The Monster and the Machine!
by
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
Our story opens with a comatose Hulk strapped to a complex machine. Before him stands his young aide, Rick Jones. Operating the machinery, Rick worries if the machine does not turn Hulk back into his human form of Bruce Banner, it will be the end of them. As Rick pulls a lever, we learn in a flashback just how they got into this situation.
Days ago, Betty Ross was trying to straighten out the complicated web between Bruce Banner and the Hulk. She recalls their first meeting; the day Bruce Banner raced out to the testing site and was caught in the blast of the gamma bomb while saving Rick Jones. It was only a matter of hours after this incident that the Hulk first appeared before her. Unable to put the pieces together completely, Betty does have one realization that she runs to tell her father General "Thunderbolt" Ross about. The one connection she has figured out; both the Hulk and Bruce Banner have been seen in the presence of Rick Jones.
General Ross is found working on a new weapon to stop the Hulk. He calls it the "Iceberg Rocket." As Betty Ross reaches her father, he shows off the weapon. Blasting a rocket powered facsimile of the Hulk through the sky, Gen. Ross then launches the Iceberg Rocket at it. When it hits the fake Hulk, it is completely encased in a block of ice which falls to the ground. With that out of the way, the general focuses on his daughter. Betty explains her revelation of Rick Jones and General Ross agrees. He announces to his men to find Rick Jones.
Rick Jones happens to be in his cabin having breakfast as the inanimate Hulk stands by. He's been trying to figure out what to do now that he can actually control the monster. Rick heads outside when he notices soldiers coming near in search of him. Rick commands the Hulk to fly away before they can find him. Obeying the boy, Hulk flies off in a direction opposite of the incoming soldiers. The army men explain that General Ross has commanded them to take him in. Inside the headquarters, Rick is confronted by the general. He believes Rick is somehow behind doctor Banner's disappearance and will place him under arrest if he doesn't show up soon. Rick refuses to tell Gen Ross and Betty the truth, keeping his promise to Banner intact.
Meanwhile the Hulk has been having his own adventure. After taking off, he saved a school bus full of children from an oncoming train as it got stuck in the tracks. It happened so fast that nobody noticed him, so he gets no heroic praise. The Hulk wanders onto a nearby movie set. The sight of him causes panic in the crew as he destroys equipment and wolfs down food from craft services. The crewmen attempt to surround the Hulk, but he slams his palms together so hard it the vibration brings them to their knees.
The Hulk flies off to find a group of guards in a jeep. With them is their prisoner, Rick Jones, who lead Hulk to him via mental command. The Hulk snatches the boy out of his seat and the two of them sail through the sky. They land before the cavern entrance to Bruce Banner's secret lab. Rick guides the Hulk down into the lair. Once inside, Rick has problems understanding Banner's instructions to a machine that would turn Hulk back into Banner. As Rick all but gives up, a spark of Banner comes through the Hulk's brain, encouraging him to try.
As the flashback ends, we return to Hulk strapped to the machine as Rick Jones tries to operate it. He pulls the lever and the green behemoth is bombarded with gamma rays. It begins to work as the Hulk gradually turns back into Bruce Banner. Still in a comatose state, Rick worries Bruce received too much gamma radiation. Carefully, Rick drags the scientist to his nearby bed. He gives Bruce a tonic that slowly brings the doctor to.
Now in a much weakened state, Bruce Banner must use a wheelchair. Banner refuses to be so weak and commands Rick to turn the machine back on. He will attempt to turn back into the Hulk, but this time possessing his own mind. To Rick's astonishment it works. The Hulk is able to speak more fluently. He has the Hulk's strength, but retains Bruce Banner's brain. Rick is not convinced. Sure he can speak clearly, but the way he speaks is rather harsh and more aggressive than before.
As Hulk goes out to experiment under his latest change, Rick & Hulk stumble upon a house that's on fire. Rushing to the house, they see a family trapped inside. Hulk rescues them by tearing off the entire side of wall that is on fire. As Hulk turns to meet the family, they back off in fear of the green behemoth. A nearby deputy hears the commotion and starts firing off his gun at the Hulk. The Hulk grabs Rick and flies off back the way they came.
Back in the secret lab, Hulk decides to turn back into Banner using his machine. Rick expresses his gratitude at having Bruce Banner back. Bruce explains that he is too weak and exhausted to do anything other than rest. Apparently the strain of having to control himself as the Hulk has taken a great strain on the doctor. He falls into sleep hoping the Hulk never turns on mankind. Rick leaves, promising that no matter what he will always be by Bruce's side.
Notes:
Hulk is still flying. Rick Jones loses his control over the Hulk. Now only Banner can control the Hulk, but the effort seems to take too much of a toll.
Betty struggles to realize Hulk & Banner are the same person. It doesn't seem too hard to figure out, but Betty has interacted with both only a couple of times. And most of her interactions with Hulk involve her fainting, so I don't think it's too big of a stretch for her to be confused.
Title Format: Since this is the first time, I will explain: I'll be using alphabet marks to separate different stories in a given issue. So when Doctor Strange comes along in Strange Tales, for example, the Torch stories in the front of the book will be Strange Tales #110a and Doctor Strange stories in the back will be Strange Tales #110b. And so on.
List Opinion: I think this is the best Hulk story since the classic first issue. There's no confusing Toad Men magnetism or hypnotic circuses to distract from a pretty straight forward story. It explores the characters more deeply than issues 1 & 2 do. The brief origin flashback doesn't feel as forced this time. The most outlandish element is the fake rocket powered Hulk and Iceberg Rocket sequence, but that is only contained to a single page. I like seeing the Hulk scare the bejeezus out of random people. The best Hulk stories are usually ones rooted in pathos, where the consequences of Hulk's existence are brought to bare, instead of this weird random thing happened (aliens, communists, etc.) and Hulk just happens to be involved. With that in mind, it is a bit boring at times, I think I can slip this in between TTA #35 & JIM #84, both stories that verge on boring and have little significance to Marvel as a whole. TTA #35 edges it out slightly by having the reintroduction of Henry Pym as Ant-Man.
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
- Fantastic Four #6
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #85
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #83
- Fantastic Four #2
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #86
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #36
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #35
- Incredible Hulk #4a
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #84
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #27
- Strange Tales (Human Torch) #102
- Fantastic Four #3
- Incredible Hulk #2
- Fantastic Four #7
- Incredible Hulk #3
- Strange Tales (Human Torch) #101
No comments:
Post a Comment