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Adventures of the X-Men #2

May 1996
Ralph Macchio, Mike S. Miller

Story Name:

The Great Divide


Synopsis

Adventures of the X-Men #2 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Leader and his Humanoid army defeat Wolverine and remove the unconscious Hulk to his secret lab. X-Factor (Havok, Polaris, Wild Child) rushes to the scene, along with General Thunderbolt Ross, whom Logan accuses of experimenting on Hulk. The X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast) arrive and there is a friendly meeting between Scott and Alex, despite being on opposite sides of the X-Factor controversy….

General Ross gives a brief summary of Hulk’s career, stressing his threat to national security; Logan still insists on rescuing him. Ross reveals there was a tracking device implanted in the Hulk, ordering them to bring back Hulk. The two X-teams head out, Logan and Havok bickering along the way….

Leader returns to his base, keeping the Hulk sedated while offering a precis of his own history. His big scheme is to employ a series of satellites he has launched to release specific amounts of gamma radiation on the populaces of major cities and offer the cure in exchange for submitting to his will. He needs Bruce Banner’s brain to calculate the exact amounts of radiation and to gain his cooperation, he has induced a delusion in Banner’s brain where he was never the Hulk, hailed as a hero for saving Rick Jones, respected for his achievements, and married to Betty Ross, living happily ever after. And then the good guys come crashing through the wall and battle the Humanoids. Jean and Polaris mentally attack the Leader, which brings down all the Humanoids but the villain makes it out an escape hatch. Jean then enters Bruce Banner’s mind to tell him that his life is all a fantasy created by the Leader. Bruce recognizes this is true and watches as his perfect family crumbles away before him. His mind back in the real world, he hurries to reprogram the Leader’s satellites but the stress of the operation turns him into the Hulk. Beast jumps in and finishes the job based on his observation of Bruce’s work. X-Factor tries to capture Hulk but the big green guy leaps away as Wolverine stops the trio from pursuing him. The X-Men support Logan and there is a debate over whether Hulk is a menace that needs to be captured or a lonely monster who just wants to be left alone. Havok decides they are right and X-Factor stands down….

They give an edited report of the adventure to General Ross and the X-Men are allowed to depart….



 

Review / Commentaries


Adventures of the X-Men #2 Review by (September 6, 2023)

Review: Nice action tale, though Hulk is too quiet for most of it. Then again, it is an X-Men book and Hulk is only a guest.

Comments: Part two of two parts. This reality is called Earth-TRN566; see issue #1 for details. Major Glenn Talbot is absent from this tale and there is no mention of Thunderbolt Ross having been hypnotized by the Leader, which occurred last issue. No explanation of how a tracking device was implanted in the Hulk or if it is ever used again. Oh and the cover looks like a scary teeth contest between Logan and Havok; Logan is winning.




> Adventures of the X-Men comic book info and issue index

Elektra

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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Mike S. Miller
Dan Panosian
Adam Wallenta
Ben Herrera (Cover Penciler)
Mike S. Miller (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Michael Higgins.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Beast
Beast

(Henry Phillip McCoy)
Bruce Banner
Bruce Banner

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Cyclops
Cyclops

(Scott Summers)
Havok
Havok

(Alex Summers)
Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Polaris
Polaris

(Lorna Dane)
Thunderbolt Ross
Thunderbolt Ross

(Thaddeus Ross)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)

Plus: Valerie Cooper, Wild Child (Kyle Gibney), X-Factor.