Issue(s): Hulk #304, Hulk #305
Cover Date: Feb-Mar 85
Title: "Prisoners!" / "Fancy meeting you here!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Gerry Talaoc - Inker
Pat Blevins - Assistant Editor
Carl Potts - Editor

Review/plot:
The Hulk has another Strange Tale in the Crossroads Dimensions, this one involving a befriended alien who is executed by his people for being too nice.

But the Hulk can only wander in complete isolation from the Marvel Universe for so long, and Mantlo therefore has an interlude with Dr. Strange testifying to Congress...

...and also much more implausibly sets up a scenario where Mantlo's Fantastic Four "homage", the U-Foes, escape from the world's most poorly designed prison...

...but wind up getting banished to the Crossroads themselves when Vector uses his powers too much.

I've complained that the Hulk has been strangely overpowered in these Crossroads dimensions, but you could make the case that these extra-dimensional beings are at a higher level of existence or something. The U-Foes, on the other hand, are from Earth, so we don't have that excuse, but the Hulk only barely survives his battle with them thanks to the help of the, *ahem* Puffball Collective.

As we're reminded in these issues, this mindless, savage version of the Hulk recently fought SHIELD and almost all of New York's super-heroes, including Thor, and wiped the floor with all of them. So the idea that the Hulk would need help against a group of villains that he's already fought twice and defeated rankles a bit.

That said, the Buscema/Talaoc continue to do a nice job on the art and they give us a good fight sequence.

The U-Foes each end up trapped in a dimension designed to perfectly counter-act their powers, thanks to the Puffball's help.

To be fair, there has been an ongoing concern that the Hulk hasn't been able to find food to eat. He does get food from his alien friend before he is executed, but maybe we should infer that the Hulk still isn't at full strength. There's also a scene that specifically states that the Hulk prefers meat (or at least fish) to vegetables, so there goes my theory that the Hulk is a vegetarian based on his love of beans and dislike of hunters.

During the U-Foes fight, there's an unexplained scene where both Hulk and Ironclad revert to children and then to adult non-powered forms. More on that in upcoming issues.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• The U-Foes first appeared in Hulk #254.
  
• Dr. Strange describes the events of Hulk #300 to Congress. Flashback scene, no footnote.
  
• Dr. Strange's credentials are bolstered with Congress due to the fact that he helped SHIELD in ROM #54. (Oddly the footnote just refers to the ROM series and no specific issue number).
  
• However, Strange's decision to banish the Hulk without any kind of legal authority leads at least one senator to declare his support for Robert Kelly's Mutant Control Act. The footnote again vaguely points to the X-Men series, so i'll link to Uncanny X-Men #181, when the act was introduced.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Maybe it's fish that he likes? Fish and beans.

I wonder if it ever occurred to have the Hulk go through the Crossroads and end up on Battleworld and meet the Thing during this time?