Story continued from INCREDIBLE HULK #436.
Savage Bruce Banner has been captured by the US Army and
imprisoned in a high security prison; Major Matt Talbot (nephew of the late
Glenn) wants to learn the secret of the Hulk’s transformations so he calls in
an expert: Maynard Tiboldt a/k/a the Ringmaster. Talbot is interested in
Tiboldt’s hypnotic disc that can project solid images, offering him the
technology to perfect it and $100,000 to sweeten the pot; conversely, he holds
the possibility of prosecution over his head should he refuse. The Ringmaster
agrees. After he departs, Talbot’s aide, possessed by Omnibus, manipulates
Talbot’s mind to persuade him not to harm the Hulk but to learn his
weaknesses….
With unseen guidance from Omnibus, a giant projector is
assembled outside of Banner’s cell. The first effort is to show Banner scenes
of Hulk in action, which does not trigger a transformation. Nor does showing
him Hulk’s enemies such as the Thing and Rhino. But the image of Betty Banner
appears by itself and enters the cell, calming Bruce and that is the key to his
change into Hulk. Hulk tries to bust out of the cell but the broken bars simply
reform. Suddenly, Ringmaster’s hands are cuffed and a giant black boar attacks
the soldiers. Hulk realizes that if Ringmaster is involved, the bars must be an
illusion. Hulk walks through them and clobbers the giant boar. And then the
prison transforms into a forest area and they are under attack by Nazi troops,
like the boar, a manifestation of Tiboldt’s childhood fears. As the army
pursues Hulk, Tiboldt is menaced by a giant xenophobic Uncle Sam; Hulk returns
to rescue Tiboldt, beating up Uncle Sam as the Ringmaster tries to get his
thoughts under control—and then a sandstorm kicks up. Hulk finds himself in an
army uniform, joined by the soldiers during Operation Desert Storm, reflecting
the fears of the soldiers who were veterans of that mission. Then a SCUD
missile lands on them….
Part Two: Hulk, Talbot, and Ringmaster crawl out of the sand
and see a bunch of Arab slavers driving chained captives. Hulk recognizes one
of the enslaved as Betty and the slave driver as Omnibus; he rescues Betty and
battles snakes conjured up by the slave master. Hulk and Betty conjure up food
and discover a city that Hulk recognizes: it’s the domain of the Maestro who
has returned to take revenge and Hulk finds Janis Jones dying, accusing Hulk of
having betrayed them. Then the Maestro appears and beats Hulk to a pulp. Betty
takes out her childhood teddy bear Herkie and throws it at the Maestro; it
grows teeth and bites into the villain—soon joined by hundreds more which
devour him to the bone. Hulk and Betty reach the center of a maze where they
find a giant spider with the face of the Leader with Talbot and Tiboldt. Then a
giant centipede bursts out of the ground, with the voice of the Ringmaster’s
father. Talbot is terrorized by an image of his Uncle Glenn as a bloodthirsty gorilla.
Everyone’s worst fears coming true: and then Betty ages and dies, crumbling
into dust in Hulk’s hands. With his last rational act, Hulk deduces where the
machine must be and smashes it before turning back into Savage Banner and
passing out. Tiboldt takes his money and leaves, feeling dirty. Talbot sees the
day as a success….
Story continues in INCREDIBLE HULK #437.