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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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To Hunt the Hulk!
The clunking mass of metal known as the War Wagon, apparently the most sophisticated battle cruiser created to date by the American military strides forward. Its firepower is awesome - but more awesome still is its centralized computer controls, which allows the massive craft to be piloted by one man - a man intent on safeguarding his country even if his country accuses him of treason - a man who does his duty as he sees it - a man with a mission to hunt the Hulk!
His name is ex-Colonel Glenn Talbot, late of the United States air force, and to some, he is a traitor - to others though, a patriot. A map behind him tracks the Incredible Hulk’s recent travels, while the determined soldier sits at the controls, steering the powerful craft. Talbot has been driven mad - he has labored long and loyally in the service of his country. Now though, he absconds with one of his country’s most secret weapons. However, those at his former military command center - Gamma Base - are onto him.
Contacting him by radio is Congresswoman Messinger, who tells Talbot that he must return at once. ‘Do you read me?’ she asks, annoyed. An aide tells Messinger that she knows Talbot is receiving her, and another man explains that Talbot is just not answering. ‘He must! He can’t defy the United States government!’ Messinger declares, to which Talbot announces that he heard that, and points out she does not represent the whole USA. ‘There are millions who cower in helpless horror - who looked to Gamma Base to defend them from the ravages of that man-monster - the Hulk!’ Talbot exclaims.
Messinger reminds Talbot that Gamma Base has been shut down - by an act of Congress, to which Talbot replies that the menace of the Hulk will not be met by armchair edicts. ‘The only language that brute understands is force, force and more force!’ Talbot retorts, boasting that is the reason the War Wagon was created - to wipe out the Hulk once and for all. Messinger tells Talbot that he is committing treason, to which the ex-Colonel replies ‘That, Congresswoman, is for history to decide!’ and with that, he ends the transmission.
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers Eastward, the “Green Goliath” slashes through the sky, propelled by the mightiest leg muscles known to man. Though he knows nothing of it, he is the raison d’etre for Talbot’s monster hunt. Were he to be informed of that fact, he would either not understand - or not care. For he is the Incredible Hulk - and he fears nothing that lives. The Hulk lands in a ruined village and exclaims that he is hungry, but does not see any food. ‘Everywhere he goes, all Hulk sees is war!’.
In the space of a day, the Hulk has leaped from the sands of Egypt, to the cold mountain passes of the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan. Legend has it that the blue-eyed tribesman of this region are descended from the lost legions of Alexander the Great. If so, they could use some of his military genius now. Hulk observes an exhausted man with a bandage around his head and a rifle in his hand approach, and decides that he will make the “puny human” as he puts it tell him where he can find food.
‘Huh? Puny human ignores Hulk!’ the Hulk exclaims, shocked as the human just ambles past him. The Hulk is curious as to why the man does not run screaming past him like all the rest do, confused even further because the man looked scared. Of course, the answer to the Hulk’s perceptive query is that the horrors of war can so fill a man with terror that he is incapable of feeling any further fear - even when staring it in its snarling green face! The Afghani rebel has seen his village destroyed - his family killed - his country overrun. He has no terror left.
Suddenly, ’Soldiers!’ shouts the Hulk as a group of armed soldiers appear. ’A monster!’ one of the soldiers shouts in his native Russian. ’It cannot be! Such manifestations of the super-natural do not exist!’ the Major declares, to which one of his soldiers asks if they shoot at it or not. ’Yes, you dolt - shoot!’ the Major shouts back.
Explosive shells - outlawed by the Geneva Accords - erupt from the muzzles of the Soviet soldiers Kalashnikov rifles. Furious, the Hulk shouts that everywhere he does it is always the same - he does nothing, but soldiers attack him. Everywhere the Hulk encounters these senseless assaults, his response is always similar - he slams the ground, sending the soldiers careening all over the place.
The Major radios to his General, assuring him that the Afghani’s are crushed, but that a demon now defends their village. ‘No, comrade General - I have not been drinking any vodka!’ the Major exclaims, before asking the General if he will send the air strike. Almost instantly, the jets soar soundlessly out of the cloud cover - but the Hulk knows from experience that where he fights the infantry, there he is also likely to have to fight planes.
The MIG-pilots are used to strafing defenseless villages - caves from which snipers with outdated weapons put up a futile resistance. They have never had to deal destruction to…a demon! As they blast the Hulk, the hero who is also a member of the Defenders, notes that everything around him is turning to fire, unaware of course, that that is caused by Napalm - also outlawed by an international agreement.
The Hulk exclaims that he will make the planes stop ‘By tearing them out of the sky!’ he shouts as he leaps high above the flames and into the air, while, for one terrifying second, the MIG-pilot wonders whether the creature coming at him is flying or leaping - but the question becomes academic as the Hulk smashes his way through the jet, breaking it in half in a massive display of his power, though the pilot manages to hit the ejector in time to be propelled away.
‘The demon - he has landed on my tail!’ shouts the other pilot in the second jet as the Hulk booms onto his jet, shouting that he did not start this fight with the soldiers, but that he will finish it. With that, the Hulk plunges his fist into the jet, shattering the aircraft’s powerlines, but in the process he is struck by a powerful current. The pilot realizes this and noting that the current is holding the Hulk, he tells himself that this may be his only chance.
Realizing that they cannot destroy “the monster”, the pilot presets the directional controls and speed, before ejecting himself to safety, knowing that his pilot less plane will carry the dread demon to certain doom! The pilot drifts down to the ground while watching the now distanced jet, where the Hulk struggles against the current holding him.
However, the Soviet pilot, expecting praise and perhaps a promotion for his fast-thinking, instead, as he lands, finds himself accused of - ‘Incompetence! Gross stupidity! Treason!’ the Major shouts at him. The pilot protests, pointing out that he has sent the monster away. ‘Yes, away from this foreign battlefield where his rage and our retaliation harmed none but those whose land we wished to occupy!’ the Major points out, before telling the pilot that his actions have dispatched the demon to mother Russia herself.
The pilot asks the Major to hear him out, and explains that his MIG is on auto-pilot, carrying the demon towards their homeland, yes, but to one certain section of the Soviet Union from which nothing may ever return alive. ‘You mean…!’ gasps the Major, his voice trailing off. ‘Yes, comrade Major - I have sent the monster to…the Forbidden Zone!’. At the mere mention of that name, the staunch Soviet soldiers blood runs cold….
In the next instant, an awesome shadow falls over the shell-shattered terrain - the War Wagon. The Russian soldiers all motion to the sky, ‘First a demon - and now what?’ one of them gasps. Even if Talbot notices the stunned troops below, he gives no indication of it, for his mind is firmly fixed to one goal and one goal only. ‘You were here, Hulk - mere minutes ago!’ Talbot shouts, looking at the headshot of the Hulk which sits above his map of where the Hulk has been. ‘My computers have tracked your infernal Gamma trail around half the globe - to Afghanistan!’ Talbot declares.
Talbot wonders if it was the Hulk who caused all of the mindless destruction below, or those Soviet troops who have futilely begun to fire at the passing War Wagon. Talbot realizes that he is in enemy airspace, but asserts that he would go anywhere - dare anything to track down the monster, when suddenly, his tracking computer begins to signal. However, it is not a good signal, as it tells Talbot that, after he has forsaken his career, committing a treasonous offense by absconding with government property and traveling thousands of sleepless miles, he has lost the Gamma trail. ‘That isn’t possible!’ he exclaims, boasting that the Hulk cannot be dead unless his are the hands that kill him.
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers North East in the capitol of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - Moscow! In an obscure office down an out-of-the-way corridor of the Kremlin, a certain Colonel Yuri Brevlov looks up from a report as an aide opens his door, begging Brevlov’s pardon, the aide announces that those he summoned have arrived. ‘Send them in!’ Brevlov replies. The aide quickly returns to the corridor, for Brevlov is the head of Russian Intelligence - the KGB, and he tells the arrivals to enter at once.
Suddenly, three costumed individuals enter, a man in red armor exclaims that they have come at once, while a muscular man wielding a sickle and hammer declares that they are, as ever, ready to serve the state, while the glamorous female amongst them adds ‘And justice, my friends - do no forget justice!’ Brevlov studies the trio before him and, like his American counterpart, the SHIELD Director, Nick Fury, he is used to dealing with rather idiosyncratic agents - but super-agents have always made him uncomfortable.
Brevlov asks the trio to enter, and addressing them collectively as the Soviet Super-Soldiers, informs them that he has monitored their progress for quite some time. He turns to the bald man in the red armor and addressing him as Dimitri Bukharin, remarks that he has mastered the armor created by the original Crimson Dynamo. Turning to the other man, Nicolai Krylenko, declares that he has served the state well as Vanguard. Turning to the woman however, the Colonel’s tone changes. ‘While you, Laynia Petrovna…’ he begins, until Laynia interrupts him, assuming he is going to say something about her defection to the United States, quickly exclaims that she - Darkstar - has served her people.
Brevlov declares that it is to serve mother Russia that he asks them to again unite as a team, and motions to the door, where a handsome strapping agent enters, Brevlov exclaims that they will add to their ranks the power of Major Mikhail Ursus. ‘Power?’ asks the Crimson Dynamo, exclaiming that all he sees is a man in a military uniform. But Vanguard reveals that he and Darkstar know Ursus from school, many years ago. ‘You would be wise not to taunt him’ Laynia tells Dimitri.
‘In that case, since my comrades-in-arms vouch for you, welcome to the Soviet Super-Soldiers’ the Crimson Dynamo says to Mikhail as he extends his hand. Mikhail thanks his new teammate, before shouting ‘My hand!’ as the Crimson Dynamo shakes it. Dimitri smirks and asks if something is the matter, before explaining that he clasps his hand with the smallest fraction of the transistorized power of his armored gauntlet. ‘Surely anyone worthy of joining our ranks should not feel any undue pain from a mere handshake…?’.
But suddenly, a look of shock takes over the Crimson Dynamo’s face, as Mikhail’s grip grows ever stronger, before becoming larger, and then covered in fur - a paw! ‘What manner of man are you?’ the Crimson Dynamo asks Mikhail who, by now has transformed into a complete bear, shredding his uniform as he holds Dimitri up above the ground. Laynia reminds her teammate that she warned him not to taunt Mikhail, to which Vanguard points out that their brash teammate was not to know that Major Ursus was capable of transforming himself into ‘URSA MAJOR, the man-bear!’ shouts Mikhail.
‘I believe you have proved your point, comrade’ Brevlov mumbles, so Ursa Major drops the Crimson Dynamo - hard - onto the floor, while asking the Colonel to forgive him for responding to his future comrade in kind. Brevlov lights a cigarette and remarks that as Ursus’ former schoolmates have no objection to his inclusion into their ranks, he officially welcomes Ursa Major to the Soviet Super-Soldiers.
Nicolai remarks that it is good to be reunited with Mikhail, but tells the Colonel that cannot be the reason why he called them all here. Darkstar agrees, and tells Vanguard that the Colonel must have a mission he wishes them to undertake. Brevlov declares that it is a mission which only the four of them have any hope of succeeding, and asks if they have ever heard of…the Forbidden Zone!
Ursa Major replies that he has, remarking that the Forbidden Zone has been spoken of in hushed, fearful whispers, adding that it is a radioactive region in Khystym - caused by, some say, a nuclear accident. Mikhail adds that no one goes there - no one could live there, although he had heard that its radioactivity was contained. Brevlov reveals that the Forbidden Zone is actually growing - that someone is making it grow. Laynia asks who would do such a thing, not to mention who would have the power to do it, to which the Colonel holds up a photograph of a white-haired man and replies that only one man could - the man known only as Sergei - the Presence!
Ursa Major replies that Sergei is dead - destroyed following his encounter with the American supergroup known as the Defenders. ‘That is the official version - the one we wished the world at large to believe’ Brevlov replies. Looking out his window, Brevlov reveals that Sergei never died, instead, he withdrew from the human race for a time and then reappeared to take up residence in the Forbidden Zone with his equally powerful paramour, the former Defender Dr. Tania Belinsky a.k.a. the second Red Guardian.
Brevlov remarks that, knowing how helpless conventional forces would be against the deadly duo, it was decided to leave them in peace, hoping they would do the same to the rest of the world. ‘They have not!’ Brevlov declares, revealing that, a month ago, their instruments detected a power surge from Khystym, and following that, the Forbidden Zone began to grow. Brevlov reveals that at is present rate of expansion, all Russia will become an irradiated wasteland in a matter of weeks.
Brevlov declares that they know of only one possible way to stop it, which is when Darkstar raises her hands over her head, and as she takes control of the Darkforce, she exclaims ‘By stopping Sergei and his mate! Say no more, comrade Colonel - the Soviet Super-Soldiers know what we must do!’. ‘Enter the Forbidden Zone?’ asks Ursus, to which Vanguard reminds him that they are the only ones with the power to dare try. ‘We must do more than try, Vanguard - we must prevail!’ Crimson Dynamo declares, putting on his helmet.
As the Darkforce begins to engulf the Soviet Super-Soldiers, Brevlov warns them that once they enter the Forbidden Zone, there is nothing he or anyone else can do to help them. ‘You fight on your own!’ he exclaims, before announcing that jet is fueled and ready to take them. Darkstar points out that they have no need of such a conveyance, not so long as she is in command of the Darkforce. With that, the crackling energy crescent spreads, and a nanosecond later, Laynia and the men are gone, unable to hear Brevlov remark that, although it is a bourgeois thing to say, ‘May God be with you’.
Meanwhile, riding a runaway jet through Soviet airspace, the rampaging Hulk has reached the limits of his admittedly miniscule patience. ‘Stupid plane wont let go of Hulk!’ he stammers, ‘Then Hulk will smash stupid plane!’ the Hulk concludes, and, as good as his word, he shatters the power-drive, whose killing current has held him in it’s electrical grip. Of course, the Hulk has overlooked the fact that, without the jet beneath him, he is left stranded - thousands of meters up in the air, with nowhere to go but - down!
The Hulk smashes into the ground, landing hard, he shatters the ground beneath him. Of course, the Hulk has fallen from some fearsome heights before and always survived. Gathering himself, he mutters ‘Good, Hulk has gotten rid of stupid plane!’, but looking at his surroundings, he wonders where he is now. From somewhere in the dim dark recesses of his monstrous mind though, the Hulk retrieves a memory, and recalls that he has been here before. Although he doesn’t remember when, he does remember that he didn’t like it back then and certainly doesn’t like it now.
Hulk recalls coming here with his friends - the Defenders, and wonders where they are at this moment, before he sees something in the strange buildings glowing brighter than everything else - which all glows anyway. Striding towards the light like a jade-green moth drawn towards an annihilating mind, the single-minded Hulk fails not notice a silent observer, standing in the shadows, who watches the man-monster, and wonders why he has ventured into the Forbidden Zone. ‘And more importantly, what effect will his arrival have on my well-laid plans?’ the mysterious stranger wonders.
Keeping out of the Hulk’s way, the stranger allows the Incredible Hulk to advance unimpeded, deep into the awesome architectural achievement that now lies in ruptured ruins. ‘This is where the bright light comes from!’ the Hulk bellows, certain now that he has been here before, as he looks up above, where he sees two individuals he recognizes. ‘Star-Girl and Golden-Man!’ the Hulk exclaims. However, if the powerful beings, flowing inside masses of energy recall, or even notice, the gape-jawed Hulk, they give no indication of it - they commune in indescribable ways amongst the cosmic corona, for he who is Sergei - the Presence - and she who is Dr. Tania Belinsky, former Defender and one-time Soviet super heroine the Red Guardian - and both have transcended curiosity - as well as most other human concerns.
Confused, the Hulk exclaims that Star-Girl used to be his friend, but that now she doesn’t even look at him. ‘Bah! What does Hulk care? All Hulk’s friends have deserted Hulk!’ he shouts, unaware that a black hole has suddenly appeared behind him - and through it, steps a stern, grim-faced fighting foursome - the Soviet Super-Soldiers!
Ursa Major motions to the Hulk and tells his teammates that the Forbidden Zone is producing monsters now, to which the Crimson Dynamo replies that is a strange observation from one who is hardly less monstrous himself, before boasting that an electro-thrust beam will bring the monster to its knees. However, Darkstar tells him not to, as the creature is no creation of the Forbidden Zone, but the American known as the Hulk!
Nevertheless though, the Hulk is struck by a beam of energy. Vanguard asks the Crimson Dynamo if he did not hear Darkstar, but Dynamo replies that he did not launch that beam of energy. Vanguard wonders who could have done so, when he notices someone in the shadows, making a quick getaway, he begins to follow him, while the stranger thinks to himself that he must not let Vanguard see him - yet.
The Crimson Dynamo asks if that who Vanguard follows is their foe, Sergei, but Ursus replies that the Presence would not attack from hiding then slink away. Darkstar agrees, and is certain that there is another here, before motioning to the Hulk and pointing out that it would seem the purpose of the unprovoked attack has left them to face the Hulk’s rage. ‘The gargoyle advances upon us!’ exclaims the Crimson Dynamo, calling Hulk a gargoyle, while Darkstar exclaims that she must use her Darkforce to stop the Hulk, however it is already spread so thin as she is using it to shield them from the Forbidden Zone’s radioactivity.
‘Then let brute force meet brute force!’ offers Ursa Major, stepping forward, while the Hulk exclaims that, firstly the costumed people attack him, then standing around talking in a funny language. ‘Hulk doesn’t know which makes him madder!’.
Nearby in the facility, Vanguard has cornered the mysterious cloaked stranger in a glowing corridor. ‘Hold! It is Vanguard who commands you in the name of the State!’ the hero calls out. ‘And you would never dare to take the name of the State in vain, would you, Nicolai Krylenko?’ the stranger replies, surprising Vanguard that this stranger knows his given name. The stranger replies that he knows all about Vanguard - perhaps more than Vanguard even knows about himself!
The stranger raises a hand, Vanguard assumes to attack him, and boasts that all he has to do is cross his weapons, but even so, a burst of energy is emitted from the stranger, explaining that he raised his hand in greeting, but that he realizes that only in exercising his power is he going to prove who he is. Floored, Vanguard exclaims that it isn’t possible, for never before has his crossed hammer and sickle failed to turn the force of an opponents weaponry back upon him. ‘That is because never before have they been turned against the one who created them!’ the stranger announces. Vanguard is shocked and realizes the stranger is talking about himself. ‘Your mask muffled your voice at first, but now I know you!’ Vanguard exclaims. ‘Lenin’s beard - after all these years!’.
Back in the nearby chamber, Darkstar calls out to the Hulk in English, asking him to listen to her. Laynia tells the Hulk, remarking that although his monster’s mind may not recall, the two of them fought as allies once against Magneto and Dr. Doom. However, Darkstar tells the Hulk that he is now interfering in a task that must be accomplished quickly if mother Russia - and perhaps the world - are to survive. With that, Darkstar casts her Darkforce around the Hulk, binding him, she hopes until their mission is done.
‘Girl says she and Hulk were friends - and then tries to hurt Hulk with blackness?’ the confused behemoth exclaims. ‘Hulk may be a monster, but Hulk understands that friends do not hurt friends!’ he exclaims, unaware that sometimes friends must hurt friends, when the very future seems at stake. Although the mind of the Hulk is capable of greater subtlety than most suspect, when attacked, it is his anger that inevitable wins over his childlike intellect. ‘Make blackness go away girl! Let Hulk go!’ the Hulk shouts as he manages to free himself from the Darkforce binding him.
However, his actions cause the brave Darkstar, who struck the Hulk first to save him from harming her teammates, to feel pain, as the Darkforce is a part of her too, and while in mid-air, she stumbles from the physical attack and falls to the ground, where she lands and is rendered unconscious. There are after all, few who can withstand the overwhelming rage of the Incredible Hulk. The exclaims that the blackness is gone, before turning to the fallen Darkstar and declaring that he only meant to hurt the blackness, not girl as well.
The Crimson Dynamo and Ursa Major rush towards the Hulk, ‘You misbegotten monstrosity!’ Dynamo exclaims. ‘We allowed Darkstar to approach you first…’ his voice trails off, before Major Ursus explains that Darkstar wished to subdue the Hulk without harming him, before warning the Hulk that he will now answer to the two of them. ‘Costumed men yell at Hulk in funny language again!’ the Hulk shouts. ‘If that means you are ready to attack Hulk - then come! Hulk is ready for you! Hulk will smash you both!’ he boasts.
Meanwhile, more than half a world away, Rick Jones stands on the doorstep of Avengers Mansion, thinking to himself ‘I don’t get it! I come to Avengers Mansion asking helping finding the Hulk - and Jarvis asks me to wait out here on the stoop! Me - Rick Jones - who was almost an Avenger once!’. Soon, the door finally opens again, and Captain America assures Jarvis that this is Rick Jones, that there is no doubt about it, and asks him to be let in. Jarvis replies that he suspected it was Rick, ‘But without a retina print on file…’ his voice trails off.
‘A what?’ Rick asks. Captain America replies that it is a security precaution, and tells Rick that a lot has changed since he was last here. ‘Yeah, I guess so’ Rick mumbles as he approaches Cap, who remarks ‘You told Jarvis you needed help to find the Hulk?’. Rick replies that he has been thinking about how Bruce Banner became the Hulk - by saving his life - and about how he ran out on Bruce when he needed him. But Cap tells Rick not to be so hard on himself, as he knows the Hulk had become too savage for anyone to help or to hurt. ‘Yeah, well, I still owe ol’ Greenskin’ Rick replies.
Cap tells Rick that he has always admired his loyalty to the Hulk, and asks him what he wants the Avengers to do. ‘I want you to save the Hulk, Cap!’ Rick replies, before revealing that Colonel Glenn Talbot of Gamma Base has gone off the deep end. ‘And fled the country in some new, ultra secret battle-cruiser called the War Wagon?’ Cap remarks, explaining that the Avengers have had a report. Cap leads Rick back to the door as he tells him he is probably right in thinking that Talbot plans to use the War Wagon to hunt the Hulk, but that there is nothing the Avengers can do.
Cap assures Rick that they would like to help the Hulk, but that he has been spotted behind the Iron Curtain, and the Avengers almost caused an international incident by doing in there without authorization recently. ‘Russia, huh?’ Rick remarks, before asking what happens if the Hulk makes it back to the States. ‘Then all you have to do is call on us’ Cap assures Rick. ‘Scouts honor, Cap?’ Rick asks. ‘My word as an Avenger, son’ Cap replies, as the allies wave goodbye.
Moments, later, Rick walks along the street, hands in pockets, he admits that he sees Cap’s point, as the Avengers cannot risk starting World War III just to find the Hulk. However, he wonders if there is something he can do while he is waiting for the Hulk to return home. ‘Yeah, and I know just what that something is!’ Rick decides, striding along with purpose once more, and an idea brewing in his brain.
Back in the Forbidden Zone, an epic battle rages on. ‘Let me be the first to strike!’ Ursa Major asks Dynamo, who replies ‘No’ and remarks that although Ursus is strong, the creator of the Crimson Dynamo armor constructed it to rival that of Iron Man. As the Crimson Dynamo and Hulk prepare to face off, Dimitri exclaims that he has heard it said in awed whispers that not even Iron Man and his fellow Avengers have ever prevailed against the Hulk, before declaring that he will try to hold the monster while Ursus revives Darkstar, reminding Ursus that his armor protects him from the radiation, but that Ursus and Laynia are only protected by her Darkforce.
‘Armored man does nothing but jabber! Does armored man want to talk - or fight?’ the Hulk exclaims, before smashing into Dynamo. Dynamo admits that the Hulk is powerful, and urges Major Ursus to go and tend to their fallen comrade, find Vanguard and go after Sergei. ‘I will hold the Hulk…as long as I can!’ he exclaims, while a reluctant Ursa Major obeys. The Crimson Dynamo rises from the floor to renew his battle, and blasts the Hulk, who growls and shouts ‘Armored man shoots ray at Hulk?’ before declaring that the ray hurts, although he has fought another - Iron Man, ‘And Hulk has smashed him like Hulk will smash you!’ the Hulk boasts as he pushes forward towards the Crimson Dynamo, defying the electro thrust beam.
The Crimson Dynamo thinks to himself that although he is encased in near-invincible armor, he still feels the crushing power behind each one of the Hulk’s blows. He knows that he has pledged to buy time so that his comrades can regroup and find Sergei, but against the Hulk, it seems all his power will purchase but a few minutes at most! Dimitri boasts that he will battle on - even though it may cost him his life.
As the Hulk lifts Dynamo up, Dimitri unleashes a powerful thruster blast from his foot, smacking the Hulk at point-blank range in the face, causing the Hulk to cry out in pain. However, the Hulk maintains his hold of the Crimson Dynamo, boasting that the armored man has not made him let go, the Hulk exclaims that what he holds, he can smash, and does so, by brining the Crimson Dynamo down against the floor - hard.
Dimitri realizes that his circuitry has been smashed, and his armor behind to malfunction with his power almost gone. ‘The Hulk has crushed me as an elephant crushes an ant!’ the Crimson Dynamo thinks to himself, while the Hulk remarks that the armored man has stopped jabbering now. ‘Hulk knows he has won when his enemies at last shut up!’ the Hulk declares as he tosses the Crimson Dynamo across the chamber and into some machinery.
However, Ursa Major comes running up behind the Hulk, thinking to himself that Vanguard is gone, and Darkstar and the Dynamo have been defeated. Ursus knows the importance of their mission, but declares that he cannot allow his comrades to go unavenged. ‘Hulk has beaten girl and armored man! Hulk is the strongest one there is!’ the Hulk boasts, when suddenly, the giant bear wraps his arms around the Hulk, getting him in a hold, Ursa Major tells the Hulk that his actions explain his words, but that before he proclaims his victory over the Soviet Super-Soldiers, he must first answer to Ursa Major.
‘Hairy man leaps at Hulk from behind - tries to drive Hulk down to the floor!’ the Hulk exclaims as he resists Ursus’ attack, boasting that no one pushes the Hulk down. Ursus is knocked back, and thinks to himself that the Hulk is half his size, but more than ten times as strong. ‘What could create such a creature?’ he wonders, before noting the aggressive Hulk and deciding that he seems madder - and stronger - than ever! Ursus realizes that without Darkstar’s protection, the Forbidden Zone’s radiation saps his own enormous strength as he and the Hulk punch each other up.
So engrossed in battle, Ursa Major does not see a silent shape outside the chamber step towards the unconscious and defenceless Darkstar. The mysterious figure sees Ursa Major fighting for his life, and knows that he risks all if he were to make Ursus aware of his presence now. ‘Let him join us - if he lives’ the stranger thinks to himself as he picks up Darkstar. ‘If not, the battle will have to be carried by Vanguard, Darkstar - and myself!’. Holding Laynia in his arms, the stranger makes his exit.
Ursa Major punches the Hulk past the opening to the chamber and sees that Darkstar is missing. ‘In the heat of battle, I forgot to guard her!’ Ursus exclaims, before he tries to summon all of his strength, smashing the Hulk into some machinery. ‘So hairy man is stronger than he pretended!’ the Hulk exclaims, before kicking Ursus in the stomach and declaring that it doesn’t matter, for he is still stronger.
This battle though, destroying various glowing instruments in the unearthly lab has suddenly become the attention of the creator of - and power behind - said machines - Sergei - the Presence - who now makes his entrance. ‘Who dares to interrupt our cosmic communion!?’ he exclaims. The Presence floats down from high above, telling the Red Guardian to remain where she is, continuing to spin the strands of power. ‘I will deal with those who would disturb our task!’ he exclaims as he unleashes a powerful blast against Ursa Major and the Hulk.
At that very moment, Ursus realizes that it is he who the Super-Soldiers cam to destroy, while the Hulk shouts ‘What is happening to Hulk?’. The Presence expends the most minute measure of the power that is his to command on the bestial combatants. ‘I have betrayed my mission!’ Ursus exclaims, as his bear form and the Hulk’s monster form fade away, both men are returned to their human forms under the power of the Presence, while Ursus exclaims that, instead of seeking out and destroying the Presence before he could devastate all of Russia, he and his fellow Super-Soldiers have delayed too long by battling the Hulk. ‘And in so doing…may have doomed a world!’.
The Presence hovers over the men, announcing that these destructive intruders are not altogether what they seem, and as they return to their true forms, he declares that they will do no further damage to the precious instruments which he needs to carry out his task. ‘No!’ Major Ursus thinks to himself, knowing that if the Presence succeeds, then the world will become a radioactive wasteland….


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Family that DIES Together…!
Within the Forbidden Zone, located in the Khystym province of the Soviet Union, where the Zone’s radiation has been rapidly spreading outward, the Soviet Super-Soldiers have been sent to investigate, only to find the evolved Sergei - also known as the Presence, his consort Dr. Tania Belinsky, a.k.a. the former Defender known as Red Guardian, and, surprisingly, the Incredible Hulk!
The Presence hovers above new Soviet Super-Solider Major Mikhail Ursus a.k.a. Ursa Major, and the Incredible Hulk, asking what madness reigns. ‘While the Red Guardian and I cosmically commune, two brawling behemoths threaten the equipment so vital to our plan!’ The diabolical Presence exclaims as he blasts both Ursa Major and the Hulk with his energies, while the Red Guardian hovers nearby, telling her beloved not to harm them, for it may be said that the creatures know not what they do.
Red Guardian exclaims that she does not wish to harm the lower orders, to which Sergei replies that he must ensure that they do no further damage to his instruments, and informs Tania that he senses the two beings are not altogether what they seem, that their power is embodied in their bestiality, so it is a simple matter to negate whatever peril that power possesses, and thus, he transforms them back to their original forms.
Major Ursus clutches his head, shocked that Sergei was able to supercede his shape-shifting power with a mere thought, while an equally surprised Bruce Banner exclaims that he has been transformed from monster to man - from the Hulk to human - with effortless ease by a being with the powers of a god. ‘Where am I? What the blazes is going on!?’ Bruce exclaims. The Red Guardian informs her former teammate that he is now in Russia, and in the presence of - the Presence!
The Presence tells Tania that although her ally possesses an intellect capable of understanding, and even aiding them in their plan, there is no time for that. The Presence then mind-scans Ursa Major and discovers that he did not enter the Forbidden Zone alone - but in the company of three other self-styled saviors of the State - his teammates, the Soviet Super-Soldiers - Darkstar, Vanguard and the Crimson Dynamo. The Presence remarks that he also senses that there is another being lurking in the shadows, shielding his thoughts from the probes, and declares that he fears this one more than the others.
The Presence continues to hold Mikhail and Bruce in energy stasis, exclaiming that their enemies surround them, and now that these two are in their power, they can be eliminated. Bruce fears that he and his fellow prisoner are going to be killed, and wishes that he could transform into the Hulk again, while Tania tells her lover to hold, and exclaims that these two are humans, just as they both were once, therefore slaying them would be inhuman and render all of their work meaningless. ‘True. It is so easy to disregard the sanctity of human life when one has transcended humanity’ the Presence replies.
The Presence and Red Guardian turn from Mikhail and Bruce, while the Presence remarks that his beloved always reminds him of humanity, and for that, he cherishes her even more. ‘They shall live - but unable to interfere’ the Presence remarks as they take their leave from this chamber, while Bruce realizes that although the Presence and Red Guardian are leaving, they have done something to him - his pulse is racing, heart pounding like a trip-hammer, but he is not transforming into the Hulk for some reason.
Suddenly, with the Presence and Red Guardian gone, a cloaked figure steps out of the shadows, and uses an energy beam to free the prisoners of the Presence. Mikhail and Bruce fall from the air as the force field around them fades away, and they fall to the ground, where Mikhail exclaims that the voice of their liberator, he knows it and never dared hope that he would hear it again! He rushes over to his rescuer while Bruce begins talking to Mikhail in the Soviet’s native language, explaining that he studied it while he was obtaining his doctorate in physics, before asking who has set them free - who possesses the power to counter the Presence?
Mikhail lifts his rescuer off the ground, ’The one who raised me as an orphaned child - the one who I called my father, my tutor…my friend!’ Mikhail exclaims excitedly. The cloaked stranger asks Dr. Banner to forgive the exuberance of youth, explaining that it has been a long time since he and Mikhail have seen each other, he then introduces himself as Professor Phobos. ‘You called me by name! You know me?’ asks Bruce, surprised. Professor Phobos removes his cloak and remarks that Dr. Bruce Banner is the world’s foremost authority on Gamma radiation - not to mention victim of an unfortunate accident that turned him into the mightiest mortal on the face of the Earth. ‘Yes, we have heard of you even in this secrecy-enshrouded land’.
Professor Phobos remarks that he was privy to all information of a scientific nature prior to its butchering at the hands of the State censors. As the three other members of the Super-Soldiers enter - Laynia “Darkstar” Petrovna, Nicolai “Vanguard” Krylenko and the Crimson Dynamo a.k.a. Dimitri Burkharin - Phobos explains that he had to be privy to that information, for he was the head of the ultra-secret, Soviet research project called…the Super-Soldier School!
(Shown with Flashback illustrations)Phobos explains that it began one Winter’s night in Moscow, nineteen years ago: when a black Lada, tires crunching in the snow, came to a stop before an unassuming building on Gorky Street, and from inside the car, stepped two men - bearing two infants. The two men stood stiff and contemptuous making no effort to disguise their connection with the Committee of State Security - the KGB. And although they had not signaled their presence, the door opened to them, where they were greeted by a small boy, who informed them that the teacher was expecting them.
Despite being outraged at being greeted by a seven year old boy while on a secret mission of State, the KGB nevertheless accompanied Mikhail Ursus into a room, where Professor Phobos was reading a book beside a fireplace. He greets the KGB and asked them what has brought them out on this night. ‘We have brought the children’. ‘Although they should have been destroyed as the devils they are!’ the KGB officers replied. Phobos stood up and exclaimed that the children are of vital importance to the Soviet Union, and that they are never to be harmed. ‘Do you understand? NEVER!’ exclaimed Phobos as his skin and hair tuned purple, and the KGB exclaimed ‘My mind! Lenin’s ghost! What are you doing to my mind!’.
Phobos took the children from the KGB, before turning to the seven year-old boy, dressed in a military uniform, and exclaimed ‘Mikhail Ursus, show our visitors out’. ‘Da, comrade teacher!’ the boy replied, before transforming into a giant bear. The KGB run for their lives, deathly frightened. These children were mutants, not the first born in Russia, but the first to survive the Stalinist suspicion of the Soviet State apparatus. Rumors of similar “gifted children” being born in America had prompted the authorities to re-evaluate their powerful prodigies and train them in the service of the State. For sixteen years this was Professor Phobos’ task and triumph.
One day, years later, when the three teens were training, Professor Phobos entered the training room with a box. ‘Have you come to grade us?’ asked Nicolai, while Laynia wondered what was in the box. Phobos replied that he has graduation gifts for them - for their training was now complete. Phobos asked Nicolai to step forward, remarking that as his power is to turn an enemy’s power back against him, the symbols of the State will help him focus that power, as Vanguard, and handed him a hammer and sickle.
Phobos told Laynia that the Darkforce which she possesses is some sort of alien manifestation of her consciousness, and handing her an amulet, and calling her Darkstar, remarked that with this, she can control it. Ursus remarked that he sees no gift for him, to which Phobos explained that his shape-shifting power is complete unto itself, and remarked that, as the oldest of the trio, he gives him the gift of leadership, revealing that he must leave.
(Present)Phobos reveals that later that night, he fled his school, burning all of his notes, all except his notes about his “gifted” students, and vanished into the frozen wastes of Siberia. Darkstar asks her former mentor why he abandoned them as their real parents had done so, many years before, to which Phobos replies that the reins of State power had changed, and mutants were feared - but feared even more was he, the man who controlled them. Phobos explains that he would have been killed, or, worse, been forced to manipulate his students to do the State’s will. ‘I would not betray your trust in me that way’ Phobos remarks, before revealing that he learned that at first the State wanted to slay his students, but instead, they were split up - Vanguard and Ursa Major were drafted into the army, while Darkstar was sent to America under the watchful eye of the fourth Crimson Dynamo.
Phobos remarks that now, the State has allowed them to regroup, so they can fight a menace they regard as more of as threat than mutant kind - the Forbidden Zone. Bruce Banner remarks that the Forbidden Zone was a contained area, to which Phobos replies that it no longer is, as Sergei and the Red Guardian have been trying to spread it in an inexorable radioactive wave over the entire Soviet Union, in the hope that those touched by the contamination will either die or mutate into beings like themselves. Banner exclaims that this is madness, and asks if Sergei possess the power - his voice trails off, and Phobos remarks ‘To make men into monsters?’ pointing out that Sergei transformed both Banner and Ursus back into men.
‘Yes!’ exclaims Banner as he declares that now he wishes he could become the Hulk to stop the Presence, but he has cured him, turned him into a normal man again. Banner adds that he cannot believe that the Red Guardian, once his teammate in the Defenders, can be helping the Presence. Phobos explains that Tania Belinsky can no longer be considered human, that she is one with Sergei. Phobos exclaims that they must now act, revealing that during his self-imposed exile, he learnt much about Sergei, and believes he now knows how to stop him, before pointing out that firstly they must tend to the unconscious Crimson Dynamo.
Banner admits that he is responsible for the Crimson Dynamo’s condition, that he did it while he was the Hulk. Darkstar covers her teammate in the Darkforce energies that she commands, and teleports him to distant Leningrad, where he can receive the best possible care. Almost instantly, the Crimson Dynamo arrives in a Leningrad hospital, where a doctor and nurse see him appear on a bed and prepare to ready the emergency room.
Phobos explains that, although Sergei is a mighty force unto himself, he still needs these infernal machines to produce and spread the radioactive contamination. Phobos reveals that he believes he can turn Sergei’s own instruments against him, but that he needs time to do so. Darkstar, Vanguard and Ursa Major leap into action, departing the room, they tell their former mentor that he will have time, even if they have to buy it with their lives.
Phobos tells Dr. Banner that his students are brave, but that what he needs to stop Sergei is brain power. Banner stands in shock as Phobos uses his powers to move a massive piece of machinery with the power of his mind. Banner asks Phobos if he is a mutant like his students, to which Phobos replies ‘Of course - why else would I have been chosen to head the Super-Soldier School? Why else would the very State I now hope to save, fear me and wish to have me killed?’. Phobos then asks the astonished Banner if he will help him save his country, and, perhaps, the world.
While Bruce nods his head, a gigantic golden battle-cruiser soars aggressively into Soviet airspace. It is called the War Wagon. It’s purpose is to track down and kill one being - the Incredible Hulk! Inside its gleaming decks stalks one man, obsessed with his mission - Glenn Talbot, whom lately, has been labeled a traitor by his countrymen for stealing this War Wagon. Glenn notes that his is over the Soviet Union now, but there is still no trace of the Hulk.
On the Bridge, Talbot consults his sole companion, ‘Status report, Brain!’ he exclaims, and a computer begins talking to him, announcing that the gamma trail search is negative, and that their quarry has disappeared in Khystym region of the USSR. The computer than reports that it detects afterburner emissions, and Talbot realizes that the Soviets have sent up Jets.
The Soviet soldiers report to each other, announcing that the intruder is flying below radar cover and that it is big. ‘Da! We have established visual contact, ground control!’ the airborne soldiers report back, and begin firing interceptors. Talbot’s computer informs him that the pursuit planes have commenced attack, so Talbot orders hypersonic shields to be activated. Pitched too high for the unaided human ear to hear, a pulsating series of sonic waves is emitted by the War Wagon’s sound canons.
The carefully modulated soundwaves shatter the Soviet pursuit planes, while allowing the pilots to eject themselves to safety. The computer informs Talbot that he registers no further attacks, that the Russians seem to fear the area they are about to enter. ‘Fear it? Why?’ asks Talbot. The computer replies ‘Radiation’, so Talbot assumes that is what is masking the Hulk’s gamma trail, and orders his computer to keep searching.
Far below, in the heart of the Forbidden Zone, the Soviet Super-Soldiers mount a race against time. ‘This complex is so vast!’ exclaims the beautiful Darkstar as she flies ahead of her male companions. Vanguard reminds everyone that only Darkstar’s Darkforce shields them from the incredibly high levels of radiation, while Ursa Major, trailing slightly behind, wonders what he can do to help his comrades when they find Sergei, when suddenly, Phobos contacts his former student telepathically, telling Mikhail to fear not, as Sergei did not wipe out his mutant abilities, he merely switched off that sector of his brain which controlled them. ‘Defeat him, and you will be whole once more’ Phobos exclaims. ‘I will, Professor - I must. My power is my life!’ Mikhail replies.
Suddenly, Darkstar announces that the enemy is ahead. ‘Sergei!’ shouts Vanguard, clutching his hammer and sickle. ‘The Presence!’ Major Ursus thinks to himself. The Presence and the Red Guardian hover in cosmic communion, high above the floor of a chamber which once contained the power-core of the vast complex comprising the Forbidden Zone. Mikhail points out that Sergei and Tania pay no attention to the three of them, to which Darkstar remarks that they are but insects, unworthy of the attention of those who would be gods.
‘Vanguard is no insect!’ the brash mutant exclaims, ‘He is a soldier of the State!’, to which Darkstar asks ‘Still - even after what our teacher said about how the State fears and hates our powers?’. Laynia’s question plagues Vanguard, but does not stay his arm as he tosses his sickle upwards - however, the slightest gesture by Sergei deflects the sickle, causing its razor-sharp blade to slice a swath through the banks of computer columns instead of through Sergei himself.
Vanguard’s sickle returns to him as he asks Darkstar how they can fight the two beings as they possess so much power. The Presence tells his beloved that, once again, they are beset by fools, and asks if he must be merciful when their actions endanger the critical movement of their endeavors. ‘Stop them if you must, Sergei - but for my sake, do not hurt them!’ the kind-hearted Tania replies. ‘Have no fear on that score, woman!’ Vanguard bellows as he holds his sickle and hammer up, and thus as Sergei’s blasts hit his weapons, they are deflected back to the Presence, hitting him with force.
Vanguard then demonstrates other uses of his weapons, boasting that they are attuned to his mind and alive in his hands, he tosses them towards the Red Guardian, where they encircle her and hurl her force bolts back upon herself. The Presence is annoyed, telling Vanguard that the Red Guardian is all there is to temper his fury with compassion. ‘For harming her, you shall feel that fury unleashed!’.
The Presence proceeds to release another blast of energy upon Vanguard, while Major Ursus notes that, without his hammer and sickle, Nicolai is defenseless, and leaps towards him, knocking his friend out of harms way, despite Nicolai telling him not to, ‘Unable to change your shape, you are powerless!’ he exclaims, but Mikhail replies that they were brought up as brothers, so he cannot desert him.
Sergei sees Major Ursus and realizes that he is free from the energy cocoon in which he left him, so decides that the laboratory he left him in may now be in the hands of those who would oppose him. Darkstar quickly alerts her male companions that they have been discovered, for Sergei realizes now that their purpose is to hold him here. Mikhail assures Laynia that they will hold him here, with her Darkforce, and his cybernetic weapons, which have just returned to his hands.
‘I think not, children!’ The Presence boasts, before telling Tania to come along, as they must see what new insanity threatens the completion of their task, but, suddenly, a darkness deeper than night extends across the Presence and Red Guardian. ‘It chills my soul - and prevents out atoms from passing through it!’ the Presence exclaims, before declaring ‘The fools! Do they not understand that, if they stop us, their world may well be doomed?!’. Tania replies that they do not, for the two of them, in their aloof superiority, have not taken the time to explain.
Back in the laboratory, Dr. Banner and Prof. Phobos are laboring feverishly the forces of the Forbidden Zone. Bruce tends to various controls, while telling Phobos that he understands what he is trying to create, a stasis field to contain Sergei’s power. ‘Yes, and bind him and the Red Guardian with their own awesome energies!’ Phobos explains, before telling Banner that he could not have completed it so quickly without his help.
Back in the chamber, a pained Laynia announces that the Darkforce is suffering, that she can hear it crying out. Vanguard replies that he wishes they could help her, but that it is her power against the power of the Presence now. Darkstar, a true hero, suppresses her tears and fights on. Inside the darkness, Red Guardian blasts at the deep dark, while the Presence suddenly announces that he sees a light in the darkness. A pinhole, infinitesimally small, but an opening nonetheless. The duo combine their powers, focusing them on the hole so that they can be free.
Outside the darkness, Darkstar groans, and the Red Guardian exclaims that their act has caused her pain. ‘You still care about them? I am amazed!’ exclaims Sergei, while Vanguard catches the weakened Darkstar as she falls. Mikhail exclaims that the strain of feeling the Darkforce breached was too much for Darkstar and Laynia can no longer contain them. Major Ursus adds that there is a mystery here, explaining that Sergei and Tania could have slain all three of them right now, but instead they passed them by. ‘Why, if they mean to destroy the Soviet Union, didn’t they simply start by destroying us?’ Mikhail wonders. Vanguard of course, used to fighting with his fists rather than his head, has no answer.
Back in the laboratory, Phobos informs Dr. Banner that they are ready, the stasis beam is complete, to which Banner exclaims that all they have to do now is get Sergei to walk into it. Suddenly, Phobos announces that the weapon will be used sooner than expected, as his Super-Soldiers have brought all they time they could, as he senses the imminent approach of the Presence and the Red Guardian. Indeed, the powerful duo enter the laboratory, and Sergei exclaims that the one who’s power he detected earlier, is in here.
Red Guardian informs Sergei that the stranger’s thoughts are in turmoil, and suggests to her beloved that he have a care, explaining that while the Super-Soldiers meant only to delay them, this one here plans their destruction. Confused, Dr. Banner exclaims that the stasis beam is only meant to imprison them, to which Phobos assures Bruce that the Presence and Red Guardian seek to distract him with lies, and orders him to hit the switch, for delay means death. ‘Yes, you’re right!’ Dr. Banner exclaims as he hit’s the switch.
‘Sergei! Beloved!’ screams the Red Guardian as she is caught in the stasis beam. The Presence assures Tania that he would protect her from this pain if he could - but that the power which lashes at their atoms is their very own. The duo writhe in agony in the stasis field, powerless against it, when suddenly the Super-Soldiers enter the lab. Darkstar is relieved that Professor Phobos is unharmed, and Vanguard agrees, when suddenly, a crazed Phobos exclaims ‘At last, after all these years I have finally attained the means to become supremely powerful - to destroy the State that dared drive me into exile!’.
Vanguard calls out to Phobos, telling him that he does not understand, and asks if he means to use the power he is draining from Sergei and the Red Guardian to undo their evil, to decontaminate the Forbidden Zone. ‘Is that how the mind-manipulator deceived you?’ Red Guardian asks the hero. ‘Deceived us? What do you mean?’ Banner asks his former teammate. Tania replies that the madman is so sure of his triumph that he has dropped his mind screen, which allows her to recognize Pieter Phobos, a man whose aims are now what they have always been - to steal power from others and use it to attack the Soviet State.
The twisted Professor Phobos exclaims that the Red Guardian is correct, and boasts that he is, and has always been - a power parasite!
(Shown with Flashback illustrations)Phobos reveals that, for years, as Dean of the School for Super-Soldiers, he secretly drained the mutant abilities of his students, to cybernetically create his own, artificial mind-powers. For years, Ursa Major, Vanguard, Darkstar and the other mutant children who did not survive the rigors of their training, added to his powers - until he was discovered by the Red Guardian - ‘Traitor! The State knows how you have used this School and its students to further your own ends!’ the Red Guardian told Phobos.
(Present)Phobos reveals that he overpowered the Red Guardian, before giving his students certain tokens which would continue to feed their powers into him, before he fled into the Forbidden Zone. Phobos announces that it is he who has been spreading the contamination of the Forbidden Zone, while Sergei and the Red Guardian have been trying to stop him. ‘Then all your teaching, everything you ever told us - was lies?!’ gasps Vanguard.
‘Yes, Vanguard - and you were the easiest to deceive!’ Phobos boasts as he blasts Nicolai with some energy and remarking that by arming Vanguard with the symbols of the Soviet State he ensured that Nicolai could never turn his powers against him. Darkstar begins to remove the diadem in her tiara, but Phobos blasts her also, exclaiming that without the diadem, the Darkforce would be totally in her control, however while she wears it, she is powerless before him. Mikhail rushes up behind Phobos and attempts to take him down, but Phobos shoves him aside, telling him that without his shape-shifting powers were Sergei so obligingly removed, he is less than nothing.
The Soviet Super-Soldiers lie motionless at Professor Phobos’ feet, and boasts that the incredible irony of this all is that he, a non-mutant with stolen powers, shall preside over the eradication of an entire family of true mutants. ‘What do you mean?’ Dr. Banner asks, confused. ‘Witness - Sergei - the father!’ shouts the mad Phobos, motioning up to the Presence.
(Shown with Flashback illustrations)Once, a brilliant nuclear physicist, Sergei accidentally irradiated himself and his pregnant young wife during an experiment - the woman died in childbirth, and, engulfed by his own guilt, Sergei believed the KGB when they told him that his infant children also perished soon after.
With his body wracked by the same killing radiation, Sergei sought a cure, here, in Khystym, and his research made him the most powerful scientist in Soviet Russia, and his search for a cure made him…the Presence!
However, his children lived - as the secret police brought them to Phobos for training, where he subsequently stole the powers of Vanguard and Darkstar to create his own.
(Present)Dr. Banner rushes towards Phobos, ‘And now you’d slay them - and endanger a country containing hundreds of millions of people as well!?’ he shouts. ‘After irradiating them all - yes!’ Phobos announces, boasting that the more mutants he creates, the more power will exist for him to siphon into himself, before blasting Dr. Banner aside, telling him that the stasis beam he created shall aid him. ‘No!’ shouts Bruce as he lands in some machinery. ‘Yes, American - Yes!’ Phobos shouts, boasting that once the radioactive contamination of the Forbidden Zone has engulfed Russia, he shall extend it to the United States as well.
‘There must be some way to stop you - there has to be!’ exclaims Dr. Banner, when suddenly, ‘There is, Dr. Banner!’ comes a thought, whispered in Bruce’s mind. The Presence reveals himself, explaining that the machine has made him too weak to defy Professor Phobos, but announces that he can retract the mind-blockage preventing he and Ursa Major from becoming their otherselves. ‘You can make me the Hulk again?’ Bruce thinks, wondering if that is the price he must pay for saving his world. ‘Do it then! God help me, let the man become…the monster!’.
And with that, Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk once more, just as Major Ursus shifts into his bear form. Mikhail points out that Sergei has kept his promise, so now it falls upon the two of them to save humanity. Of course, the Hulk does not understand the Russian-speaking bear, ‘But Hulk knows who he must smash!’ he exclaims as the two of them approach Phobos, who realizes what Sergei has done and warns him that he will pay for this.
Up above, Tania exclaims that the stasis beam is intensifying, to which Sergei explains that Phobos is draining their power more quickly to strike at his enemies and speed up the spread of the Forbidden Zone.
Phobos uses his powers against the Hulk and Major Ursus, angrily shouting at them: ‘Back you lumbering monstrosity! Back you loathsome mutation!’. Ursa Major then reminds his former mentor that he never gave him a gift by which he could control him like he did Vanguard and Darkstar, to which the Hulk exclaims ‘Words in funny language! All man and man-bear want to do is talk! Hulk hates words! Hulk only wants to smash!’. Phobos quickly finds that his power has no effect on his former charge as Ursa Major wraps his arms around the madman, in a literal “bear-hug” to which Major Ursus remarks that Phobos’ power is to manipulate human minds, but the Hulk, and he while in his man-bear form, are too bestial for manipulation.
Nearby, Darkstar and Vanguard are recovering, and Nicolai asks Laynia if she heard everything - that the Presence is their father, and they are therefore brother and sister. ‘Yes! He never abandoned us! The State convinced him we were dead!’ Laynia exclaims as she takes the diadem from her tiara, exclaiming that, for years they believed the State’s and Professor Phobos’s lies, but now, they know the truth - ‘And it shall free us from past loyalties!’ Laynia declares.
With the diadem removed, Laynia feels a flooding of power through her body like she has not known since she was a child - a blessed merging of herself and another shadowed entity - the Darkforce. ‘I am whole again! The Darkforce and I are one! We are…wondrous!’ Laynia exclaims, before turning to the Presence, and addressing him as Father, declares that his daughter shall free him. With that, she uses her power up on the stasis field holding the Presence and Red Guardian.
‘Now, Phobos! You will feel our power!’ Ursa Major exclaims, while Phobos screams, exclaiming that Ursa Major’s grip crushes his ribs, while the Hulk tears his armor off. ‘Man tried to help puny Banner! Hulk hates Banner and now Hulk hates this man!’ the Hulk exclaims, while Vanguard announces that his hammer and sickle have been purged of Phobos’ control, and now his power flows through them, unimpeded, which means he can help his sister in the liberation of their father.
The Presence calls out to his children, explaining to them that Phobos has computed his machinery, used it to make the radioactive forces of the Forbidden Zone more unstable than ever. Vanguard asks his father if they can rebuild it before the contamination spreads beyond the borders of the Forbidden Zone, to which the Presence replies that they cannot, explaining that a chain reaction builds radioactive molecules replicating themselves at an incredible pace, so soon, the Forbidden Zone will erupt outwards.
The Presence reveals that the only way to prevent the radiation spread is for he and the Red Guardian to absorb the unstable energies into themselves and to transform it and themselves into inert matter far from this earthly sphere. The Presence and Red Guardian begin to do so, and Sergei bids farewell to his children. ‘I never betrayed you! I loved you with all my heart!’ he exclaims, while the Red Guardian bids Earth farewell. ‘I go to dwell for all eternity with him who I love above life itself!’.
With that, the powerful duo rise higher in the sky, shining like stars as the radiation becomes one with them. ‘Father!’ cries a shocked Darkstar, while Vanguard rushes to his sister’s side, exclaiming that their father and the woman with whom he chose to share his isolation are leaving, taking the Forbidden Zone’s perilous radiation with them. ‘Have we found our father after all these years - only to lose him for all eternity!?’. In a blinding flash, the Presence and Tania Belinsky are gone.
Vanguard comforts Laynia, telling her it is over, that they are alone again and have only themselves and Mikhail. Laynia declares that the Super-Soldiers will continue to battle evil, but that they will never blindly follow any State or leader again. Ursa Major returns to his human form, standing over Professor Phobos, he announces that the teacher is finished, for the cybernetic armor he wore is now totally destroyed, and he cannot use it to boost his artificial powers any further.
Mikhail announces that Phobos will stand trial for threatening the Soviet and for brining about the deaths of Sergei and the Red Guardian. A destroyed Phobos wallows in his broken armor, while the Hulk exclaims that everyone is talking now, so the fight must be done. ‘Good! Hulk was tired of fighting puny humans he could not understand!’.
Meanwhile, in New York City, Rick Jones sends a radio call out to the Teen Brigade. Although the broadcast is transmitted from the Empire State Building, it originates in a deserted radio station whose disc jockey admired the music of Rick Jones. The former partner of the Hulk exclaims ‘If any of you are receiving me out there - I just want you to know the Teen Brigade is back in business!.


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Weirdsong of the Wen-Di-Go!
Deep in the woods of Northern Canada, an emerald beam of light stabs down out of the sky. Within its compass, man becomes monster becomes man again.
Plummeting out of the night sky, Bruce Banner falls to the ground. As he does, he transforms into the Hulk. Upon impact with the ground, he reverts back to Bruce Banner. Despite his snowscape surroundings, Dr. Bruce Banner is awash with sweat. Picking himself up off the ground, he wonders how he got there and then he remembers. He recalls waking on the redsward of a distant planet – Halfworld – occupied by unintelligent automations and intelligent animals. There the monster encountered Rocket Raccoon & company.
There also, the Hulk met that Machiavellian mole, Judson Jakes, and his sinister chief scientist, the tortoise Uncle Pyko. Having helped Rocket Raccoon breech Jakes’ defenses and retrieve the stolen Gideon’s bible, the Hulk chose to take Uncle Pyko up on his offer. Seconds later, the jade giant departed the zany keystone quadrant riding a green beam of light, gamma green to be exact. Banner realizes that Uncle Pyko did send him back to Earth after all. Him? No, the Hulk. How is it he now recalls so vividly events in which he took part as his emerald alter-ego when normally he only dimly remembers what madness the Hulk is involved in? That is a question Bruce Banner will ponder later – should he survive.
Freezing, Banner determines that he needs to find shelter. Shelter? In this wilderness? Well, perhaps this man who has been cursed in everything else will be blessed, at least, in that. Perhaps. Up ahead, Banner notices a cabin and begins to make his way towards it. Maybe there he’ll be able to build a fire and even find food. Or maybe there he will become food.
A short distance away, Dr. Walter Langkowski carries a rifle as he walks through the snow and thinks to himself that it’s insane to be moving through the woods at night but he has no other choice. There is another hunter he must find. A hunter of… men!
Though he would rather he didn’t, Dr. Walter Langkowski remembers that night… He had been camping when he heard the screams. Yes, scream, human voices raised in terror and some savage, snarling guttural wail torn from no human throat. As he ran, he began to mouth a silent mantra. Syllables of power which moved him towards a greater power within him – power waiting to be released. Once again, Sasquatch strode the frozen north. Still, he did not move fast enough to prevent a tragedy.
Happening upon an overturned camper, Sasquatch noticed one side of it is crushed in. He’d seen grizzlies do that to canned foods left at picnic sites but no grizzly did that. As he moved warily closer, something else caught the Canadian super hero’s eye. Just then, Sasquatch saw blood on the snow, human blood. What remained of those who’d been dragged from the camper lay before him. It was difficult to tell how many there’d been.
Sasquatch mentions that something killed those campers, tore them limb from limb, and was getting ready to feast when it heard him coming through the forest. It could only be… Looking at the ground, he sees the footprints and knows it was him.
Not long ago, Dr. Walter Langkowski was a member of a team of Canadian super-agents known by the code-name Alpha Flight. Other members included Aurora, Shaman, Vindicator, Northstar, and Snowbird. Three of the team had joined up with two X-Men, Wolverine and Nightcrawler, to combat an unholy terror called the Wendigo. An eater of human flesh, the Wendigo was nearly invincible. Thought beaten, he would have risen again and again had not Shaman reversed the curse of the North Woods and made the monster human once more.
Sasquatch recalls that Vindicator showed him plaster casts he made of the Wendigo’s tracks. They were the same as back at the campsite. He knows that a new Wendigo stalks again, a supernaturally-spawned creature whom, he’s told, almost managed to slay the Incredible Hulk a few years back. Not a comforting thought, since the Hulk easily beat him. He also knows that the Wendigo has killed but he hasn’t eaten. Soon, he’ll be so hungry he won’t scare him off. Then he’ll have to battle to keep himself from being food. Yet not once does Sasquatch think of abandoning the chase.
In the same continent, different country, further south, by the side of a desert lake, a cave. Within the cave, a laboratory – Bruce Banner’s laboratory. Within the lab, a tragedy. As Rick Jones lies on a couch, poisoned by gamma rays, Betty Ross mentions to alien woman nearby, Bereet, that she’s no doctor but her life support couch seems to have stabilized Rick’s condition. He’s still green from gamma ray poisoning but he’s not getting any worse.
The bag at the Krylorian maid’s hip is actually a spatial distorter, containing far more within it than is evident from without. It has produced the starship that brought Bereet to Earth, the couch that keeps Rick Jones alive, and now this.
At that moment, Bereet pulls the Star Eye from her pouch. Upon seeing it, Betty first asks what it is and then asks how it will help cure Rick. Bereet informs her that it won’t. The Star Eye is an entertainment module, able to contrive fictional narratives from whatever situations it is witness to. When Betty exclaims that it’s a movie camera, Bereet replies in a manner of speaking. Betty then asks if she still means to make a film while Rick lies dying.
Betty Ross has suffered much in the past twenty-four hours. First she watched as the man she loves transformed into the monster men call Hulk. Then she saw the Hulk battle three bizarre menaces from space (Dark-Crawler, Torgo, and Amphibian). Finally, she stood helpless by as Rick Jones, in an effort to become the second Hulk to aid the first, submitted himself to a massive dose of gamma rays. Rick succeeded only in nearly killing himself. Now, with a deathly ill boy on her hands, miles from nowhere, Betty finds she has to deal with an addled alien as well.
Leaning down, Betty says to Rick that the spacewoman says she knows him and the Hulk intimately, that she’s shared adventures with them in the past. Rick meekly replies that he never… saw….bird chick… in his life… Prepping the Star Eye, Bereet tells Betty that technically, the boy speaks true. Betty asks how she can claim to know him then. Bereet informs her to look deeply into the Star Eye. There, she shall find her questions answered.
Betty Ross looks. The Star Eye’s iris dilates, it’s pupil goes blank, then shimmers, and projected on the circular screen appears a record of events that never were. Watching the screen, Betty mentions to Bereet that she sees Rick, the Hulk, and her being attacked by horrid, toad-like aliens. Now, the Hulk is battling the original Avengers, the original X-Men, the Sub-Mariner – battles which never took place. Bereet states no, but they might as well have, so real did the Star Eye make them appear. When Betty asks how, Bereet tells her that she told her, it witnesses real situations and fictionalizes them, under her telepathic direction, of course. Betty asks and now she’s about to film the death of Rick Jones? Bereet tells her yes, her newest “film” will be a documentary.
Betty begins to argue that they should be getting Rick to a hospital, a doctor but Bereet asks why. That would be alternating the course of events. She has come to Earth in person because she is tired of filmed fiction. She finds reality so much more exciting.
Meanwhile, in the frozen north, we find a nearly frozen Dr. Banner. The cabin he reaches stands empty, its door ajar. It is as cold within as without and darker, not having the benefit of starlight. Because of the dark, Banner falls. His fall is fortuitous for it brings his hand in contact with a flashlight.
Turning on the flashlight, Banner discovers a skeleton sitting in the corner, surrounded by empty beer cans. Horrified, he falls back against an inner open door. Unlocked, it swings easily open and Banner enters the pantry. When he does, he discovers two more skeletons hanging upside down from the rafters. They had lived there once but the meat has long since been gnawed off their bones. Heart pounding, mouth dry, breath coming in short rasps, Bruce Banner bolts from the charnel closet. It has not yet occurred to him that despite all his horror, all his fear, the excitement he is experiencing has yet to trigger his change to the Incredible Hulk and he wonders why.
Heading towards the front door of the cabin, Banner states that he’s got to get out of there. Whatever killed those poor devils ate them. Just then, Banner realizes that a shadow has blocked the moonlight streaming through the door. He feels the hot, moist breath on his shoulder. When he turns, he knows terror to the core of his being when he comes face to face with a monstrous white being growling Wen-di-go! There would seem to be no more adequate introduction. Indeed, one scarcely seems necessary, for Bruce Banner may not live long enough to get better acquainted. Just as Wendigo grabs hold of Banner, the monster is pulled off of him by a mysterious being.
The gentle beast’s name that pulled the Wendigo off of him is Sasquatch. Holding Wendigo from behind, Sasquatch tells him sorry, but there will be no human flesh tonight. He should try chicken delight. Watching what is transpiring, Banner experiences excitement, horror, fear, and terror all in the space of a few, short moments and yet he still has not changed from man to monster – why? Continuing to hold Wendigo, Sasquatch tells the man to get out of there while he still can. He doesn’t know how long even he can hold the Wendigo.
Just then, Sasquatch recognizes the man to be Bruce Banner and asks him what he’s doing there. When he does, Wendigo takes advantage and frees himself from Sasquatch’s grasp and immediately leaps on him. Near the cabin, Banner recognizes Sasquatch, a Canadian scientist cum super hero. He fought him once as the Hulk. Now he’s down and that slavering horror’s going for his throat. He’s got to help. Help, Dr. Banner? But what can you do? You’re a man. Sasquatch and Wendigo are monsters.
At that moment, Banner realizes that he hasn’t become the Hulk – why in heaven’s name not? For weeks, Bruce Banner has been bombarding himself with gamma rays in his under-the-desert laboratory in an effort to cure himself of ever becoming the Hulk again. It hadn’t worked then, but the ray treatments’ effect had been cumulative. Then, in the act of defeating the Galaxy Master, the Hulk was infused with even more gamma radiation than ever before in his emerald existence. The rays helped destroy the Galaxy Master, their effect remained in the Hulk’s cells. Lastly, the teleporter beam which Uncle Pyko had used to return the Hulk to Earth was gamma powered. Those rays, too, were absorbed by the man monster.
Banner realizes all that gamma radiation absorbed into his cells in so short a time, can it have somehow changed him? Is he cured at last? Now, when he needs the Hulk’s power most? Continuing to attempt to fend off Wendigo, Sasquatch tells Banner to run, he can’t hold him long. Banner wonders run? How far would he get? He’d either die of exposure or be dragged back for dinner. He can’t die like that, he won’t. Blast it, he deserves better after the life he’s led. If he’s cured, he deserves a chance to live. That desire triggers something within the mind of Bruce Banner and for the first time, the mind triggers change within the body.
Transformed into the Hulk, he leaps towards the beasts and tells Sasquatch to hold on, he’s coming. Listen to the words. Listen to their intonation. The voice is that of Bruce Banner. The powerhouse speaking is the Incredible Hulk.
Entering the battle, Hulk punches Wendigo in the back, tells him to get off of Sasquatch, and calls him a snarling, savage horror. After tossing Wendigo into a nearby tree, Wendigo quickly recovers and plods towards Hulk. As he does, he exclaims Wen-di-go! Facing the beast, Hulk informs him that he heard him the first time, illiterate obscenity. He’s not impressed.
Woozy, Sasquatch begins to stand up and asks the Hulk, speaking like Bruce Banner? Hulk replies and thinking like him too. Hurtling himself at the Wendigo, Hulk mentions that he wonders what it is that gives Banner the confidence to hurl himself headlong upon this howling horror. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that he’s possessed of the power of the Incredible Hulk, the mightiest mortal on the face of the Earth.
Watching the Hulk and Wendigo duke it out, Sasquatch thinks to himself that he must be dreaming. The Hulk is a brainless brute, well not exactly brainless – childlike, subject to savage, unreasoning rages. He knows. He barely survived himself. Yet now he’s hearing the green goliath enunciating like the famous physicist, his hapless alter-ego Bruce Banner. Something must have happened to make the intelligent side of the Hulk’s split-personality, the Banner side, ascendant. But can even a thinking Hulk triumph over the invincible Wendigo?
Just what is the Wendigo, and whence stems his unearthly invincibility? The answer lies in an ancient curse which descended upon the very cabin outside of which our three monsters fight. The snows had been severe and sustained, locking the trappers in. It hadn’t been long before the food had run out. Driven to madness by hunger, Francois Lartigue murdered his companions one, two and three and ate them. Thus he became subject to the curse of the North Woods and went forth into the night into a howling harbinger of horror – the Wendigo.
Observing Hulk and Wendigo battling, Sasquatch knows that the Wendigo can’t really die, but he can be subdued. That would give his teammate Shaman time to get up there and cast a counter-spell. It’s up to the Hulk and him to hold him. If only he can make the Hulk understand. He then remembers that he can. He forgot he’s dealing with an intelligent Hulk now, a Hulk thinking with Bruce Banner’s brain. But is that good or bad?
Wendigo is motivated by brute bloodlust. He won’t be fighting by Queensbury rules; he’ll be going straight for the jugular, which is what they’ve got to do if they’re to defeat him. In fact, that’s how Wolverine and Snowbird beat him last time – by becoming even more animalistic than Wendigo. This may be a battle where brains are a definite liability. Ripping a tree out of the ground, Sasquatch knows that this a battle that must be fought and won.
As Wendigo leaps at Hulk, yelling his own name, Hulk tells him that he’s growing extremely tired of hearing that tune, the melody fails to move him. Besides that, his breath smells of an appetite too abhorrent to mention. Punching Wendigo, Hulk tells him that he thinks he’ll just shut his mouth and end his song forever. When the Wendigo howls in pain, Hulk states that’s better. He liked the crescendo of pain he reached on that last note. It will never equal listening to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” but from him, it’s a sound he wouldn’t mind hearing again.
After the Hulk kicks Wendigo in the gut and knocks him to the ground, the monstrous beast starts to get up to continue to fight. Upon seeing this, the Hulk mentions that he’s getting to his feet again. That’s good, it gives him another chance to knock him down. When the Wendigo leaps at him, Hulk is faced with a slavering, screaming, seemingly undefeatable horror; the mind of Bruce Banner knows a moment of fear. It is that moment’s hesitancy that is the Hulk’s undoing.
Just then, Wendigo slashes the Hulk. Punching him away, Hulk angrily exclaims that he drew blood and hurt him. Enraged, Hulk calls the Wendigo a murderous man-eater and yells at him that he’ll beat him into a bloody pulp. Does he hear him, Hulk will smash!
Standing nearby, Sasquatch notices that the jade giant is slipping into the savagery of the Hulk. If he does, he won’t be able to count on his help. With that, Sasquatch yells out to Dr. Banner to listen to him. Turning around, Hulk asks why should he listen to hairy man. Sasquatch replies because he’s not the Hulk anymore, mentally, he’s Bruce Banner and it’s Bruce Banner’s help he needs now. Hulk asks Banner, y-yes, he’ Bruce Banner. Sasquatch replies “good” and tells him to remember that and listen to him. The Wendigo can’t be destroyed, be he can be subdued long enough for someone he knows to “cure” him.
Picking up a boulder, Hulk asks Langkowski if he wants the Wendigo subdued, then subdued he’ll be. Tossing the boulder at Wendigo, the beast destroys it before it can do him any damage. Engaging Wendigo in battle, Hulk mentions that all he’s got to do is keep hammering away at him and eventually, he’ll fall down, right? Sasquatch replies yes, and he’ll get right back up again unless they lay him out so hard and long that he’ll need time to heal. Time they’ll deny him. They, Dr. Banner; they’ve got to go at Wendigo together or they haven’t a snowball’s chance.
Leaping over Wendigo towards a nearby tree, Hulk tells Sasquatch that he doesn’t see that. He seems to be holding his own against that albino abomination without any help from him. Sasquatch tells him for heaven’s sake, this isn’t a contest. Punching down a tree, Hulk asks isn’t it? The Hulk’s strength against Wendigo? It’s a sparring match he finds oddly enjoyable. He’s surprised he doesn’t understand. After all, he and him are remarkably similar… now.
As Sasquatch and Hulk rush at full speeds towards the Wendigo with their trees, Sasquatch states that he’s not interested in matching muscles with a murdering monster. He only wants to stop Wendigo from killing again. Hulk replies there’s nothing wrong with that, he just wanted to have a little pleasure in the process. The pleasure of processing – and consciously controlling – more power than he’s ever known in his life. Sasquatch tells him that he’s been the Hulk for years. Hulk says not him, not Bruce Banner. He’s always been the puny, helpless man inside the monster. Today, Bruce Banner is the Incredible Hulk!
With that revelation that Bruce Banner is the Incredible Hulk, the Wendigo becomes the immovable force between two irresistible objects when the Hulk and Sasquatch rams into him with their trees. The pain he knows is greater than any beast, supernatural or otherwise, can stand. It will take him hours to heal and by that time, he will be the Wendigo no longer.
As the Wendigo collapses, Sasquatch states they’ve done it, they’ve stopped him. Hulk asks did he ever doubt they could. Sasquatch answers yes, he’s exhausted. Had the Wendigo attacked him again, he would have fallen for sure. Holding his head, he states that he’s got a radio back at him camp. He has to contact the RCMPs and get Shaman up there to cast a counter-spell. Hulk tells him that he can do that. He’ll stand guard over their fallen horror. Should he wake up, he’ll lay him low again.
With that, he exclaims that is because the Incredible Hulk is just getting warmed up. Despite the obvious intelligence in the words, Sasquatch detects a mounting savagery in the voice. He wonders if the monster lying on the snow is the one he should worry about or whether the world must now be protected from an intelligent Hulk.