Tyrannus, controlling the giant stone
figure made by reconfiguring the flying fortress of the Knights of
Rome, tries crushing Hulk in a huge hand and hurling him into the
distance. Red She-Hulk follows him through the sky to where he lands
in a crater. They turn back to Bruce Banner and Betty Ross and confess their love
for one another—but Rome is in danger so Hulk must go....
Tyrannus sends out an hypnotic call to
the citizens of Rome to gather in the Colosseum where he will
proclaim a new era for the Empire. He intends to open Pandora's Box,
rejecting Dr Sofia Di Cosimo's warnings. Hulk arrives, challenging
Tyrannus to fight him like a man—and with Amadeus Cho to hack in
and disable the stone giant's mystic force fields, Hulk is able to
smash the giant and rescue Sofia and the urn. Sofia pleads with Betty
to turn back into Red and help Hulk but Jade Jaws and Amadeus are
against this, fearing that another transformation will render Betty
permanently Red She Hulk; instead Hulk gives Betty the urn to guard.
Hulk destroys the giant but Tyrannus shoots the urn out of Betty's
hands, releasing Hope which possesses Betty—but it's a Hope that
has been imprisoned alone for centuries and now hopes only for
revenge and destruction. Hulk inhales the ancient force and destroys
it—and Betty realizes that there can be no relationship between
them so long as Bruce is the Hulk. She becomes Red again and goes off
with Tyrannus, leaving Hulk to stand dejected as the crowd cheers him
on....