Incredible Hulk, The (1968 series) #426

Hulk #426 – “One Fell Off” continues the emotional fallout from the Pantheon’s collapse, shifting focus to identity, mortality, and redemption.

Bruce Banner, now manifesting as the Savage Banner—the Hulk’s rage and instincts trapped within Banner’s human form—is confined by Doc Samson in a psychiatric ward, while Betty Ross lies nearby in critical condition following her gunshot wound. As Samson struggles to stabilize Bruce’s fractured psyche, a mysterious entity named Mercy appears. An alien ghost with the power to grant peace through death, Mercy offers Betty a chance to reunite with her deceased mother in the afterlife.

But when Betty glimpses Bruce, she chooses life. Her love for him anchors her to Earth, and Mercy, moved by the decision, miraculously heals her.

Meanwhile, Banner is transferred to a S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft for execution, deemed too dangerous to live. Mercy intervenes again, helping him escape mid-flight. As Banner plummets from the plane, the trauma triggers a transformation—not into the Savage Hulk, but into the Professor Hulk, the merged persona combining Banner’s intellect with Hulk’s strength.

Landing safely, Hulk discovers a holographic message from Paris, now self-appointed leader of the Pantheon. The message is clear: Hulk has been expelled from the organization and will be hunted as a threat.

The issue blends psychological tension with metaphysical drama, marking a turning point in Hulk’s identity arc and setting the stage for his estrangement from the Pantheon.