On Christmas Eve, Bruce Banner calls
the suicide prevention hotline in Reno Nevada where his wife Betty
once worked. He speaks to her friend Veronica and informs her that
Betty is dead and he is responsible for that death. He tells her of
his many failed attempts to kill himself but the Hulk always
prevented it, as though he were the personification, not of his
anger, but of his will to live. He explains he has now hired a hit
man who will shoot him down if he gives a certain signal but another
one will cancel the contract. Bruce tells of how they met, when he
went over to General Ross' house before the Gamma bomb test and he
attracted her attention by helping her with a difficult equation.
Eventually they married and she was able to convince him that he
shouldn't blame himself for the Hulk. He ponders how others' lives
would have changed if he had not survived the bomb blast and likely
for the better: Betty, Glen Talbot, Rick Jones, General Ross.... He
recalls how Hulk had to fight her as the Harpy when she tried to
convince him that Betty never loved him....
Veronica reminds him of all the people
the Hulk has saved when she is interrupted. Cal, a stalker, has shown
up at her office, revealing himself as Calvin Zabo, Mister Hyde.
Bruce, who recognized Cal's voice, swiftly arrives as the Hulk and
fights Hyde, who seems to be a match for him...until Hyde mocks
Betty's death. Hulk beats him into the ground and the baddie says,
“Sorry for your loss” before passing out....
Veronica supplies Bruce with some
clothing and thanks him for saving her with a reminder of how Hulk
saves lives. As Bruce walks away, he gives the signal to the
hitman—Deadpool—to cancel the contract....