Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #20Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #20
Title: “Dogs of War part 7”
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciller: Ron Garney
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colors: Steve Buccellato and Joe Rosas
Editor: Tom Brevoort
(This occurs prior to the ending of issue #19) Bruce stands inside his mind watching the thousands of Hulks rampaging around. He thinks how the entire façade that he set up for himself is falling apart. Outside the Professor screams and pulls against the manacles. Ryker watches Hulk. He says that he should have seen this earlier. He remarks at the irony that one of the most feared men on the planet is just as fearful as the rest of them. Ryker tells Johnson that if he needs him that he will be reviewing their findings with Private Tibbetts.
Outside Area 51, Nick Fury stands with a bunch of SHIELD agents. Fury lights his cigar and one of his men ask when they are going in and that the men are getting antsy. Fury says that they’re going to get in and out quickly, and besides nobody knows that they’re there.
At that moment inside Area 51 a soldier detects SHIELD sitting outside. He alerts Johnson and asks if he should notify Ryker. Suddenly Ross smashes the soldier’s face into the console. Ross grabs a gun and holds it on Johnson. Suddenly SHIELD comes smashing through the wall.
General Ryker is whispering in Tibbetts’ ear, “Mommy loves you very much, Benny. You’re a good boy. Good boys always do as they’re told.” Suddenly an alarm goes off and Ryker says, “Banner!”
Ross orders that a channel be opened to the
chamber. Ross tells Professor that the energy has been turned off
to the manacles. At first nothing happens. Ross calls Hulk a
milksop. Hulk rips the manacles apart. 
Fury and Samson
enter the room. Fury says that Banner looks like crap. Hulk says
that he is fine. He asks if Fury has freed the hostages yet. Fury
says that they are working on it. Fury asks where Ryker is
hiding. Hulk says that if he is smart that it is far from him.
Suddenly the wall crashes in. Ryker, and a very pumped up Flux,
walk out. Ryker says that he isn’t hiding. Samson starts
yelling at Ryker for what he has done to Benny. Ryker tells Flux
that “Mommy” doesn’t like the green haired man. He
says that he is a mosquito and that “she” wants him to
kill it. Flux punches Samson across the room. Hulk tries to tell
Flux that he doesn’t have to follow Ryker’s orders
anymore. Flux shouts, “Don’t touch Bennee! Mommy says
no!” Flux hits Hulk across the room.
Ross runs down a corridor to Ryker’s private room. The guard says that the room is off limits to everyone except Ryker. Ross tells him to stand aside and that he is a general. The guard says that he doesn’t care if he is the president. Samson arrives and knocks the guard unconscious. Ross walks into the room and walks right up to the bubble. Ross says that Ryker is hiding something extremely important in there. A horribly misshapen woman comes into view. Ross says, “Lucy? Lucy Ryker?” Lucy asks Ross if he has come to help John with his experiments.
Fury gets a report that the hostages have all been found and are fine. The soldier reports that Angela Lipscombe wants a gun to go after Ryker herself.
Hulk is trying to restrain Flux. He holds
his hands and says that he is not Flux. He says that he is Benny
Tibetts, and that he has to fight this. Ryker says that Hulk is
lying. Flux drives Hulk into the ground like a spike.
Johnson is
trying to get Ryker’s attention as he has a phone call from
the president. Ryker shouts that he is going to have to call him
back. Hulk and Flux are still fighting when the screen comes on.
Ross is standing next to Lucy Ryker, who is now out of the
bubble. Ross says that it is over and to tell his men to stand
down. Lucy asks Ryker if all the things that Ross told her were
true. Ryker starts to shout that they are all lies. Lucy says
that John lied to her. She says that he said that the doctors had
found a cure for her cancer, but that he was doing all those
horrible things to those people. Tears start to roll down
Ryker’s face. He says that he would never lie to her, and
that she has to believe him. Ryker tells Johnson to stop gawking
and to have the Aurora jet readied.
Hulk hits Flux. Flux starts shouting that he can’t hear “Mommy” anymore. He powers down to Benny Tibbetts and says “I want my mommy” right before he passes out.
Ryker holds a gun on Ross as Ross holds a gun on Lucy. Ryker says that Lucy ahs to come with him now, and that he promises he can explain everything. Lucy says that they were innocent people and that she didn’t ask to be cured like that. Lucy asks why he didn’t just let her die. Ryker says that all that he has done has been for her. He says that the methods aren’t important, and that all that mattered was making her well again. Ryker says that they were so close. Samson says that Ryker is wrong. Ross says to Ryker that now they have something on each other, and that Ryker is finished. Ryker says that he hasn’t even started yet and leaves. Samson runs out after him, but only sees Hulk, Fury, and some SHIELD guys coming down the hall. Samson says that Ryker just retreated. Hulk says that guys like Ryker don’t retreat, they only advance in another direction.
Hulk turns to Ross. He asks him if he has had his pound of flesh yet. Ross says that Hulk knows exactly how he feels about him, but that he is a soldier and duty bound to bring him to trial for his crimes. Samson says that Ross can’t be serious. Ross turns to Samson and says that he has no idea who he is however. Samson says that is ridiculous. Ross repeats himself that he doesn’t know him, that he doesn’t know Angela Lipscombe, where they live or who they entertain there. Hulk asks Ross if he is going to lie. Ross says that it is a memory loss and that Hulk has 10 minutes to clear out before he changes his mind.
A few days later, Professor sits by himself on a mountaintop. He listens to the thousands of voices in his head. Most of the voices aren’t sure what to do and would prefer the comfort of the cave. Louder than the others professor hears the cry of a hurt little boy.
No Excuses rating: 6 out of 10.
What a letdown. I was hoping that the Dogs of War finale would help explain some of the things that I wasn’t understanding about the story. Ryker was trying to cure his wife of cancer, that was revealed, but how exactly would understanding the Hulk’s transformations help Lucy Ryker not be sick anymore? Hulk is still Hulk and knowing why has never cured him. And why the Hulk? Why would Ryker need the toughest, biggest gamma person to solve the puzzle? Why wouldn’t he just get one of the lower profile gammas to run his experiments on? He even had his own gamma person Flux to work on. Furthermore this book seems to be Hulk’s in name only. He is held captive and only breaks out because Ross turns him loose. There is no feat of strength from Hulk overloading the machine. Reasonably Hulk should have been feverishly angry because of the mental torture Ryker subjected him to. Previous to this issue there had never been a machine built that could measure the Hulk’s strength yet now it seems fairly easy to assume that there are many machines capable to taking Hulk’s power and then multiplying it by a hundred!
Another pet peeve of mine is that Paul Jenkins said that he never really cared for Leader because he was supposed to be so smart and yet was always defeated in stupid ways… but how is Ryker not exactly that way? Ryker isn’t green with a puffy head, but he is a purely mental strategist that is defeated when SHIELD drives a vehicle through a wall. Ryker spends seven issues, and presumably the last 39 years, following the Hulk around to cure his wife of cancer by understanding the Hulk’s transformations. Not only isn’t he defeated in a stupid way, but his “master plan” doesn’t make any sense. 2 out of 5
Garney looks great, but it isn’t perfect so it gets the 4.
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