Incredible Hulk 2

The Terror of the Toad Men
by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

"The Hulk has no friends!" -Hulk

We next find the Hulk looking a lot greener. He is on the outskirts of a rural town, which alerts the local law enforcement of his presence. They chase the green brute through the town while urging all citizens to stay in their homes. As Hulk beats back the cops, his teen pal, Rick Jones, reaches him. He leads the monster away as we get a recap of the Hulk's origin.

Cut to outer space. A group of small, brown, scaly, humanoid aliens are approaching Earth. They emit a magnetic beam from their ship that locates the smartest person on the planet. Of course it homes in on Bruce Banner. The Toad Men land and use more magnetic induced equipment to target him. This brilliant scientist is currently with his partner Rick Jones equipped with some tools of their own. After a quick conversation with a worried Betty Ross and her father concerning the Hulk, the duo take off to an isolated cave Bruce found. They are planning to create a makeshift prison for the Hulk when he's unleashed at night. After Banner has created a ten foot thick concrete door and given instructions to Rick on how to enclose it on him, the two men are mysteriously pulled into the cave wall.

The Toad Men reveal themselves. Having ensnared Bruce and Rick with their magnetic ray guns, the Toad Men lead them out to their ship. They blast back up into space where they are greeted by the ship's captain, Torrak. He explains that the rest of his fleet are waiting just outside the Earth's atmosphere, ready to invade, but first they want to know how scientifically advanced the world is. Torrak threatens to use his magnets rays in horrific ways on the planet if Banner refuses. Which he does. Rick gives an outburst of support which annoys Torrak, so he sends him back to where he came from on Earth. As Banner watches the teen's safe descent, he notices they are approaching the side of Earth the sun is not shining on, meaning night is approaching. Meaning Hulk is approaching.

The change takes place. Banner turns into the Hulk and immediately starts tearing up the ship. He destroys a wall to get at the Toad Men who have captured him. He grabs their guns and uses it against them. Back on Earth, Rick Jones races to the military base of General Ross to warn him about Bruce being on the ship. Ross, who has been alerted to the aliens, launches a bunch of missiles out into space which hit the ship. The ship comes crashing down out of the sky, careening across the ground. The army surrounds the mangled vessel.

Banner emerges from the wreckage. General Ross and the army automatically assume Bruce is responsible for everything. They haul him off to a prison, meanwhile the surviving toad men route a tunnel from the crashed ship to sneak away and summon the rest of their forces. As Betty tries to reason with her father for Bruce's release, the Toad Men fleet invades earth.

General Ross is contacted by the leader of the alien fleet, who explains their plan. They plan to use their powerful magnetic weaponry to pull the moon out of earth's orbit until it collides with the planet. Elsewhere on the base, Banner turns back into Hulk with night falling. He smashes his way out of the prison and finds his way to Betty's on-base house. The general, his men and Rick Jones all follow the brute to a startled Betty Ross.

Inside the house the soldiers all tackle Hulk. He easily brushes them away and snatches Betty as he takes off again. Rick follows after them to Banner's lab, where a sudden earthquake (an side-effect of the slowly sinking moon) renders them all unconscious until dawn.

When they awake, Bruce comes up with a solution to defeat the Toad Men. Rick & Bruce race to the base housing his gamma ray gun, with the military in quick pursuit. With Rick holding them back, Bruce uses the gun to reverse the magnetic pull, putting the moon back where it should be in orbit and sending the entire invading fleet out of the solar system. Betty convinces her father that Bruce is no threat, but he still has his suspicions. That night Hulk returns to the cave with Rick Jones maintaining his vigil.

Notes:

1st appearance of the alien race Toad Men

Hulk's color has changed from grey to green between this issue and the first.