I thought... I thought you might actually have the secret. Might be able to show me a way out. But no. You've got a good heart. You just wanted to save everyone... including the sea beast. I know the feeling. But the Hulk's right. You let that thing inside you take the wheel... and you could kill your whole damn world. 
Appearing in "The Strongest"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Past) (Main story and recap)
Antagonists:
- U.S. Army (Past)
- General Ross (Past)
- Numerous unnamed soldiers (Past)
- Unnamed sea beast (First appearance) (Past)
Other Characters:
- "Ding-Dong Devil" (Invoked)
- Betty Ross (Mentioned)
- Jen Walters (Mentioned)
- Rick Jones (Mentioned)
- God (Invoked)
- Devil Hulk (Brian Banner) (Only in recap)
- Rebecca Banner (Earth-616)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Past and present) (Main story and recap)
- Monsters (Past)
Locations:
- Vanishing Point
- Earth-616 (Past) (Main story and recap)
- Earth (Past) (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Past) (Main story and recap)
- California (Past)
- Mojave Desert (Past)
- Death Valley (Past)
- Malibu (Past)
- Pacific Coast Highway (Past)
- El Matador State Beach (First appearance) (Past)
- Pacific Coast Highway (Past)
- Mojave Desert (Past)
- Washington, D.C. (Referenced)
- New Mexico (Only in recap)
- Los Diablos Missile Base (Only in recap)
- California (Past)
- Pacific Ocean (Past)
- United States of America (Past) (Main story and recap)
- Hell (Invoked)
- Earth (Past) (Main story and recap)
- Earth-616 (Past) (Main story and recap)
Items:
- Sternbots (Behind the scenes) (Unnamed)
- Gamma Bomb (Only in recap)
Synopsis for "The Strongest"
Amadeus Cho (the current Hulk) fell out of the sky and landed in a desert. Carefully checking his surroundings, he turned around and saw something unexpected: Bruce Banner as the Hulk smashing soldiers. The two Hulks caught each others gaze, just before General Ross fired more artillery at them. Drones appeared and Amadeus scanned them to see if there were humans inside them. He gives Banner the all clear to go all out, and Banner replied with the fact that Hulk never holds back. The two destroyed the drones, but bullets kept firing at them. Hulk charged to kill the soldiers, but Amadeus knocked him away. Amadeus let the soldiers free and started a game of "cat and mouse" to get Hulk away from the soldiers.
At a nearby beach, the two Hulks started to brawl. Amadeus tried to convince Hulk that he was on his side, but Hulk kept trying to kill him. Amadeus decided to go full power and turned the tide on the battle, knocking the Hulk away. The battle ended in a draw and both Hulks returned to their regular forms. Amadeus tried to convince Banner that he knew him, but Banner didn't know him. Amadeus had no idea if this was a dream, but Banner just said it's not a dream. He wondered how Amadeus could control the transformation, but Amadeus had no idea to tell him because Amadeus became the Hulk after he absorbed Banner's powers and eventually Banner was killed. More army forces showed up, so the two Hulks decided to flee, with Amadeus using a projection of their fight to lure them away.
A mile away, Amadeus decided to find somewhere for the Hulk to hide. He wanted to call Rick, Jen, or Betty. Banner denied calling all of them, saying that he's gone down that road and it only caused trouble. Amadeus suggested getting dinner, but Banner says that he can't be seen. Banner rummaged through the trash to eat, but Amadeus says that he can't live like this. Banner says it's not an option unless he can control when he transforms like Amadeus can. But Amadeus says that recently, he says that he can't control his own transformations.
The two decided to figure out how to transform, but they only resolve one thing: the Hulk comes out when Banner is angry. Banner said that he was trying to control the anger, but it can't be contained. If he tried to, he keeps remembering his father beating him and his mother and him building the nuke that caused his transformation. Banner says that his anger is deadly and must be suppressed. Amadeus retorts that and says that anger isn't always a crime and they should channel it for good. Banner replied that he's always one heartbeat away from destroying everything, which Amadeus agrees with but suddenly there's an attack nearby. They see a giant sea monster fighting army helicopters. Amadeus charges the monster as he tells Banner to evacuate the diner. The army forces brutally attack the monster, which triggers Amadeus's rage. Amadeus attacks the helicopters and tries to tell them to stop. Banner hulks out and pushes Amadeus away from the helicopters.
The Hulk takes over and talks to Amadeus, saying that he got Banner all excited cause he could figure out the transformation but he knows the truth: Amadeus has his own rage and sometimes it slowly creeps out of him. Amadeus says that he's not like that, but the Hulk rebuffs him. He says he thought he would have a way to transform, but he's wrong. He tells Amadeus he has a good heart and wants to save everyone, but he agrees with the Hulk and says that if he lets the demons inside him take control, he could kill the world he came from. He says that they aren't heroes: they're prison guards and that the Hulk's power is not a gift.
But his sentence isn't finished as Army Soldiers attack them. Amadeus feels like his body is burning and vanishes as he hulks out with one last thought: he's gonna figure out how to end the curse before it ends him.
Solicit Synopsis
• BRUCE BANNER. AMADEUS CHO. Both have carried the curse of the Hulk. Now they come face-to-face at last – but will they meet as friends or foes?
• Fan-favorite Hulk scribe GREG PAK is joined by red-hot artist MATTEO BUFFAGNI (X-MEN BLUE) for a time-bending tale that will finally answer the question on everyone’s minds: WHO IS THE STRONGEST ONE THERE IS?See Also
- 15 image(s) from Generations: Banner Hulk & The Totally Awesome Hulk Vol 1 1
- 2 reprint(s) of Generations: Banner Hulk & The Totally Awesome Hulk Vol 1 1