Issue(s): Hulk #258, Hulk #259
Cover Date: Apr-May 81
Title: "...To hunt the Hulk!" / "The family that dies together...!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
Steven Grant - Plot Assist on #258
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Sal Buscema & Al Milgrom - Inker

Review/plot:
The Hulk's World Tour takes him to the Soviet Union by way of Afghanistan. He heads to the Forbidden Zone, where the Presence and the female Red Guardian have chosen to reside. Coincidentally, the Soviets send the Soviet Super Soldiers to the Forbidden Zone to investigate the fact that it seems to be spreading. They've added Ursa Major, a man that can transform into a bear, to their ranks, and there's a pretty cool scene introducing him where the Crimson Dynamo tries to intimidate him and finds himself facing a huge bear.

Of course there's a big fight in the Forbidden Zone.

Crimson Dynamo's armor is crushed pretty early in the fight and Darkstar spirits him away to a hospital, leaving just the mutant members of the Soviet Super-Soldiers in the story.

It turns out that its expansion isn't caused by the Presence.

It's actually Professor Phobos...

...sort of the Soviet version of Professor X, who had raised Darkstar, Vanguard, and Ursa Major, saving them from the Soviet's mutant purge.

Except Phobos actually had his own evil plans.

We learn that the Presence is the father of Vanguard and Darkstar. Prior to this we didn't know they were related.

Darkstar also learns that the gem she's been wearing on her tiara, which was given to her by Profesor Phobos, has actually been limiting her powers, and she removes it.

Phobos is defeated and the Presence returns to the Forbidden Zone with the Red Guardian, leaving the two Super-soldier siblings "alone again" and less willing to trust the state.

The Hulk doesn't really care about any of this, but readers did. I the lettercol for issue #267, the reaction to this evil Professor X analogue is extremely positive and waaay over-analyzed.

Meanwhile, Talbot is still on the Hulk's tail in his souped up plane.

I once read an interview with Jim Shooter where he said something like Bill Mantlo knew he wasn't a great writer so he kept introducing new characters with the hope that some would be popular so he could remain valuable to Marvel. Kind of mean to say, but you sure can see the truth behind it. These stories certainly aren't great, but Ursa Major has remained a durable third-tier character (On the other hand, this is Professor Phobos's only appearance).

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 252,712. Single issue closest to filing date = 235,750.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - first Ursa Major

Chronological Placement Considerations: Hulk World Tour!

References:

• The Soviet Super Soldiers became a team in Iron Man #109
  
• The Presence first appeared in Defenders #53
  
• The Presence, along with the super-evolved Red Guardian, took up residence in the Forbidden Zone after fighting a giant amoeba in Defenders #65.
  
• Darkstar met the Hulk previously in Champions #16
  
• Rick Jones goes to the Avengers Mansion to talk to Cap about finding the Hulk. Cap tells him that the Hulk is currently in Russia, but the Avengers can't risk an international incident by going there, especially so soon after the last time. There's been a running gag about the number of footnotes in this issue, so for this one no issue number is actually given, but Cap is referring to the time the Avengers fought the Elements of Doom in Avengers #188, which was co-written by Mantlo. While Rick is waiting for the Hulk to return to the States, he decides to re-organize the Teen Brigade.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The consensus now is that Bill Mantlo was kept around during the Shooter era because he could write really fast and he did whatever Shooter ordered him to do without question. Don Perlin tended to be described like this as well.

Mantlo was very bad. Even as a 14 year old, I knew that.

Al Milgrom does some uncredited inks on #259.

This arc seems somewhat important. It really set the stage for what had been a mostly undefined Soviet superhuman presence - at least for the rest of the 80s and 90s. It pretty much was the new status quo.

I was interested in the different ways the Soviet Union treated their "mutant problem" than the US did because of the contemporary Cold War issues, but Marvel always skirted around them. I think not bringing back Professor Phobos at some point in time was a lost opportunity. Certainly with Claremont's Colonel Vashin, there was an opportunity somewhere.

@Vin - confirmed on GCD. Thanks. I've updated the credits.