slinger learns that the device absorbs and rechannels biokinetic energies from one individual to another. He correctly deduces that he was jolted with the Hulk's energy, creating his current situation. However, he also discovers that the same device can cure him of his condition as well and heads back to Grand Central Station to recover it from the storage locker.

Unfortunately, by the time that Spider-Man arrives, the locker had been broken into and the device stolen by the same punks he saw earlier. Growing angry, Spider-Man changes into the Spider-Hulk once more, scaring a homeless man that was sleeping next to the lockers. Threatened with violence, the homeless person tells the Spider-Hulk who took the device and where they went. By this point, the kids have been found by the police again and are fleeing capture. It's then that the Spider-Hulk arrives demanding the device from the youths. When the police open fire on the brute, he brings down the ceiling to block the officers. He then leaps at the kids, demanding the device. When one of the teens holds out the biokinetic absorber, it strikes the Spider-Hulk, draining away the gamma radiation from his body, causing the creature to revert back to normal. Feeling himself growing weaker, Spider-Man takes this opportunity to flee the scene. After he has recovered, he happens to see another one of the Daily Bugle's billboards promoting the wall-crawler, leaving him to wonder how the publication will make him out to be a hero after this recent incident.[2]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant

Continuity Notes

1. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, they should be considered a common-law couple here as opposed to husband and wife.

2. The Daily Bugle is publishing positive things about Spider-Man since the business was bought by Thomas Fireheart in The Spectacular Spider-Man #158.