Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #73

Mar 12

Mar 12 Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #73

Shock Waves

Bruce Banner has agreed to assist Tony Stark in creating a new suit of Iron Man armor that can withstand a gamma bomb explosion with no ill effect to the wearer. Along with Tony's colleague Jack Rutlidge, they test the bomb out on a dummy, but thanks to a computer glitch the force of the blast is too strong that it rips apart the armor. Tony loses his temper and when Jack points out that they could have foreseen this if Lisa were still alive the two men almost come to blows if not for Bruce intervening. With the mood partially cooled, Tony orders another test before taking off for an hour.

Back at Tony's Mansion, Lisa's brother Richard is still locked up in the basement after a failed attempt to assassinate Stark. With a stolen steak knife, he tries to pick the lock on his handcuffs when Tony comes to visit him. Much to Richard's surprise, Tony unlocks his cuffs and give him the chance at a free punch across the face. Cummings refuses, thinking this is a trick to have Tony's men swarm him and beat him to death. However, Tony is spoiling for a fight and shoves Richard into barrels of wine. Richard continues to accuse Tony of killing his sister, But Stark insists that he didn't. The scuffle sends Cummings sprawling just in front of the steak knife. Meanwhile, Nicole March has prepared a picnic lunch for Bruce. She expresses that Tony and Richard are very much alike and feels sorry for both as someone they cared about is dead. She mentions feeding him steak the night before, which troubles Bruce.

Back at Stark's house, Richard grabs the knife and manages to slice Tony's shoulder. However before he can kill Tony with the knife, Banner steps in. Channeling his Hulk strength through his human body, he picks up Richard and throws him across the room. As Jack and Bruce patch him up, Tony explains that they are stepping up the schedule for a manned two-bomb test on the new armor. Hearing this, Bruce is against Tony wearing the armor because his open wound will make him more vulnerable to gamma radiation should anything go wrong. While Tony is recovering, Jack and Bruce return to the test field and try another test without a pilot in the armor and it is a success. However, Jack begs Bruce not to tell Tony yet, but Banner points out that they need Tony to run the manned test. Meanwhile, Nicole brings Richard another meal. When he tells her that Stark is moving him to a safer location, he convinces her to give him a kiss. This is all a cover to steal one of her hair pints so he can pick his lock again.

At that moment, Bruce finds Tony boxing in his gym and scolds him for doing such physical work after being injured. To prove his point, Bruce brings Tony's attention to the fact that his wound is open and bleeding again. Regardless, Bruce tells him that the last test was successful and that the manned test can go as planned. Soon, Tony, Jack, and Bruce head off to run the final test. Meanwhile, a guard is sent down to serve Richard his next meal. However, Cummings has successfully picked the lock on his cuffs and knocks out the officer, taking his gun and uniform before leaving.