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The Incredible Hulk #159

Jan 1973

Steve Englehart, Herb Trimpe

Story Name:

Two Years Before The Abomination!

Synopsis

The Incredible Hulk #159 synopsis by Julio Molina-Muscara

Rating:

Bruce Banner pilots a starship back to Earth while the Leader tries telepathically to recover its control. When the ship enters US air space, General Thunderbolt Ross orders missiles fired to destroy it. One rocket hits the target, destroying it. Banner turns into the Hulk during his fall, while the Rhino falls unconscious.

Another missile hits ground in the desert, coincidentally in the area where a buried Abomination laid in a coma state. The blast somehow wakes him up, and he bursts out from underground. Immediately after, he sees the Hulk falling nearby and walks to meet his old enemy.

The Air Force confuses the Abomination with the Hulk, captures him using a special cell and brings him to base. When Ross discovers they captured the Abomination instead, he makes a deal with the monster: capturing the Hulk for curing him and then letting him free. The General does not want his daughter Betty Ross to know the Hulk, that is Banner is back, now that she’s married Glenn Talbot to start her life a new. Ross plans to lock in the Hulk for good, hiding him from the world, especially from Betty.

The Armed Forces take the villain to where the Hulk is in the desert, and an awesome battle begins. When the Hulk dominates, the Abomination worries, mentioning that he must win since he treasures freedom as much as Ross treasures his daughter. Hearing a mention of Betty, Hulk halts the fight. The Abomination explains to him she went to Niagara Falls with Glenn Talbot, now her husband. That angers the Hulk. How could Talbot take away his friend from him? But the Abomination gets lost in his own thoughts, laughing hysterically at himself. Hulk dislikes the villain’s laugh, and hits him very hard from behind, knocking the Abomination out.

Battle ended, Hulk leaps away in search of Betty.

Review / Commentaries

The Incredible Hulk #159 Review by Julio Molina-Muscara (July 28, 2024)

Steve Englehart debuts as the Hulk scribe and does it with a bang, bringing back an important Hulk foe, the only who ever defeated him in a fight: the Abomination (Tales to Astonish #90).

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This comic is in the following collection:

Collects Incredible Hulk (1968) #157-178; material from FOOM (1973) #1-2.

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Holy smokes, Batman!
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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Steve Englehart

Herb Trimpe

Sal Trapani

Herb Trimpe (Cover Penciler)

Additional Credits

Letterer: John Costanza.
Editor: Roy Thomas.

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Abomination
(Emil Blonsky)

Betty Ross
(Elizabeth Ross)

Bruce Banner
(Robert Bruce Banner)

Hulk
(Robert Bruce Banner)

Leader

Rhino

Thunderbolt Ross
(Thaddeus Ross)

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