Incredible Hulk #436
Uncovered
Betty Banner steps out to grab the morning paper to find her home surrounded by soldiers. The commanding officer orders her to surrender as she won't be able to warn her husband. However, Betty flashes the soldiers, distracting them long enough for her to rush back inside and grab the phone. She calls her husband the Hulk at Max's auto garage. She just manages to get a warning to Bruce as the soldiers knock down the front door and subdue her. When the commanding officer enters the room, Betty thinks for a moment that it is her ex-husband Glenn Talbot, but it actually turns out to be his nephew Matt. Matt slaps her across the face for leaving his uncle for the Hulk. While back at the garage, the Hulk is about ready to leap back home when he is stopped by Max, who warns him that he is headed right into a trap. Max convinces the Hulk to use his head before leaping headlong into trouble. Back at the Banner home, Major Talbot is confronted by Chief Largo, who demands to know why the military is harassing one of his citizens.
Meanwhile, at army headquarters, Senator Ralston arrives to see Major Talbot, however, the only soldier on-site is Lieutenant Dallas. Dallas grabs the Senator by the wrist, enthralling him instantly. Lt. Dallas then instructs Ralston on what to do next. Back at the garage, the Hulk and Max watch news footage of the military surrounding his home. Max points out that this is all being done to draw him out. At the house, Chief Largo is assured by Talbot that this is a legitimate military operation. Seeing that there is nothing he can do directly, Largo tells Betty that he has some associates who can help assure that this is only a temporary inconvenience before excusing himself. Talbot begins to wonder what his uncle ever saw in Betty, and she points out that she was on a rebound from someone she truly loved. Recounting his uncle's decorated military career, he comes to the conclusion that Glenn Talbot only ever made one mistake: Betty.
As the hours, tick by and the temperature climbs, Betty begins mocking Talbot for such an inept military operation. She angers him enough that he drags Betty outside. With the news cameras watching, Matt Talbot shoots Betty in the leg and tells the Hulk that she will be shot more if he doesn't come. Watching this all live on television and seeing his wife injured, causes the Hulk to get angry and he leaps off to rescue Betty. When the Hulk arrives, Talbot then orders his Hulkbuster units to attack. Soon the area is swarmed by men in battle armor who begin blasting the Hulk with anti-gamma rays. While back at military headquarters, "Lt. Dallas" finishes given his instructions to Senator Ralston and sends him on his way. Alone once again, "Dallas" sheds his disguise revealing himself as the Leader's former associate Omnibus.
Back in Florida, the Hulk continues to hold his own against the Hulkbusters, they eventually overpower him. Betty gets up off the ground and tells her husband to keep on fighting. When Matt Talbot shoots her in the other leg. This angers the Hulk enough to fight free from the soldiers. However, as he leaps towards Talbot his anger grows enough to cause him to revert back into the savage Bruce Banner. With the Hulk's strength now gone, Talbot easily knocks him out and has him taken away by his troops. Betty berates Talbot for crippling her, Talbot reveals that he actually shot her with stun pellet, the least he could do for a general's daughter. Back at army headquarters, Omnibus gloats over the fact that everything is going according to his plans. That's when a voice from the mirror corrects him, that it was his plan all along. Looking into the mirror, Omnibus sees the image of the Leader looking back at him.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Betty Ross, Chief Largo, Max Christianson, Matt Talbot, Omnibus, Rebel Ralston
Continuity Notes
Matt Talbot mentions his uncle's relationship with Betty Banner. Glenn Talbot was in love with Betty from the moment he saw her in Tales to Astonish #61. She eventually started a relationship with Talbot in Incredible Hulk #150. The pair eventually got married in Incredible Hulk #158. However, after a troubled marriage, the pair got divorced in Incredible Hulk #238. Talbot then devoted his life to destroying the Hulk, but was killed fighting him in Incredible Hulk #260.
