When the Incredible Hulk is exiled from Earth by the Illuminati, his ship's navigational controls fail causing him to fly through a wormhole and crash land on the planet war filled planet of Sakaar. Here he is in a weakened state and is immediately captured and put into service as a gladiator in the Red King's arena. Here Hulk meets fellow gladiators Hiroim, Elloe, Korg, and Miek. These five gladiators rebel against the Red King and escape into the wilderness. The King's personal guard Caiera the oldstrong is sent by the Red King to destroy Hulk and end the rebellion that is growing around them. After a battle begins between Caiera and the Hulk the Red King releases a plague of the Spikes, an organic parasite that also crash landed on Sakaar, putting his own men in the line of fire as well as the gladiators.

Learning that the release of the Spikes was not an accident Caiera joins the Hulk against the Red King. These six Warbound allies are able to free the Spikes of the Red King's control and defeat the Red King. After the Red King's death comes a brief period of in-fighting between the survivors followed by a period of re-growth and restoration by the Warbound. This was not to last as the ship that brought the Hulk to Sakaar detonated, destroying everything that they sought to rebuild and killing almost all the survivors of Sakaar--including Caiera who was now married to the Hulk and carrying his unborn child.

Enraged, the Hulk and the original gladiators of the Warbound set a course for Earth to make the Illuminati pay for their involvement in the destruction of the paradises that they built on Sakaar.

For more information see Planet Hulk and World War Hulk.