Avengers, The #3

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE AVENGERS MEET 'SUB-MARINER!' At their next meeting, the Avengers decide they need to find the Hulk before he causes more trouble. Iron Man uses his image projector device to communicate with the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men to ask if they have spotted him, but he has no luck. Thor comes up with the smart idea of asking Rick Jones to help find the Hulk. They contact him and Rick sets out into the desert to an area where he could be.  A short while later, Rick discovers the Hulk and leads him to a cave they had used in the past as a refuge. There, Rick operates a machine that transforms the Hulk back into Bruce Banner. While asleep, stressful thoughts cause Banner to revert to his Hulk-state and escape. Rick Jones contacts the Avengers, alerting them to the situation and they travel to the desert to stop him getting out of hand. After a brief battle, the Hulk escapes onto a passing train and with the help of an empty train carriage, some industrial cable, and a couple of bags of flour, manages to elude the team. After laying low, he reaches the sea and is eventually taken onto a ship on the brink of exhaustion.   Under the sea, Namor the Sub-Mariner watches the scene. After the Hulk leaves the ship, the Sub-Mariner meets him on a small island. After a short fight, Namor suggests they team up and fight the humans together, as they each bear a grudge against humanity. They form an uneasy alliance, each suspicious of the other, and issue a challenge to the Avengers: to battle at the Rock of Gibraltar! The villains use old World War II weaponry to attack the Avengers, but Iron Man deflects the shells with his repulsor rays. Namor disables Iron Man by firing an emery dust pellet at him, clogging up the joints in his armor. Thor holds the duo at bay while the Wasp finds a tank of oxygen, which is used to blow the dust away and bring Iron Man back into the fight. The Avengers chase their enemies through the tunnels. Namor plans to use an old air raid siren he has converted into a weapon, but is caught by Giant-Man and the battle continues. Both the Hulk and Sub-Mariner attempt to lift Thor's hammer but are unable to do so. At an inopportune moment, the stress causes Hulk to change back into Banner when Namor needs his help the most, and is forced to flee. Namor, without help from the Hulk, is quickly outmatched and narrowly escapes into the ocean.