Issue(s): Hulk annual #10
Cover Date: 1981
Title: "Nothing stops the Hulk!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
Rick Leonardi - Penciler
Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Al Milgrom, Chic Stone, & Bob Wiacek - Inker

Review/plot:
The Hulk wanders onto a nuclear base. Apparently the thought of having to walk around a fence was too much for Banner.

One of the command units (a direct descendent of General Custer) gets cut off from central control due to the attack on the Hulk, and he assumes that the USSR is attacking, so he launches a missile.

Bruce Banner is suddenly transformed into Captain Universe, separate from the Hulk.

He first assumes that he's received the power so that he can end the menace of the Hulk...

...but then he realized that he needs to stop the missile before it hits Russia and starts WWIII.

Everyone understands that in the hands of a better writer the Captain Universe concept could have been something like a super-hero version of 100 Bullets, right?

Nice art, anyway.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This issue starts with the Hulk wandering in the wilderness and ends with him in the ocean. We'll assume he headed west from New York with the money Dazzler gave him in Dazzler #7, and was seen in Marvel Team-Up #105 along the way. Note the references for Captain Universe below. Based on that, i've placed this after Micronauts #35, after Hulk's appearance in Defenders #101.

References:

• A footnote says that Captain Universe has appeared in Micronauts #8, Micronauts #35, and Marvel Spotlight #9, Marvel Spotlight #10, and Marvel Spotlight #11.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I have this comic. How much is it worth?

FNORD - when you say "Apparently the thought of having to walk around a fence was too much for Banner.", I'm not sure if you're kidding or not. I see the fence as continuing in an L shape from that point sideways.
Also, I love the concept of Captain Universe. I even bought the personalized comic when it came out in the 90's.

He wasn't going anywhere in particular so the fact that it may have been a long way around the fence doesn't seem like it should have been a catastrophe. He's just easily upset.

I've had my eye on that personalized Captain Universe comic but it's not cheaply available. Anything about it make it explicitly non-canon? The MCP doesn't list it.

FNORD - I'm no expert, but the fact that the comic involves me as a character in the Marvel Universe would tend to make me think it's non-canon.
Also, if you get the comic from someone, wouldn't it be personalized to them already?

Although an argument for it to be in-continuity is made on the wiki entry for Captain Universe -
"In 1994 Captain Universe finally gained its first one-shot, coinciding with a promotion, with the claim that readers could have a comic about themselves made for a fee. The comics were generally stock stories, with minor details (such as skin or hair color, key names or phrases, etc.) altered based on information provided by the purchaser. Veterinary student Jeff Christiansen, who would later become the force behind the resurgence of the Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe in the mid-2000s was made the official Captain Universe of the comic so that it could be considered an in-continuity comic. The one-shot was titled X-Men/Captain Universe: Sleeping Giants."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Universe#Captain_Universe.2FDeath.27s_Head_3.0

Seeing how much it's going for on mycomicshop, I'm kicking myself for not getting two or three copies when it originally came out. Too bad I don't have the FF's time machine.

Thanks for the info, Clyde. And don't sell yourself short, i'm sure you'd make a fine Marvel Universe character.

And yeah, i guess if i found a copy it wouldn't be customized to be about me, but i think i can live with that. ;-)

FNORD - I already have a superhero name. It's "Proofreader Man"(tm) - "able to spot errors in grammar and spelling". "No one can escape the power of correct wording in sentences, exclamations, and questions." :)