—HulkI know you locked me away for years. I know I scare you. What I do. What I am. But before any of the others... I was there. Protecting you. I'll always protect you. ... 'cause I love you, you stupid kid. Somebody had to. Come on home.
Appearing in "A Booth in the Midwest"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jackie McGee
- A-Bomb (Rick Jones) (Qlippoth; death)
- Alpha Flight
- Gamma Flight
- Puck (Eugene Judd)
- Absorbing Man (Carl "Crusher" Creel) (Leaves the U.S. Hulk Operations and joins Gamma Flight)
- Sasquatch (Walter Langowski)
- Gamma Flight
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Bruce Banner ⏵ (Remerged with the Hulk) (Main story and recap)
- Geburah (Mentioned in narration)
- Seraphim (Mentioned in narration)
- Archangels (Mentioned in narration)
- Khamael (Mentioned in narration)
- Archangels (Mentioned in narration)
- Jackie's Father (Qlippoth; death)
- Leader (Sam Sterns) (Mentioned)
- Absorbing Man's Father (Mentioned)
- Golachab (Mentioned in narration)
- God (Yahweh) (Mentioned)
- Satan (Mentioned in narration)
- Titania (Mary MacPherran) (Mentioned)
- U.S. Hulk Operations
- Betty Ross Banner
- Marie Severin (Drawing)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earthspace (Main story and recap)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New Mexico (Main story and recap)
- Shadow Base (Only in recap)
- Los Diablos Missile Base
- Arizona (Only in recap)
- California
- New Mexico (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- Hell (Below-Place)
- Hell (Mentioned)
Items:
- Gamma Radiation (Mentioned)
- Gamma Bomb (Mentioned)
- Absorbing Man's Ball and Chain
Synopsis for "A Booth in the Midwest"
Below
The One Below All is awake, and through the power of hate summons a horde of monsters to kill everyone in his kingdom. The Hulk launches himself against them, but he is weaker than usual, much of his gamma energy now residing with Bruce, trapped and in the possession of Brian Banner. As the Green Goliath tries to overcome the enemy, the corpse of Rick Jones turns into A-Bomb, supporting his longtime friend. Meanwhile, Eugene Judd is explaining to the Absorbing Man that gamma is a creature of two worlds: science and magic. One side is predictable, the other erratic.
The magical side is the one that created the Sasquatches, the A-Bombs. When the Gamma Bomb in Los Diablos exploded during Bruce's test, it opened something: a portal to a world full of demonic creatures ruled by one. The One Below All. Using that portal, he started to communicate with the world above, manifesting through gamma people. This bit is something that Creel understands all too well. He also understands what he needs to do to escape the place: climbing where Brian Banner is, he tricks the man into believing that he will try to defeat him, only to re-absorb the gamma energy that was in Bruce.
Creel sends the energy back into the Hulk, who was fighting alone after A-Bomb died. Empowered by his full stock of gamma radiations, the Hulk started to pulverize the enemy and Jackie, afraid for all this time that the Hulk might die, rejoices. The Hulk approaches his father, and Brian starts telling him that he knows: he is the son of the One Below All, and should let Bruce go. But the Hulk tells him that he never understood anything about him: the Hulk is just the Hulk. After blowing away Brian, who falls down from the cliff, the One Below All is dispersed, and the Hulk finally has some time to speak with his oldest acquaintance: Bruce Banner.
Naked, lying on the ground, Bruce tells the Hulk to finally leave him to die in this place. But the Hulk wants to tell Bruce the truth: even if Banner never liked him and tried to hide him away for what he could do, the Immortal Hulk has always been with Bruce. To protect him. Because the Hulk loves Bruce Banner, he always did and he always will. Someone has to. After hearing this, Bruce reconciles with the Immortal Hulk, who tells him that it is finally time to go to their real home.
Meanwhile something, who watched everything that occurred Below, is asking: what is the Hulk? Man or monster? The controlled rage which judges and destroys evil, or the unleashed rage that revels in breaking it all? What will Bruce Banner be? But then the mysterious being asks himself: "Who Am I?". In due time, it promises, it will speak with Bruce again.
Los Diablos, New Mexico. Above
Walter Langkowski wakes up in Los Diablos: he was in a desert, trying to find his comrades, when he notices they are back, and Puck stands in front of him, together with Creel. While Puck asks the Absorbing Man if he would like to join Gamma Flight, Jackie discusses what just happened, and tells Walter that she needs time alone to think about what she will write, if she will write anything at all. But most importantly, there is something she would like to know: where is the Hulk now? A thing that Agent Burbank, watching from afar, also wants to understand.
California
In the night, a telephone call brings awakens Betty Ross: she answers, a little bit disturbed by the fact it is almost midnight. Who would call at a time like this? But then a crying voice talks to her, telling her that he needs to come home. It is Bruce, calling from a payphone. Betty, astounded, asks him from where he is calling...
Solicit Synopsis
• The One Below All is in control, and Bruce Banner belongs to him. Hell is ascendant.
• But there are two people Hell isn’t strong enough to hold. One is a man named Eugene Judd...
• ...the other is the IMMORTAL HULK.Notes
Legacy Numbering[]
- Based on the Marvel Legacy renumbering infographic, this issue is Incredible Hulk #730.
