Appearing in "Butterfly"
Featured Characters:
- Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Death)
- Harpy (Betty Ross-Banner) (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- U.S. Hulk Operations
- Gen. Reginald Fortean (Main story and flashback)
- Dr. Charlene McGowan
- Agent Wilkins (First appearance)
- Subject B (Rick Jones)
- Agent Hurst (First and only known appearance; dies)
- Monitor Team (Behind the scenes)
- Monitor One (Behind the scenes)
- Monitor Two (Behind the scenes)
- Numerous unnamed others (Death of several)
Other Characters:
- U.S. Air Force (Only in flashback)
- General Thunderbolt Ross (Only in flashback)
- New York Mets (Name only) (Only in flashback)
- José Lima (First appearance; photo) (Only in flashback)
- Daily Bugle (Name only) (Only in flashback)
- Dr. Jeffrey Clive (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Del Frye (Stasis)
- Abomination (Emil Blonsky) (Mentioned)
- Reno Police Department (Mentioned)
- Bushwacker (Agent Carl Burbank) (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Marge (motel receptionist) (Death)
- Anna (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Arizona Herald (Mentioned)
- Mother of God (Mary) (Invoked)
Races and Species:
- Spiders (Only in flashback)
- Butterflies (Only in flashback)
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Cyborgs (Behind the scenes)
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- New Mexico (Only in flashback)
- Nevada
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
Synopsis for "Butterfly"
Years Ago
On a jeep of the military, a young Betty Ross and Captain Fortrean wait the green light of the semaphore, with General Ross sitting behind, reading a paper. Reginald and Betty notice a butterfly, trapped in a spider's web. Betty hopes the butterfly will be able to escape, to be free, but Fortrean tells her she's wrong in hoping that. She might not like the spider, but he has a role. He's trapping and eating the butterfly for a reason: spiders keep the population of insects on the right level. Without the butterfly dying in the web, there would be no balance. No structure or order. Thunderbolt Ross tells the Captain to shut it: there's nothing to gain by trying to impress his daughter.
Now
At Shadow Base, Fortrean observes the fight between Hulk and the new Abomination, a thing created by US Hulk Operations. Something he commands. Dr. McGowan is angry at the General: the Abomination just made two human casualties, but Fortrean tells her that in war, collateral damage is something to expect. Meanwhile, Hulk recovers from the shock of discovering that inside the new Abomination was no Emil Blonsky, but his dear friend Rick Jones. Rick or no Rick, Hulk must put his opponent down. The Green Goliath punches it, but the Abomination literally eats the hand of the Hulk, covering it in his own stomach's acid.
The acid, it seems, was projected to make the Hulk's healing factor unable to work properly, and after disintegrating Hulk's hand, the Abomination vomits two jets of acid on the Hulk's whole arm. The weapon is working, and the General is quite happy about it, but there is still a problem: the receptionist which flew away might still talk. Fortrean sends agents to shut her up, and they kill her with a bullet in her skull. Witnessing it is Arizona Herald's reporter Jackie McGee, and she comes with a friend: Betty Ross-Banner, now turned into the Harpy. And the Harpy has no pity for mercenaries that just killed a young, innocent lady: the Harpy is rage and hate getting free, like the butterfly from the spider.
Betty proceeds to kill the mercenaries in cold blood, to the horror of Jackie. Harpy tells her that she came with questions, and got answers. She found out the answers she had were not so good and likeable after all. Harpy then approaches the fight between Abomination and Hulk: the Green Goliath has reverted to his Savage/Child state, and finds himself with no arms or legs, consumed by the Abomination's acid. Fortrean stares at what Betty has become, full of wonder. Betty is angry at Bruce for destroying her life. Hulk hears her voice: she can help Hulk, she's a friend. But then, Betty gets over the Hulk mangled body, rips his chest with her claws and, at the expense of the Hulk's own horror, she rips the heart of the Green Goliath out, and bites it...
Solicit Synopsis
• Something is coming for Bruce Banner. Something that can smell him wherever he hides. Something that will never stop hunting.
• It wears the face of a friend — but all it feels is hate and hunger, burning in the core of every cell.
• Ask yourself...what’s more terrifying than the IMMORTAL HULK?
Notes
- This issue includes flashbacks to Betty's interactions with Bruce and a timeline of their relationship. The issues referenced include Incredible Hulk #1, Incredible Hulk #167, and Incredible Hulk #331.
Legacy Numbering
- Based on the Marvel Legacy renumbering infographic, this issue is Incredible Hulk #736.
Trivia
- The final panel, where Betty is shown eating the Hulk's heart, is reminiscent of the painting Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya.
