Enemies On Every Side!

In a two-part comics story where its first part ends in a confrontation and skirmish between opposing sides, it's not unusual to see its second part erupt in an all-out battle issue--yet by that point, the battle lines have been drawn clearly, and all that's left is to see which side will prevail. In the case of the incredible Hulk's conflict with the evil Inhumans, who have appeared in the Central America city of Costa Salvador and are led by the mad Maximus, he's now faced with enemies on two fronts: the forces of Maximus, and the Army task force which has arrived to take on the invaders. But in the Hulk's eyes, the Army represents a threat to himself--enemies which have always hunted him and attacked him on sight and now, having discovered his location, move in to either capture or kill him.

And so the Hulk faces a near-impossible choice for his limited cognitive abilities to make: Continue to battle the evil Maximus and the other Inhumans, or turn and face the Army. Either way, he realizes that he loses, since choosing one leaves him vulnerable to the other. But as the splash page to Part Two indicates, Maximus, seizing an opportunity to use the Hulk against the arriving Army troops, offers his opponent a third option.

As we see, the story's title has already spilled the beans as to which way the Hulk will go here; nevertheless, Maximus' offer does make his decision easier, since it means that the "evil Inhumans" will become his allies against a common enemy. And so the brave men of the U.S. Army learn the hard way the decision that the Hulk has worked out for himself.

The Inhumans, for their part, make no contribution to battling the new threat, though that's not necessarily their conscious choice. At first, Maximus seeks to direct the Hulk's actions against the forces of Gen. Ross; but once the Hulk makes it clear that he doesn't need any kibitzing from Maximus to battle enemies whose tactics and weaponry he well knows, the Inhumans remain absent from the hostilities from that point on. Which is fine with the Army, since their new objective is now clear!

It's a virtually seamless transition between Parts One and Two, as Roy Thomas takes over from Stan Lee to begin what would turn out to be a nearly five-year run as the series' regular writer, having previously dipped his toes in those waters with two issues in mid-1968. If there is a discernible difference between the styles of the two writers on Incredible Hulk, you might notice that Thomas gives the Hulk a bit more to say than the limited responses that Lee provided for the character--and in this sort of situation, where the Hulk is caught between a rock and a hard place, the character's verbal contribution to his own predicament and to the story is most welcome.

Yet the Army's all-out attack isn't initiated immediately, as Ross, assessing the situation while nicely demonstrating how he earned those stars he wears, withholds any air strikes for the time being. But due to the fierce nature of the Hulk's resistance, that reticence doesn't last for long.

With Ross's forces in disarray, the Inhumans who obey Maximus become restless and urge him to allow them to proceed in killing the Hulk--yet Maximus holds off, knowing that the task force's command ship should be included among the Hulk's targets. When he strikes, it's a decisive blow that nearly cripples Ross's operation--and, for those in the craft, including Maj. Talbot and Betty Ross, a nearly fatal one.

It's only following the crash that Ross and Talbot come face-to-face with their true enemy here--though it does them little to no good, particularly since Maximus isn't inclined to spare the lives of the survivors. But when the Hulk puts his foot down on that course of action, so, too, does Maximus in regard to any further appeasement of the Hulk.

During Thomas's run on the series, he often appeared to be performing a balancing act vis-à-vis the Hulk's desire to kill in any given situation and the character actually following through with that decision. The strike on the General's plane is the perfect example. We've seen above that the Hulk won't stand for any killing--yet when the time came to act against the plane in the first place, the Hulk not only did the deed, but he was also fully aware of the likelihood that no one on the plane would survive.

Fortunately, there are no deaths on his conscience this day (if "conscience" is even the right word when speaking of the Hulk), though it obviously hasn't been for lack of trying.

As for the robot--a prototype of the statue in the city square--the Hulk's stubbornness allows him to persevere long enough to withstand his foe's attack on his mind and end its existence in a spectacular demonstration of strength that possibly even the Inhumans have never witnessed.

As a result, the writing is on the wall for Maximus, and still no sign of his own "power supreme" that he promised to bring to bear against the Hulk should the need arise. If there was ever a time to uncork that power, Maximus' imminent defeat would certainly seem to be it; instead, he and his underlings make use of a contingency escape plan, while the Hulk is occupied with Ross's fervent and ever-present desire to destroy him.

It's a bitter ending for all involved--for Ross, again frustrated by the Hulk remaining at large; for Betty, who doesn't look like herself unless she's shedding a tear for the circumstances of her love for Bruce Banner; for the Hulk, who sought to help but who received nothing but ingratitude and distrust for his efforts; and for Maximus, for obvious reasons. And what do you want to bet that somebody forgot to deactivate that statue in the town square, leaving the residents of Costa Salvador to spend their days... dazed?

NEXT... or in this case, PREVIOUSLY:

Hey, we already know what lurks within the swamp!

Incredible Hulk #120 Script: Roy Thomas Pencils and Inks: Herb Trimpe Letterer: Sam Rosen