Sensational Comics 22
Captured at Last!
The Hulk roamed freely. When one was nearly seven feet tall and a few hundred pounds of solid muscle, one is afforded that luxury. Her thoughts were a bit clouded, but she knew she had to be in the desert. "Have to be free!" She had been running for a while. The flat desert floor slowly gave way to scrub greenery and few mesquite trees.
After a while she stopped. "No, have to find…something? Someone?" She tried to concentrate, but the images were blurry. She was looking, but for what? The desert wasn't answering her questions and that made her madder.
The anger increased until something popped in the back of her mind. Light danced around her eyes as she suddenly dropped to her knees. "No, Hulk is strong, stronger than anyone!" Her hands quivered and the green started to fade from her limbs. Muscles shrank as her voice lightened. "No!" Her roar faded to a much softer tone and soon Betty Ross was left in the middle of nowhere.
"Aw nuts."
Back at the Gamma Base, things had been in motion. "Blast it Morris, I need Banner! He's the only one who can find Betty and stop that robot!"
"Is he?" Major Glen Talbot entered the room. "General Ross, it's obvious you're too involved in this case."
"My daughter is out there, alone. You're darn right I'm involved!"
"The Hulk is the greatest threat this country has ever faced. If she's gone AWOL, hang the robot!" Morris cursed. "We have to assemble everything we have!"
"To do what, kill her?" Ross seethed. "All she's ever done is fight for this country and this is the thanks she gets?"
"Belay that kind of talk general!" Morris pointed his finger at Ross. "The major is right. You obviously can't see this matter objectively. Guards! Escort the general to his quarters."
"You stuck up-" Ross threw the first punch. Morris never say it coming. The other general dropped like a broken doll as MPs rushed in to subdue Ross.
"Guards, make sure Ross doesn't leave his quarters." Talbot helped the dazed Morris to his feet.
"Glenn, for heaven's sake, don't do this! Banner is the key, he can help!"
"That remains to be seen."
Bruce Banner was rather apt at keeping his mind busy. Since his arrest he had been occupying a small cell in the quarantine section of the stockade. There, he had been sketching ideas onto the walls of the cell, trying to figure out how to best counter something he had devised to be unstoppable.
Major Talbot entered the section, his highly polished boots echoing on the concrete floor. "Dr. Banner."
"Major. I suppose I'm to be formerly charged, or are you here for the bread and water?"
"Cute." Talbot scowled. "Banner, your machine has been wreaking havoc across the Southwest. General Ross seems to think you're the only hope we have outside of the Hulk. I don't suppose you've come up with a plan?"
Banner jerked a thumb towards the wall. "Take a look. I might have better luck with an actual lab you know."
"Don't push it. The FBI wired us about a Russian agent named the Chameleon. Seems his whole act is copying other people, so you might be telling the truth."
"I'm flattered you have so much confidence."
Talbot's scowl deepened. "One more word and I walk out." He took a deep breath. "The robot was seen heading west. The Hulk might be following it, but we lost track. Can you stop both monsters?"
Banner looked evenly into Talbot eyes. "Get me into a lab and you'll see."
The Chameleon couldn't quite remember the last time he had so much fun. The robot had proven to be almost unstoppable. He had waded through gunfire like the bullets were no more than moths. He tore through buildings like tissue paper.
Resting in a small canyon, he propped his feet up on the dash. "So, what exactly to do now?" He glanced down into the main body, which doubled as storage/transport. He had filled it with money and valuables. "I could turn it over to the Russians, but I've made more in an hour than they've paid me in two years. Plus with my skills I could disappear and live like a king…or I could return to New York. That blasted wall crawler would be mine if I used this on him!"
He chuckled at the thought of a red and blue smear under the robot's foot. "Yes, why not?"
Betty, used to the outside, stripped her tattered gown off. Tearing into strips, she bound her feet and head. A long-abandoned hobo site provided her with a tattered shirt and pants. A rope served as a belt. "Now, what do I do?"
She rested under the tattered lean-to and mulled over her options. "I need to stop that robot, no doubt, but what if I change again?" The thought unsettled her.
"No, I have to stay calm. If I panic, then the Army might attack me as well as the robot. Too much is at stake!"
She felt her heartbeat rise. Her vision swam as she stumbled to the road. "Have…to stay…calm!" Her limbs shook as she dropped to her knees. She felt the power grow, but there was no pain. Her muscles swelled as her frame grew. The tattered shirt exploded into ribbons. The pants, dragging into the dirt, shot up her calves. In seconds they resembled shorts more than pants.
"Hulk free!" She roared to the empty desert. "No, Hulk must stop…" the words grew fuzzy, but there was something she had to do. She looked down the road. Her enemy was down there, she knew it. Breaking into a run, she raced down the blacktop, leaving large holes in the asphalt that the local public works would be hard pressed to explain.
Leaping into the air, the Hulk bounded towards where her enemy was. "Hulk smash!"
The Chameleon found himself in a better mood when he drove the robot. "There's just something about driving a perfect engine of destruction that improves a man's mood."
The robot stomped down the road. The army had tried to stop him with a roadblock of tanks. He ignored the shells and stomped the metal shells into junk. He found himself softly singing a few old army songs as he marched eastward. "Yes, profit first. I'll revenge myself on my enemies later."
He chuckled at his future earnings when an alarm went off in the cockpit. "What? Some kind of missile?"
He readied the defenses as he saw a dot on the horizon. "Too slow to be an ICBM, so what?" He paled under his mask as he saw the green skinned dot grow larger. "The She-Hulk? But our intelligence said she was cured!"
The robot threw its arms up as shields. The Hulk crashed into them hard enough to produce a shockwave. The left arm buckled and snapped at the elbow. The Hulk, maddened almost beyond reason, started punching the robot's torso.
The Chameleon was bouncing around in the cockpit. "How did she get so strong?" He readied the guns. The air was filled with a whirl of the turrets and the stench of cordite. The Hulk roared in anger. With almost no effort she reached out and tore the guns free.
The Chameleon hysterically began pushing buttons. The jet flared and the robot took off, but the Hulk stayed firmly attached. The Chameleon considered bailing out when a missile suddenly exploded behind the Hulk, dislodging her. He didn't wait to see who was firing or why. Putting more energy to the rockets, the robot flew away as the Hulk raged below.
"Bullseye!" Talbot lowered his binoculars.
"Sir, the robot is escaping!"
"Never mind that soldier! The Hulk's the prize here." Looking through the binoculars again, he smiled as the Hulk staggered around drunkenly. "Banner's toy was spot on. That knock out serum deployed perfectly."
"We wait until the Hulk changes back, then we move in."
The Hulk tried to focus as the ground was annoyingly intent on moving under her feet. Her head felt someone was slowly pouring concrete into her skull. She tired to get angry, but a certain numbness spread as she toppled over.
Betty managed to wheeze out a 'why' before armed men wrapped chains around her.
"This is insane!" Banner shouted.
Talbot didn't even look directly at him as he continued to stare at the drugged Betty. The blanket over her rose slowly as the IV continued to feed. "Has General Ross been made aware of the situation?"
"No sir" an aide saluted.
"Good, see that he doesn't."
"Talbot, for Heaven's sake, why are we focusing on the Hulk? My robot is still out there!" Banner grabbed Talbot's arm. The major slowly turned towards him. Banner let go.
"Doctor Banner, right now you're only here out of courtesy. Remember that." Talbot turned his attention back to Betty, now dressed in regular army greens. "If I had ten like her we'd drive the Russians into the sea!"
"But you don't have ten!" Banner spat. "It was an accident, why can't anyone understand that? A one in a million shot, hell, the whole thing was supposed to be a bomb!"
"Yes, a bomb that would kill, but not damage the property, wasn't it?"
"I meant a bomb that wouldn't foul the earth for a few generations!"
"Whatever you intended doctor, means nothing now. The Hulk is real and frankly far more valuable than any bomb. Do you know what the Chinese had made? A radioactive man. Hell, the Russians are churning out flying suits of armor like we turn out Fords. The United States can't afford to be second in this race mister."
Banner pinched the bridge of his nose. "I understand that, but what about the robot? It's still out there!"
Talbot almost shrugged. "We have dozens of these super nuts running around. Let one of them handle it. No, as far as I'm concerned our hunt is over."
"And what do you intend to do?" Banner folded his arms.
"Simple- a gamma battalion. I want more hulks Banner, and you're going to give them to me."
Banner paled. "More? I already ruined this woman's life and you ask me to do more?"
"Why not? Your gamma bomb was made for the army. As far as I'm concerned anything that comes from that belongs to Uncle Sam."
Banner lunged for Talbot's sidearm. He managed to draw the gun and leap away from Talbot's hands. The major smirked. "Really Banner? We both know you don't have the guts to kill a man. Now hand me that gun before I take it from you."
"I wasn't going to shoot you." Banner turned around. Talbot paled as he saw the gun being placed against the glass.
"No!" Talbot tackled the smaller scientist, but the gun went off and struck the glass. Oxygen flooded the room as Betty slowly woke up.
"Where am I?" She slurred her words as she sat up.
"Banner you fool!" Talbot shoved him aside and raced towards the wall. Banner fired another shot, destroying the intercom.
"That should buy us a few minutes." Banner looked at Betty. "Are you ok?"
"Head's fuzzy." She yanked the IV out and shakily got to her feet.
"We were pumping the room full of nitrous oxide, plus the sedatives were veterinary strength." Talbot seemed to grow smaller as Betty carefully climbed out of the broken window. "How are you still moving?"
Betty glared at him. Her eyes were a bright yellow and white, like hardboiled eggs Talbot thought. "I've done nothing but serve, I've saved the country half a dozen times, and this is the thanks I get?" Her voice dropped.
"Betty…ah, Ms. Ross," Talbot slowly sank to the floor. "You're unique, but we need more of you! We can't rely on the same five people over and over when something happens!" Talbot's voice grew meeker as Betty's skin paled and grew greener.
"So what, you planned to make more Hulks?" Her hair started to creep down her shoulders. She already stood over Talbot, but even to Banner she was taller.
Talbot stammered. Betty slammed a bare foot down, cracking the linoleum. Steely muscles swelled under her flimsy government standard shirt and pants, both of which appeared painted on as she seethed. "You'd torture? Expose people to gamma bombs?" They heard the sound of footsteps rushing down the hall.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to have this power? What if you create a worse monster?" Her pant legs, already strained beyond their threshold, shredded down the side. The back of her shirt similarly exploded into tatters as the door buckled.
"Leave Hulk alone!" The Hulk grabbed Banner and kicked away the wall. She took to the sky as the guards rushed in, their weapons drawn.
"Stand down!" Talbot found his confidence returning the further away the Hulk became. "I want the entire base on alert. Tell General Morris, but not Ross. Tell him the Hulk has escaped!"
Banner tried to speak, but the rushing wind swallowed his words. He resigned himself to silence as they bounced around the desert. When they finally landed, the Hulk dropped him.
Scrambling to his feet, Banner looked around. "Nothing for miles." He looked directly at the Hulk.
"Banner help Hulk?" Her tone was rough, but he could see the question.
"Yes…not sure how, but I will. We need to stop my robot."
"Robot over there." She jerked a jade thumb over her shoulder.
"What?" Banner followed her hand and saw a familiar shape over the nearby ridge. "Well that was lucky! How did you know it would be here?"
The Hulk shrugged her shoulders, causing her already tattered shirt to finally evaporate and fall to the ground like cheap confetti. "Just knew."
"Ah…ok? Well, if its stationary we might have a chance. I built it to withstand an atomic blast, so punching is out."
"Break the controls?" The Hulk sounded impatient. "So what does the Hulk need to smash?"
"The cockpit would be the best place, but if its sealed I'm not sure."
"Hulk check." With that the jade giantess jumped away, leaving Banner alone.
The robot, which had caused the Hulk no end of grief, stood silent and empty, the access hatch open. The Chameleon lay a few yards away. Having to answer several biological needs, he left the robot alone, but he did take a few money bags with him.
"I took it fairly, and besides I'll need a pillow." He stretched out under the stars. "I wonder what I'll buy first?"
His sleep was interrupted when the robot toppled over the edge of the ridge and crashed into the canyon below with a deafening explosion. "What?"
He drew a pistol from his kit and slowly crawled towards the noise. When he saw the Hulk blindly punching the cockpit apart, he holstered his weapon. "Discretion is a better part of valor, as I think the Americans say." Hurrying back, he quickly donned a simple disguise and hid his loot inside a backpack.
A humble vagabond wouldn't attract too much attention. "I've still got my money." The robot exploded behind him, making him increase speed. "Forgot revenge! With this cash I live just fine until I figure out what I want to do!"
Banner saw accumulation of several months of his life go up in a raging fireball. The Hulk strolled out of the inferno with no scratch. He was at a loss for words when she jumped and landed on the cliff edge. "Robot smashed."
"Yes…yes it is." Banner looked around the empty canyon. "What now?"
"Don't know, don't care. Hulk free. Banner want to come with Hulk?"
Banner looked at the offered hand. With no hesitation he put his hand in hers. He climbed on her back as she jumped off into the night.
The end
Based on "Captured at Last!" which first appeared in Tales to Astonish I#61 with credits to Stan Lee (script), Steve Ditko (pencils), George Bell (inks), and Sam Rosen (letters)
Next time, Enter…the Chameleon!
Sensational Lore
They Call Me Bruce
Is there someplace where we can see pictures of these characters?
I don't have much fan art of my characters, but I might start having some pieces commissioned.
From Darci
Unlike Action#10, where the Earth-25 gender switch garbled the rescue of Walter Crane from the men's prison, this time it made the story 10 times better than the original! In the October 1964 version, after fighting the robot when the Hulk turns back into Bruce his glasses magically reappear! This is even more puzzling than the long-debated question of Bruce's pants survived the change.
Betty makes a much better Hulk. This character really has a place in the story, instead of just saying "Dad, I don't think Bruce is all that bad" or "If only I could tell Bruce how I feel!" Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Yeah, the pants thing always bugged me too. And thanks for the proof reading too!
And keep your eyes out for the following tales:
Tales to Astonish#21-No Place to Hide
Journey into Mystery#23-The Thunder Goddess Strikes Back!
The Avengers#9-Enter: Kang!
Amazing Fantasy#14-The Four Storms
Giant Size Journey into Mystery#1-Wedding of the Century!