WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Immortal Hulk #46 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts, and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now
In his modern incarnation, the Hulk has become an increasingly dangerous figure, willing to stand up against other major heroes as he and his various personas try to stop the hellish designs of the One-Below-All.
And at Immortal Hulk #46 establishes, the Hulk is set to have a rematch with the Avengers, and he's got some surprising backup working alongside him against the heroic team in the form of Harpy, the monstrous, Gamma-irradiated form of Betty Ross.
Most recently, the Avengers last fought the Immortal Hulk back in Immortal Hulk #7. Their encounter with the Devil Hulk ended up being a brutal and gruesome affair, with the dark version of the Jade Giant holding his own against the whole team -- giving Thor a concussion with a single blow, unsettling She-Hulk psychologically before knocking her miles away and coming close to killing Iron Man. But in the end, the battle was concluded with the Avengers unleashing an ultimate failsafe against the Hulk by reducing him and the surrounding area to a pulp with a powerful satellite-based laser and later collecting the remains of the Hulk to be contained and examined. Now, with the fate of the entire multiverse in the balance due to the machinations of the Leader and the One-Below-All, the Hulk finds himself again facing off with the Avengers.
After brutally defeating the U-Foes upon his resurrection, this new Merged Hulk -- effectively a fusion of the Green Hulk and Joe Fixit -- lands in New York City and initially just tries to grab a drink. But after being alerted by their old ally Henry Gryich, the Avengers go to confront the Hulk -- starting with Thor, who's looking to settle the score from their previous fight. Despite his subsequent power boost as the current All-Father, Thor still finds Hulk defiant and willing to brawl, with Hulk plowing Thor through the wall of the bar he confronted him in. Outside, Hulk finds himself staring down an entire Avengers roster -- Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Black Panther and Blade.
While Black Panther admits that the conclusion of their previous battle was "regrettable," he tells Hulk that they have no intention of allowing him to rampage through New York. Even with all of his might, he's still outnumbered seven-to-one. Or rather, that's what the Avengers think.
In reality, Hulk has some unexpected backup on a few fronts. While Gamma Flight is on their way to try and assist the Hulk in his mission, Red Harpy -- the gamma-mutated form of Hulk's former wife Betty -- arrives on the scene to land a hand. Red Harpy has developed an appreciation for the Hulk -- while still being wary of Bruce Banner, given their history together -- and she seems ready to fight alongside the Hulk regardless of the magnitude of their opponents.
With the One-Below-All working to try and bring about the end of all things from the Below-Place, it's important that the Hulk get as many allies as he can. In their current incarnations, Hulk and Harpy are deadly figures, but even they might not be strong enough to contend with the entire roster of Avengers standing before them. Hopefully, Gamma Flight can arrive on the scene to help soothe out the conflict before it gets out of hand, sp the heroes can actually try to figure out how to breach the One-Below-All's domain.
She-Hulk might even be the key to ending the fight, with her own experiences with the Green Door possibly bringing the Avengers into the battle overall. His recent talk with the Thing proves that Hulk can be reasoned with -- but if the Avengers attack as Thor did, they might just end up dooming the entire multiverse.
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