Hulk Visionaries: Peter David #5

In "Countdown Abomination [Part 1]," scientist Phil Stearns secretly poisons janitor Bruce Banner with a lethal dose set to kill in sixteen hours—unbeknownst to Banner, who continues his routine unaware. When Abomination arrives at the nuclear facility and finds only Banner to fight, he unleashes gamma radiation, transforming Banner into the Hulk during the day. The sudden change turns the tide, as the Hulk retaliates by dousing Blonsky in toxic chemicals, leaving him horribly disfigured. But as the fight rages, the Hulk begins to falter—struggling against the poison's effects, his body weakening in ways no one expected.

In "Countdown Fantastic 4 [Part 2]," the Hulk travels to Phoenix seeking help from Reed Richards to understand his worsening condition, only to clash with Ms. Marvel—mistaken for a corrupted Thing—before Doc Samson arrives at Yucca Flats in search of him. As tensions rise and tests unfold, Reed delivers a grim revelation: the radiation poisoning in the Hulk’s system will prove fatal when he reverts to Bruce Banner at sunrise.

In "Countdown The Leader [Part 3]," the Hulk is caught in a deadly game of manipulation as the Leader offers a glimmer of hope—an antidote for his deteriorating condition—if he’ll carry out one final, brutal task: kill Madman. With Betty’s fate tied to the promise, the Hulk must decide how far he’ll go to survive, even as the line between vengeance and desperation begins to blur.

In "Countdown Madman [Part 4]," the weakened Hulk is manipulated by the Leader into confronting Madman—revealed to be his long-lost brother, Phil Stearns—just as time runs out and his body begins to fail. With only moments left, the Hulk battles Phil’s fractured mind, forcing him to face the same poison that is killing him, and in a final act of desperation, the antidote is taken—saving one, but leaving the other to face the consequences.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, Bruce Banner finds himself caught between duty and desperation as Freedom Force moves to apprehend the Hulk. When a young boy who mirrors Banner’s own past is injured during the chaos, the line between hero and monster blurs in a moment that will test everything he thought he knew.

In "Quality of Mercy [Lifeform Part 3]," George Prufrock—once an actor, now an AIM agent infected by the Lifeform virus—pleads with the enigmatic Mercy to end his suffering. Instead of killing him, she makes a far more unexpected choice, connecting him to the Hulk in a moment that blurs the line between destruction and redemption.

In "Strange Matters," Bruce Banner stumbles into a New York dawn only to interrupt Doctor Strange’s battle with a shadowy entity hiding in a closet. With Namor’s unexpected aid, the Defenders regroup as Strange guides Banner into his own mind to reach the Hulk—only for a fragment of the creature to slip through and take hold.

In "Strange but True," Bruce Banner struggles to reclaim his mind as the Sorcerer Supreme of the Strange Universe takes control of the Hulk, forcing a battle across both psyche and reality. With Doc Strange and Namor fighting to hold the line in the physical world, Bruce must confront his deepest fears within himself—until a single, unexpected act of vulnerability opens a door that even the Hulk can't face. Back in the real world, a mysterious scar on Bruce’s back catches Doc Strange’s eye, and Bruce journeys to Connecticut, only to find Betty has taken vows as a nun.

In "He's Back," Bruce Banner returns to the nunnery where Betty has taken refuge, hoping to reconnect after years apart. When he overhears her confession, he's forced to confront the truth: her life has found peace without him. As danger erupts and the Green Hulk tears free in a violent surge, Bruce must fight not only the monster within but the very real possibility that he’s too late to reclaim what he lost.