Fred Sloan, former sidekick of Hulk, is writing a book about
Bruce Banner and the Big Green Guy, hoping to explain him to readers so they
will stop seeing him as a menace and let him live in peace. First, Fred talks
to Kropotkin the Great, the stage magician who crossed paths with Hulk and was
present when he was psychoanalyzed by Doc Samson….
Meanwhile, Bruce Banner is in line at a fast food restaurant
when a pair of armed robbers enter; he turns into Hulk and hurls the baddies
through the windows, eats his fill of food abandoned by panicking customers,
then leaps off into the distance….
Fred meets with David Anderson, who was head of security at
the Los Diablos Missile Base when Hulk first appeared. He describes the
accident and the early days of General’s Ross’ hunt for Hulk. Anderson insists
Fred tell the truth in his book….
Hulk is walking in the wood when he hears a young couple
trapped in their RV by a bear. Hulk scares the bear off and smashes in the
van’s front end when the driver keeps honking at him….
Fred meets Ray Moran in a bar. Moran describes how spotting
Hulk while driving caused him to have an accident but no one else saw Hulk. No
one ever believed him when he talked about seeing Hulk and that ruined his
life. At a coffee shop, Fred talks to a waitress named Maria who explains how,
when she was a kid, her school bus was stuck on railroad tracks and Hulk moved
it out of the way of the train. Since then, she has considered Hulk and angel;
Fred tell how he met Hulk when the Big Green Guy came to his rescue during a
street fight….
Fred has the great idea of interviewing the Hulk directly; he
drives out to the San Mingo Mountains, a favorite resting place of Hulk’s.
There, he finds a protest against a construction company wanting to clear cut
the woods to build mansions. And there he finds the Hulk destroying
construction equipment. Fred approaches Hulk and Hulk recognizes him as a
friend. The police arrive and Fred advises Hulk to leave before anyone gets
help so he bounces off into the distance….
Later, Fred tells his agent Christine about Hulk, how he’s
not evil or cruel and genuinely cares for his friends. She shows him a sample
cover for the book and he hates it, as it makes Hulk look ferocious. Fred tries
to remain optimistic….
Bruce Banner wakes up on a beach in Southern California, He
purchases cheap clothing and heads off, unaware that Fred and Christine have
just driven past him, the former concerned about Bruce’s tragic life….
Seen in flashbacks: Jim Wilson, Doc Samson, Rick Jones,
General Thunderbolt Ross.
Characters: Hulk, Fred Sloan, Kropotkin the Great
“The Evil That is Cast…”
Reprinted from INCREDIBLE HULK ANNUAL #7.