In the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, X-Men Wolverine,
Storm, and Nightcrawler meet; Logan is planning a training exercise for
Colossus which would pit him against the Hulk. Ororo and Kurt don’t like the
idea but Logan is set on his plan which he has already put into motion….
Colossus is on a nature hike through the mountains and is
enjoying it greatly and then he encounters Kitty Pryde with Lockheed and
everything gets even better. And then the Hulk comes crashing down upon them
and everything goes crazy. Piotr tries beating up Hulk but his strongest blows,
even in his metal form, have no effect. Hulk punches Piotr so hard he cuts a
trail through the ground. Kitty tries to protect him but Lockheed breathes fire
on Hulk who slaps the mini-dragon out of the sky and rushes off in flames.
Kitty stays to care for her injured pet while Colossus pursues the Hulk. Storm
swoops down to aid Kitty while Logan and Kurt pursue the other men. Piotr comes
upon Hulk bathing his wounds in a stream and attacks. No good, so Piotr
marshals all of his strength and skill and stuns Hulk with a blow and then
hurls him into the side of a large hill—which doesn’t knock Hulk out for long.
Hulk punches Colossus, sending him flying through the air and into a patch of
quicksand; he berates himself for acting without thinking…and then Hulk plucks
him out of the morass. Hulk transforms back into Bruce Banner; Kitty is still
mad at Hulk for hurting Lockheed but Piotr apologizes to Bruce and invites him
to join them in a meal. The following day, Piotr gives Bruce his hiking clothes
and gear and sends him on his way. Piotr enunciates the lesson he learned: that
sometimes they have to turn away from violence. And that was what Logan
intended him to learn all along—though Colossus still punches him out when he
finds out Logan was behind it all….
“The Mutants and the Monster”
Reprinted from UNCANNY X-MEN #66.