First Appearance: Rico

Guest Appearance: Hulk/Bruce Banner, Blake Tower, Judge Coffin, Rico, Heather Glenn, Foggy Nelson, Ben Urich

Cameo: Tony Stark, J. Jonah Jameson, Debbie Harris, Doris Urich

Letters Page: No letters page published in this issue.

In the ruins of a dilapidated tenement, Matt finds the Hulk. He tries to offer the Hulk his help, but is swatted aside. The Hulk nearly flies into a rage, but Matt is able to calmly and rationally persuade him he can help him, and soon, the Hulk changes into Dr. Bruce Banner. Matt carries him to his home and helps restore him back to his normal self. Banner confides that he loses his temper and changes into the Hulk, while Matt offers that perhaps he should hand himself over to the authorities, which Banner quickly shoots down. Matt offers Banner some money to help tide him over as he travels out of town. Later, he sets out on his way to leave town. In the subway, he comes across many things which aggravate his testy personality: a claustrophobic subway car, cigarette smoke, a rude man blasting a boom box, pushing, shoving. Inevitably, he transforms into the Hulk and leaps out of the subway car.

Matt is on his way to court and see the Hulk's rampage on the city streets. He ducks out and changes into Daredevil to take him on. The cops are trying to call in the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, but they're all out of town. It appears only Daredevil is on the scene. As he steps cautiously up to the raging beast, a policeman shoots the Hulk in the back of the head. The bullet just bounces off of him, but it causes the Hulk to go nuts, slamming a lightpost down and threatening the cop. Daredevil distracts him with his billy club, and the Hulk turns his attention back to the hero, swatting him up the side of a building.

Dazed and bleeding from the nose, Daredevil gives thought to just quitting a fight he can't possibly when, but realizes he can't back down, even against such odds. The Hulk quickly slips into a berserker rage, shouting to all that he is looking for "puny Banner" so he can finally destroy him. He smashes a bus to smithereens as Daredevil cautiously slips in behind him. As Ben Urich stands in the astonished crowd, not believing what they are seeing in the heroic actions of DD, Heather Glenn sidles up next to him and utters Matt's name in fear for his life. Urich recognizes her as Matt's girlfriend, and duly notes her reaction.

Daredevil leaps back into action, trying to distract the Hulk and convince him he won't find Banner by trashing New York City. The Hulk swats him aside again with great force, and the Hulk lifts a giant piece of street asphalts over his head, ready to deliver the death blow. Daredevil holds firm, begging the Hulk to trust him, but soon, DD blacks out, the last thing he sees being the Hulk standing over him.

Later, paramedics rush to Daredevil's side and hurry him off to a hospital. Meanwhile, the Hulk leaps off into the distance, wounded from the battle where he realized that he seriously hurt one of his true friends. At his home, Ben Urich stays up late, working on the article of his life: the one that reveals that Daredevil and Matt Murdock are one and the same.

--synopsis by Gormuu

--panel images provided by Avengers Assemble

--letter pages provided by Aussie Stu

Issues Reprinted
Daredevil #158-161, 163-167

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.