Hulk! #23 — Nick Peron

Feb 12

Feb 12 Hulk! #23

A Very Personal Hell

Bruce Banner is caught in the library at the Empire State University Hospital. Needing the books on hand to try and find out a cure, he tries to make a run for it but bumps into Alice Steinfeld. In order to stop from knocking her over he is forced to drop the books and flee without them. Although the administrators figure Banner for a thief, Alice can't help but think there is something sweet about the man.

Trying to figure out how he can get at the books he needs, Bruce Banner returns to his rented room at the YMCA. He is spotted by two men named Dewey and Luellen who take an interest in him. Before retiring for the night, Bruce decides to take a shower in the communal shower room. He is followed in by Dewey and Luellen who then attempt to rape him in the shower. Banner manages to scare Dewey out of committing his violent act by telling him he is really Bruce Banner. The idea of raping the man who can turn into the Hulk rightly puts the fear into Dewey and he lets Banner go. However, Luellen isn't so quick to take Banner at his word and tells Dewey to find him.

Meanwhile, Banner has decided he needs to leave and rushes out into the alley. The entire experience left him in a state of shock that prevented him from turning into the Hulk. However, as he contemplates what happened to him his rage builds and he turns into the Hulk. Vaguely understanding what happened, the Hulk goes on a rampage, lashing out at anyone he comes across as the Hulk's addled brain prevents him from remembering what his attacker looked like. When the police start arriving, the Hulk begins trying to find somewhere to hide. In doing so he stumbles down into a basement apartment.

He crashes in on a drug addict named Elizabeth "Clear" Marks, Clear is high on LSD and thinks the arrival of the Hulk is nothing more than a hallucination brought on by the drugs she is on. Thinking the Hulk is someone named "Sam Hull", she invites him in and to have some of the drugs in her boyfriend, "True" Popovich's, stash. Popovich returns home at that moment and hears this offer and accuses Clear of cheating on him and threatens to beat her. Hearing this the Hulk swats True aside and he flees, vowing to get revenge against her. Clear takes Hulk into the bedroom and explains that she would like to get away from True but he could find her anywhere in the city and kill her. She eventually nods off and falls asleep. The Hulk calms down enough to revert back into Bruce Banner. Surprised by where he has found himself, Banner leaves the woman to her sleep, hoping she will assume the whole thing was a hallucination.

Banner returns to the YMCA to get his belonging and contemplates getting out of town. He also contemplates killing himself or turning himself in, but decides against both as he is sure he can find a cure. However, until then, he is out of money and needs a job. Everywhere Banner goes, he is turned down for one reason or another. The only job he does get offered is handing out fliers for an erotic massage parlor, which he refuses. As Banner walks past a fancy Italian restaurant he is seen by Alice Steinfeld, who quickly catches up to him. The two get to talking and hearing about his plight, she tells him to go back to the restaurant and tell the owner, Luigi, that she recommends him and he will certainly gets a job.

The next day, Alice is working her job when she is visited by her mother and sister. The pair say they are coming on good will, but immediately begin interfering into her daily life, particularly the wait to raise Michael, Alice's son whom she is trying to get full custody of. However, Alice's mother questions if Alice will succeed given that she has been depressed, seeing a therapist and even attempted suicide at one point. When her family members leave, Alice takes two pills to calm her nerves, and contemplates taking them all and killing herself. Alice's suicidal thoughts are interrupted by a phone call from Bruce Banner, who thanks her for finding him a job. Not knowing his name, Bruce tells her that it's "Bruce Davidson" and accepts her invitation to dinner.

That night, the pair hit it off and Alice is open to him about all her problems. Bruce, however, keeps on avoiding her questions. When she invites him back up to her apartment, she tries to get romantic with Banner, but he stops her, telling her that he can't get excited. Although he thinks this isn't a good idea, she insists that she needs him to be there and he agrees to stay. At that same time, Clear Marks is revisited by her jealous boyfriend True Popvich who strikes her across the face and warns her against cheating against him in the future. The next morning, Bruce and Alice part company and she invites him over for supper. He accepts the offer and as they leave, they are unaware that they are being observed by Alice's mother and sister and they are not impressed with what they see.

When Alice returns home that night she is surprised to see that her mother and sister have entered her apartment and found Bruce's traveling bag. They then tell her that this new man is going to ensure that she will lose custody of her child and leave. Bruce arrives shortly thereafter and finds Alice in emotional distress. As she explains what happened Banner becomes upset that he feels a change into the Hulk coming. Fearing what might happen, Bruce flees leaving Alice to believe that he is abandoning her as well. The Hulk is going on a rampage of the city but he stars fleeing again when the authorities are called.

By a stroke of luck, the Hulk manages to wander into Clear Marks apartment once more. When she sees that "Sam Hull" has returned she becomes angry because she knows that True will kill her if she sees that he has come back. Sure enough, True does catch them and assuming the worst decides to set Clear's apartment on fire. Unafraid of the fire, the Hulk rages as wildly as the flames that now trap them in the building. Miraculously, Clear manages to get out thanks to some firefighters who arrive on the scene. The Hulk meanwhile plods away, calming enough to revert back into Bruce Banner. Realising he left Alice alone in her time of need, Banner races back to her apartment. He is heartbroken to see that she has committed suicide by overdosing on pills.

Bruce finds a note that was written by her, and she explains that she couldn't handle the situation. Having figured out who he really is, she tells him to always be strong and tells him where she has $1000 stashed and tells him to take it. Banner does, but instead of using it on himself, he has it delivered to the hospital where Clear Marks is staying. The surprise infusion of cash is just what the battered woman needs to get out of town and start a new life away from the drugs and her abusive boyfriend.

Recurring Characters

Hulk

Clothes Call

The Hulk's travels have brought him to the state of Iowa where he falls asleep in a forest where he reverts back into Bruce Banner. Bruce wakes up cold and damp, once more unimpressed over where the Hulk has left him this time. Luckily, the town of Bracbury is near.

When he arrives in town it's just as a men's clothing store is opening. However, the owner doesn't like the look of Banner and tells him he wouldn't be admitted into the store without a shirt or shoes. When Banner offers to purchase clothes at three times the retail value he gets the owner's attention. But, his traveler's checks have been ruined from getting wet. When he tries to convince the owner he can get them replaced, the man refuses to listen any further. Banner decides to cut his losses and tries to get new clothes another way.

He tries stealing clothes off a line, but gets caught in the act and is chased away. As he rounds a corner, he's splashed in the face with a mop bucket tossed by a woman. She apologizes for doing so and invites Banner in. She introduces herself as Mrs. Barbra Jean Benson. She offers to give Bruce some of her husband's clothing, giving him a robe to wear in the meantime. She sneaks a peak of him changing from her compact and later tries to make a move on Banner. Bruce tries to dissuade her, partially because she is a married woman, but also because the excitement can turn him into the Hulk.

If things couldn't get any worse, Barbra's husband, Harvey, comes home and catches them. Assuming the worst he demands to know who the stranger is. He gets his answer by looking at Banner's wallet and finding him identification. Shocked to discover that Bruce Banner, the man who can turn into the Hulk, is in his home, be begins to panic. He asks Banner if there is anything he can do anything he wants so they don't get hurt.

Later, Banner has a new set of clothing and is waiting for a bus out of town. When a young man reads a newspaper report about a Hulk sighting, he laughs at the outlandish claim made by Harvey Benson, who isn't much liked in town. Banner laughs, saying that from what he's heard, Benson is willing to give the shirt off his back for others.

Recurring Characters

Hulk

Moo Over Manhattan

New York City, 1937

Dominic Fortune is now doing radio advertisements for Ferdley's Milk, although he thinks having a soldier of fortune advertising a milk, but he hasn't refused the money that comes from it.

Later, Fortune and his lover Sabbath Raven is at Idlewild Airfield where he is meeting his friend, famed actor Chisholm Smith. As Smith addresses the press, Dominic is approached by his informant, Acey Dugan who tries to warn Dominic of something. When some men suddenly start attacking Chisholm, Dominic leaps to the aid of his old friend. The fight is broken up by the arrival of the police. In the aftermath, Smith invites Dominic and Sabbath as VIPs for the screening of his new film, he also tells them that Senator Foster will be in attendance. After Chisholm leaves, Acey finally has the opportunity to warn Dominic that his old friend is a Nazi agent. These claims are dismissed by Fortune who finds it hard to believe.

However, Acey's claims are true as Chisholm arrives at a secret Nazi hideout where he meets with Baron Strucker to discuss the assassination of Senator Foster. That evening, Dominic and Sabbath arrive for the film screening and join Chisholm and the Senator up in one of the viewing balconies. Meanwhile, Acey has managed to get proof of his claims and bribes a man guarding the back door of the theater in order to get inside. At that very moment, the Senator excuses himself to go to the washroom. No sooner is the Senator gone, does Acey arrive with the proof of Chisholm's Nazi allegiance. Shocked by this revelation, Fortune lays into his one-time friend.

Realizing that they are trying to assassinate the Senator, Sabbath rushes to the mens room to warn him but is stopped by the ushers. When they admit a man who speaks German, she rushes back to get Dominic. By this time, Dominic has beaten Chisholm in their one-on-one and Raven warns him about the Senator. Rushing into the men's room, Dominic manages to ruin the assassins shot. Baron Strucker manages to fight his way free and flees out a window. Before Fortune can go after him, Senator Foster detains Dominic with his would-be assassin's own discarded gun. He lowers his guard once he gets some answers out of Fortune. Dominic is congratulated for foiling the assassination.