Appearing in "World War Hulk"
Featured Characters:
- Hulk (Bruce Banner)
Supporting Characters:
- New Avengers
- Mighty Avengers
- Doc Samson
- She-Hulk
- Fantastic Four
- ⏴ Rick Jones ⏵
- Angel (Warren Worthington III)
- Hercules
- Namora
- SHIELD
- Gabriel Jones
- Unnamed agents
- General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross
- Mastermind Excello
Villains:
- Warbound
- Hiroim
- Korg
- Elloe Kaifi
- Miek
- Brood (Warbound)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "World War Hulk"
Iron Fist drops through the roof of the loft at Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. Inside are Strange, Ronin and Echo. Iron Fist pleads with Strange to use his magic to stop the Hulk’s rampage. Strange refuses to exile him yet again, and decries that the Hulk’s only hope for redemption lies with… a hero.
Meanwhile, the Hulk drags the crushed remains of Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor through the wreckage of New York, with the Warbound standing fast behind him. The Mighty Avengers stand ready to face him and Ares is anxious to begin the fight. She-Hulk arrives and orders Ares to keep steady. She wants to try talking with the Hulk first. She-Hulk attempts to appeal to the Hulk's humanity, but he has none. He punches her in the face and the two goliaths begin fighting. The Hulk soon defeats his cousin and pounds her into the pavement. Ares quickly attacks Hulk and is just as quickly defeated. The Avengers meanwhile take on the Warbound. They quickly discover that each one of them is nearly as powerful as the old Hulk, while the new Hulk is more powerful than ever.
At the Baxter Building, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman have returned to Earth and are assisting their teammates in an effort to create a weapon that might stop the Hulk. Storm and the Black Panther locate the Warbound and engage them in combat while the Human Torch battles the Hulk directly. He unleashes the full power of his nova blast destroying and entire building, but this barely even phases the Hulk. The Thing takes his turn and the two begin slugging each other. Even at his weakest, the Hulk is a difficult opponent for the Thing, but now he is the strongest he has ever been. He punches the Thing so fiercely that chips of stone fly off his rocky hide.
Reed and Sue finally arrive and Richards is equipped with a portable weapon. Sue erects a force field around Reed, but the Hulk's blows are strong enough to break through. The Hulk begins mercilessly pounding on Reed, but fortunately, Reed's pliant body absorbs the bulk of the impact. Regardless, the physical onslaught becomes too much for him and Reed passes out on the ground. Sue crawls away from the wreckage and places an emergency call to Robert Reynolds – the Sentry. She begs him to help them defeat the Hulk.
Rick Jones arrives in New York City and fights through a crowd of people to reach the Hulk. He talks to the Hulk and tries to calm him down. The tactic works momentarily and the Hulk pauses, but suddenly he finds himself succumbing to a sharp attack of pain. From a short distance away, Doctor Strange presses his mystic attack against the Hulk. The strain on Dr. Strange is great. He reveals that in order for this enchantment to work, Hulk "must open the door..."
Meanwhile, the military mobilize their forces and prepare to engage the Hulk. Leading the charge is General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
Notes
- In the background on one of the final pages, Hulk is seen fighting Hercules. The full extent of this battle, along with why Hercules, Namora, Angel, and Mastermind Excello are there, is seen in Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #107.
- Doctor Strange's reluctance to exile the Hulk is not without precedent. In Incredible Hulk #300 he used his magic to teleport the Hulk to the Crossroads dimension in order to stop his wanton rampage. The Hulk found his way back.
Trivia
- The Hulk has had many classic battles with the Thing; the first of which took place in Fantastic Four (Volume 1) #12.
- The Hulk learns about Captain America's death in this issue. Cap was killed by Sharon Carter in Captain America (Volume 5) #25.