World War Hulk # 1

Overview

Marvel's massive summer smashfest begins! Exiled by a group of Marvel "heroes" to the savage alien planet of Sakaar, the Hulk raged, bled and conquered through the pages of last year's "Planet Hulk" epic, rising from slave to gladiator to king. Now the Hulk returns to Earth to wreak his terrible vengeance on Iron Man, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange and Black Bolt -- and anyone else who gets in his way. Stronger than ever, accompanied by his monstrous Warbound gladiator allies, and possessed by the fiercest and purest rage imaginable, the Hulk may just tear this stupid planet in half. The epic story of anger unbound begins with this special double-sized issue written by "Planet Hulk" scribe Greg Pak and penciled by the legendary John Romita, Jr.

Hulk and his Warbound arrive. First stop is the moon. As Hulk lands, he is met by Black Bolt and Medusa. She questions why he has arrived unannounced. They see he is dressed for war. She says he has faced Black Bolt before and lost. All Hulk can say is, "You shot me into space...Killed my world..." Medusa tells him to stop and he says "Never." As he approaches, Black Bolt simply whispers, "Enough." The force of his words blasts Hulk. He fights to hang on but is eventually sent flying back. They turn to head back towards their palace. Hulk comes back saying he hasn't come there for a whisper. He wants to hear Black Bolt scream and jumps towards him.

On Earth, the arrival of the Hulk's ship has been detected. They've registered that there's been an explosion on the moon. Tony Stark tries telling the President to block all the satellites but it is too late. The ship can be seen over New York City. A giant holographic message appears before everyone and on all channels. Hulk tells the "puny humans" that he has come to smash. He wants them to know why first. He shows them the message from Iron Man, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, and Dr. Strange about sending him into space. He tells everyone how he was sent to a planet where he could be killed and was forced to become a gladiator. He tells them about his Warbound and how he became King and had a Queen. He shows them how a bomb was sent with him and destroyed his planet and killed a million people. He gives New York City 24 hours to evacuate. He says that after that time if he does not see Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Dr. Strange, he will smash the entire planet and shows the beaten pulp of Black Bolt.

Iron Man takes off. He takes over the satellites mainframes and sets them up so that Hulk cannot tap into them again. As soon as Iron Man has locked into the satellites, they hit him with a modified EMP blast through them. Doctor Strange's astral form appears before Iron Man. He mentions that Hulk's never been angrier or stronger. Iron Man asks Strange to use his magic to send him away. Dr. Strange questions that action as it would most likely result in Hulk destroying another world. They caused the problem and must solve it. He asks Tony if he wants the help of his "comrades" if he can resist in trying to arrest them. Stark says all unregistered heroes will get a full pardon if they turn themselves over when all of this is over. Strange says that'd be something if they could survive the Hulk's anger.

Stark and Reed Richards pay a visit to Sentry. They tell him that they need him to go to the Hulk. Robert is hesitant because they are friends. He says the last time he saw the Hulk, he was fighting the Void and got every bone in his body broke. Then he found out he was the Void. Reed tells him that he is the most powerful being in the universe and they need him, the Hulk needs him.

In Manhattan, S.H.I.E.L.D. and other assorted heroes (including Spider-Man and She-Hulk) assist in evacuating everyone. Finally they've managed to evacuate five million people in twenty-three hours. A fire chief asks Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel what is the big deal, the Hulk's been dealt with before. Ms. Marvel mentions that he's different now, especially since he smashed Black Bolt. The chief doesn't know who Black Bolt is. Spider-Man mentions that before this, he thought Black Bolt was the "second most powerful guy in the galaxy." The chief says that he must be number three now.

A figure is seen flying towards them and they think it's Sentry. It turns out to be Iron Man in a huge piece of armor. Spider-Man's senses go off like crazy as Hulk's ship can be seen floating overhead. Iron Man tells them that this is his fight. He tells them not to attack until he is done with him or the Hulk is done with him. Flying towards Hulk, Hulk jumps down to meet him. The impact sends a shockwave that knocks most off their feet and smashes the windows on the surrounding buildings.

As they are engaged, Iron Man sends out a transmission. He tells everyone that he is to blame for the Hulk's anger. He says that everything he'll ever do is to protect the world. Iron Man gives Hulk a punch that sends him flying miles away. It looks like Iron Man has won as everyone cheers and thinks the fight is over (except for Rick Jones). Iron Man continues his transmission, telling the world that he has injected the Hulk with nanobots that were made to suppress his powers. As Hulk slowly tries to get up, Iron Man flies up and authorizes an air strike against the Hulk. Missles fly towards him and explode in a huge blast. Hulk yells out Caiera's name and recalls his time with her, her news that she was pregnant with his child, the explosion of the warp core that destroyed everyone. Fresh with the memory that they've killed her, his anger is renewed.

Hulk jumps up and smashes into Iron Man in the air. They land in Stark Tower and Hulk continues to smash him. The heroes look on as they see Stark Tower begin to crumble. Iron Man tries to fight back with his repulsor blasts as the building ends up a pile of rubble. The heroes rush over only to find an angry Hulk emerging from the destruction, standing over what's left of Iron Man.