World War Hulk Part 2

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 an 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 breakthrough. 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 mobilizes their forces and prepare to engage the Hulk. Leading the charge is General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Warbound (Miek, Korg, Elloe Kaifi, No-Name of Brood, Hiroim), Renegade (Amadeus Cho, Angel, Namora, Hercules, Kirby), Rick Jones, New Avengers (Doctor Strange, Luke Cage, Echo, Ronin, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, "Spider-Woman"), Mighty Avengers (Ms. Marvel, Sentry, Wonder Man, Ares, Sentry), Doc Samson, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Black Panther, Storm), SHIELD (Gabe Jones, Iron Man), General Ross, Watchdog

Continuity Notes

• This story runs concurrently with the events of Avengers: The Initiative #4-5, Ghost Rider Vol 6 #12-13, World War Hulk: Front Line #2, Heroes for Hire Vol 2 #11-13, Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #107-109.

• Mention is made of the Hulk's exile to Sakaar which lasted from Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #91-105.

• It is stated that Iron Man returned She-Hulk's powers. Iron Man stripped her of her powers in She-Hulk Vol 2 #18.

• Doc Samson mentions how the Hulk rampaged through the town of Jericho, and She-Hulk points out that the rampage was due to the fact that Samson separated Banner from the Hulk. They are referring to the events of Incredible Hulk #315-323.

• Miek reminds Rick that he once abandoned the Hulk to partner with Captain America. This happened in Captain America #110.

• Rick tells the Hulk that Captain America is dead. At the time of this story, Steve Rogers was killed in Captain America Vol 5 #25. Cap is later brought back to life in Captain America: Reborn #1-6.

• Rick states that Reed and Tony "screwed things up", he is referring to the superhuman Civil War that was depicted in Civil War #1-7. The pair helped back legislation that insisted that superhumans register for the government or be considered outlaws.

• There has been a long-standing feud between the Thing and the Hulk and they have clashed many times. As of this story, these previous times are Fantastic Four #12, Fantastic Four #25-26, Incredible Hulk #122, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #5, Fantastic Four #112, Incredible Hulk #153, Marvel Feature #11, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, Fantastic Four #166-167, Rampaging Hulk Vol 2 #5, Marvel Two-In-One #46, Marvel Two-In-One Annual #5, Marvel Fanfare #21, Marvel Graphic Novel #29, Fantastic Four #320, Incredible Hulk #350, Incredible Hulk #365, Incredible Hulk Annual #18, Hulk #8, Hulk and Thing: Hard Knocks #2, Hulk and Thing: Hard Knocks #3, Fantastic Four #534 - 536.