Banished to Outer Space
In a cave in the New Mexican desert, Rick Jones maintains his nightly vigil as the Hulk pounds restlessly at his cement prison. Only a few hours ago, him and the scientist Bruce Banner had to dash to the cave with the sun setting which triggers Bruce's monstrous transformation. Believe the Hulk is secure, Rick takes off through the desert in search of some rest. Before he can reach a destination, a group of soldiers stop him and explain they are under orders of General Ross to bring Rick with them. He thinks Rick Jones can lead them to the Hulk.
At General Ross's headquarters, the General is addressing his team. He plans to implement "Plan H" using Rick Jones's help. As soon as the teenager arrives, General Ross tells the lad that he wants him to get the Hulk in order to help them test out a new rocket. Only the Hulk can withstand the force of it's G-pull. Rick acquiesces, buying Ross's line that it's for the good of the country. After heading back to the cave, Rick starts to release Hulk from his prison when suddenly the green monster breaks free.
Hulk chases Rick through the desert. Having recognized him as the boy who imprisoned him, Hulk follows the teen unaware that he is bait for General Ross's plan. Now at the rocket site, Rick climbs up the launch tower and lures Hulk up to the rocket's cabin. Once Hulk is inside, Ross quickly shuts the door of the rocket on the green behemoth. With Hulk trapped, they launch the rocket straight into space. General Ross announces that this is the end of the Hulk!
Inside the rocket, the Hulk changes back to Bruce Banner. Almost immediately, the spacecraft enters a belt of powerful rays (possibly the same cosmic rays that created the Fantastic Four a few months ago.) which pass through the unshielded craft. After Banner is bombarded with these rays of immense power, the capsule breaks free to continue its journey through space. Back on earth Rick Jones contemplates if what he did was good or not. Rick overhears General Ross congratulating his men on stopping the Hulk, which makes the young man realize he was duped by the military. While the soldiers are busy, Rick sneaks over to a console and is able to send a signal to bring the capsule back to earth. As he does this, a powerful surge of energy coming all the way from the rocket zaps Rick Jones.
Fearing that Bruce Banner will be injured in the falling missile since it is day now, Rick runs out to meet him. As soon as he reaches it new fears arise as out in broad daylight emerges the incredible Hulk. And he is pissed. Spotting Rick, the Hulk hurls the wreckage of his capsule at the youth who quickly runs away. Rick is chased up a mountain of rocks by the green behemoth. Hulk corners Rick at the edge of a cliff yelling "Revenge!" and Rick shout back "stop!" So the Hulk does.
Rick realizes he can now control the Hulk. He performs a few tests commanding the Hulk around, who obeys his every word. He gets Hulk to carry him safely down the mountain, where he then leads Hulk to his nearby cabin. Once inside Rick, who has been awake since the previous day, drifts off to sleep. A few minutes later he awakes with a start. The Hulk is gone from his room. Rick quickly gets out of bed and goes searching for the green monstrosity. He follows a path of destruction to a nearby town where he witnesses the Hulk on a rampage. State troopers manage to hold him at bay when Rick quickly intervenes. He tells Hulk to get them out of there. The powerful behemoth obeys; he takes Rick into his arms and flies out of town. Miles away, Rick leads the Hulk back to his cave prison where the boy can finally try to get some rest while the Hulk is enclosed.
While Hulk is imprisoned, Rick goes over the events of the Hulk's origin(covered in Incredible Hulk #1) as he struggles to stay awake. He fears if he should fall asleep, the Hulk will break through the concrete barrier and run amok again now that he seems to be even more powerful. Lost in thought, Rick quietly maintains his vigil.
Will the Mighty Hulk be a Match for the Ringmaster
In the town of Plainville, two government agents slowly drive through the streets. Only yesterday the town was fully functioning, today it is a ramshackle. All of the citizens are in some kind of trance. Every valuable has been stolen. The town's bank vaults are all empty. And this isn't the first town to be hit like this. The only piece of evidence the FBI men can find, are posters for a travelling circus which they found in the other towns too.
In another town, we see the culprits in action. The circus of crime, lead by their boss The Ringmaster, perform inside of a packed tent. The Ringmaster performs his key act; he uses his special hypnotic hat and his voice to carefully hypnotize the entire audience at once. As they are under his thrall, the other performers quickly go through the crowd's belongings, procuring anything of value. Then the whole troupe goes throughout the town, hypnotizing the few citizens not in attendance at the circus and steal all of their belongings. They load up their caravan with the loot and head towards the next small town.
Back at the Hulk's cave, Rick Jones has managed to stay up all night again. Commanding Hulk to stay in stasis, Rick goes a nearby town where his Aunt Polly lives. While he is washing up in her house we learn that he, like Peter Parker, is an orphan with a doting elderly aunt. After Rick eats he heads outside to find something to do. He spots a poster for a circus that is in town and decides to take in the show.
Inside the circus tent, the show begins. The Ringmaster starts performing his hypnotizing trick. As Rick starts to feel the trance coming over him, he attempts to use his mental connection to the Hulk and it works. The Hulk is summoned to the circus, who immediately causes chaos, smashing through the tent and hitting the performers. Ringmaster quickly orders his men to blast the pressurized fire hose at the green Goliath. Successfully subduing the Hulk, they drop a net around him and then bound him up in extremely heavy chains. The Hulk, who cannot move without the entranced Rick Jones's command, is now their new attraction.
A day later and another town, the Ringmaster starts to perform his trick again. Before he can finish, the two FBI agents along with Rick Jones show up. They were able to snap the audience out of their trance and are here to stop the criminals. When Rick utters that the Hulk is a live bomb, something in the Hulk snaps and he starts destroying everything. He clobbers an elephant, sending circus men sprawling everywhere. The Ringmaster attempts to flee, but Hulk snatches him out of his chariot and is ready to pulverize him. Only Rick's words interfere again. He gets Hulk to stop the chaos just in time for soldiers to pour in. Hulk takes Rick in his arms and flies off yet again. General Ross raises his fist to the sky...
Notes:
From here own Bruce Banner can now turn into the Hulk during the day. He can also fly. This power doesn't last for very long thankfully.
No Betty and very little Bruce Banner in this issue. Rick is largely the main character for this issue, which could be interesting but this story really doesn't do much for him. He's just trying to seek some sleep.
Here we have the introduction of silver age mainstay, the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime. They will pop up in various places throughout the early years of Marvel. Their introduction isn't the strongest, but they will contribute to better told stories in the future. This one is kind of a mess.
The List
- Amazing Fantasy (Spider-Man) #15
- Fantastic Four #1
- Fantastic Four #4
- Incredible Hulk #1
- Fantastic Four #5
- Amazing Adult Fantasy (X-Men) #14
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #83
- Fantastic Four #2
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #84
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #27
- Fantastic Four #3
- Incredible Hulk #2
- Incredible Hulk #3
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