Hulk: Let the Battle Begin #1

Mar 17

Mar 17 Hulk: Let the Battle Begin #1

Let the Battle Begin

Bruce Banner wakes up in the middle of the desert after a transformation into the Hulk. Although he cannot remember the night before, this has become a normal occurrence to him. He's at least thankful that his pants remained intact and his survival kit is still intact, hidden in the stitching in his pants. Banner then goes on the long road of "recovering" from his latest Hulk transformation. Eventually, on a lonely stretch of road Banner manages to thumb a ride by a man driving a truck. The man is surprised to find him out in the middle of nowhere in tattered clothes. Going through the motions, Bruce tells the man that he is a scientist that examines tornados and had a run in with one and was lucky to make it out alive. The trucker buys the story and turns on the radio. When a report of the latest Hulk sighting airs, Bruce tells the man that he is tired and takes a nap. Bruce then begins recalling the incident of the day before...

He was that the site of Mount Rushmore. The day was interrupted by the arrival of the Wrecking Crew who threatened to destroy the famous monument if their ransom demands weren't paid. To show that they are serious, Thunderball uses his wrecking ball to smash the nose off the carving of Abraham Lincoln. It comes crashing down onto a walkway and lands right on top of Bruce Banner. However, he has transformed into the Hulk by the time it impacts and the gamma-spawned brute smashes his way free with ease.

Banner's recollection comes to an end when the man drops him off in the nearby town. There, he purchases new clothes, glasses, and gets a hotel room. Each time the people who serve him ask what happened and he feeds them a different story each time to get what he wants. However, the hotel clerk recognizes him as the Hulk. Before a transformation can be triggered from the stress of being identified, the clerk says that the Hulk is his favorite hero and gives him a room without question. Bruce begins to piece together his battle with the Wrecking Crew.

The villains lashed into him, but their attacks did nothing more than annoy the Hulk. After Bruce takes a shower and turns on the television, he sees a news report about the battle. He learns that officials are upset that while the Hulk stopped the Wrecking Crew that he caused more damage as a result and it would have been less expensive to pay the ransom. He recounts how after he beat the Wrecking Crew into submission, his battle was then interrupted by the arrival of Thor.

After watching the report, Bruce goes down to a local diner to get something to eat. He is interrupted by the hotel clerk who has come looking for an autograph. Although Bruce insists that he is not the Hulk, he resigns to signing a newspaper article as "The Hulk" in order to get the man to leave him alone. His mind drifts back to the day before and his later battle with Thor.

The Hulk earned the thunder god's anger for confusing him for a woman. This insult angers Thor who lashes into the Hulk. However, after a few blows, the Hulk manages to grab hold of his hammer and by pushing Thor's arm back manages it to slam the mystical weapon into his face enough times to knock Thor out. Having had enough for one day, the Hulk then leaped away from the scene of the battle.

When Banner snaps back to reality he realizes that the diner is now empty and realizes that everyone has figured out who he really is. When he goes to the window he sees that General Ross has arrived with an entire army. When Ross orders Banner to surrender, Bruce refuses but he warns Ross that if they do attack him they will only succeed in having the Hulk wreck their equipment and his troops injured. When he asks them what they intend to do, Ross orders his men to attack. Bruce turns into the Hulk and leaps into battle. Sometime later, Bruce wakes up to find himself out in the desert again. However, this time he is upset to discover that his pants were destroyed during the battle.