Synopsis
Indestructible Hulk #17 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Bruce Banner is working on a cure for the Terrigen Mists that are converting people worldwide into superpowered Inhumans if they have Inhuman genetic heritage. But SHIELD have sent Tony Stark and Henry Pym (both strangely in costume as Iron Man and Giant-Man, and Pym even at giant size) to help him. Bruce is not happy about this - his fragile scientific ego wants to solve the problem alone. Stark gives him 24 hours.
Banner muses on his past visits as Hulk to the Inhumans' home Attilan. Since then it has become a flying city, brought crashing down in New York harbour during Thanos' invasion in Infinity. This released the Terrigen Mists. (Bruce doesn't know that the Mists were deliberately spread by Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans.)
Dr Banner is working with his team of 4 SHIELD scientist assistants, and they have the solution ready for a field test. But Melinda Leucenstern gets a message from SHIELD Director Maria Hill saying that the assistants are confined to base for the moment. And Giant-Man and Iron Man return well before the end of the 24 hours, accompanied by genetics expert Beast.
Bruce reluctantly shows the superguys his proposed fix - a big bomb, which immediately reminds them of his Gamma Bomb which made him the Hulk in the 1st place. Stark tells Pym to open the thing up to see what it does, without even asking Banner to explain. Enraged Banner Hulks out. And Hulk grabs the bomb and leaps away through the roof.
As the Avengers follow, the assistants decide that they'll have to rescue the bomb from all 4 superheroes, despite being grounded. (Who are these guys? The Scooby Doo gang?) Melinda discovers that they're confined to base because 1 of them has the Inhuman gene.
Hulk has bounded to Oklahoma where his presence disrupts a scam selling fake radiation suits to protect people from the Terrigen Wave. The super-trio catch up with him in an Avengers quinjet. Iron Man separates Hulk from the bomb and Giant-Man catches it, crouching on the base base of the upside down craft piloted by Beast. But Hulk knocks the plane out of the air by throwing Shellhead at it. The quinjet plummets towards the ground as Hulk leaps past, grabbing the bomb off Pym and breaking Hank's arm in the process.
Hulk is heading towards the falling quinjet with the bomb, and Iron Man daren't intervene without risk of setting it off. But Beast asks what if the bomb really is the solution to the Terrigen problem. Does Tony really believe Bruce incapable of creating such a thing. Stark puts aside his rivalry with Banner, and fires missiles at the bomb.
Which explodes.