The
Watcher introduces us to “the greatest battle that the world has ever known”
between the Mighty Thor and the Incredible Hulk. He brings us up to date on the
current volumes of the antagonists’ titles (Thor as All-Father, Hulk as
Starship) and drops us into the story as the two are already fighting in a
cartoonish world called Sakk-Reen. Odin, whose spirit now inhabits Mjolnir,
gives Thor unwanted advice. The voice in Hulk’s head takes the form of Betty
Ross, warning him that this battle will be different from all the previous
ones. Both heroes try to silence the voices and both wonder whom the other one
is talking to. As they wreck the town, Thor calls to Sif to send them some
place where they can do battle safely. And so they are transported to the Black
Hand of God, a space station built from the hand of a Celestial as an arena for
holding gladiator games; Uatu sits in the stands, eating popcorn and enjoying
the show. As they duel, Thor tells Hulk he is seeking justice for the seventeen
people Hulk killed in a bar in El Paso; Hulk denies doing it. Hulk is knocked
down and Thor places Mjolnir on his back to keep him from rising. Inside
Starship Hulk, Bruce Banner prepares for battle, reading all of the data on his
previous contests with Thor. So he musters his strength and stands up, Mjolnir
tearing a hole through his middle. Thor picks up his hammer (through the hole
in Hulk) and the struggle continues. When Thor is pinned down, Odin takes
Mjolnir out into space and comes down, breaking the sound barrier, and clobbers
Hulk, driving him into the lower floors of the Black Hand. But Odin has
detected something strange. Thor hurls the hammer at Hulk’s chest. It connects
and then Banner, inside, sees Odin standing over him, “I would have words with
thee….”
Story
continues in THOR #25.