The Los Diablos Missile Base is an Army base located in New Mexico, once commanded by General Thaddeus Ross. It was the location of the first Gamma Bomb test, where Bruce Banner was transformed into the Hulk. [2]

Modern Age

After he was recovered on an alien ship downed by the US military, Dr. Banner was arrested for treason and jailed in the base. Helped by Rick Jones, he managed to turn the Gamma Ray Projector on the Toad Men fleet, reversing the polarity of their magnetic propulsion. For saving the world from the alien invasion, Banner was then cleared of treason[3].

Some time later, General Ross tested the effectiveness of his prototype "Iceberg Rocket" against a facsimile of the Hulk. A jet-powered faux Hulk was launched into the air and the rocket targeted the projectile, encasing it in a block of ice. Ross was satisfied with the test, confident that this rocket would succeed in capturing the real Hulk. He then sent his soldiers out to track down the Hulk[4].

After a slide show presenting the Hulk in the middle of one of his rampages, General Ross assigned Bruce Banner the task of scientifically devising a means to put the Hulk down once and for all.
He then ordered his men to launch the Iceberg Rocket against the Hulk while he was passing near the base, but the green goliath's body temperature was so intense, it caused the ice to melt, and he was able to break free and escape before Ross and his men could get to him[5].

After being defeated by the Metal Master, the unconscious jade giant was caught by the Army and locked in a special stone building at the Desert Base, from which he eventually escaped after he fully recovered[6].

Various acts of sabotage were conducted at the desert base by Karl Kort, also known as the Wrecker[7].

Years later, the base was infiltrated by a spy, who activated the Gamma Ray Projector and became the Abomination. After knocking Hulk out, the Abomination grabbed Betty Ross and leapt away into the sky[8].
Banner then used a device to pull the Abomination back to the base. Transforming back into the Hulk, Banner battled the Abomination, who was eventually teleported away by the Stranger. With Betty finally safe, Hulk left the base alone[9].
After Hulk's disappearance, the base was put under strict surveillance and off-limits to non-military personnel[10].

When the crisis caused by the hidden doomsday machine was over, General Ross ordered Major Talbot to resume looking for the Hulk[11].
After a couple of days, the Hulk, convinced by the Sandman, suddenly attacked the base, providing Sandman with the distraction he needed to steal the Space-Warp Ship, waiting to be tested there. However, when Betty Ross' life was put at risk when the Sandman almost crashed into her car, the Hulk intervened and stopped him. As the Hulk battled the Sandman, General Ross began to believe that the Hulk was trying to stop the Sandman. Hulk managed to defeat the Sandman, who escaped, and the Hulk fled the base as well[12].
Reverted back to Bruce Banner, he then returned to the base where he confronted Betty. However, the military burst into Betty's room and Banner transformed into the Hulk once more. While escaping the base, Hulk and Betty however were captured by the Sandman and the Mandarin, who took the two to one of his hidden caves[13].
After the Hulk was eventually knocked down by the Neutralizer Ray and held captive at the base, as the military was trying to figure a permanent method to keep him helpless, the Leader appeared and offered to help them contain the Hulk, to make amends for his past crimes. He then finally managed to contain him in a living cage, sealing off its entrance with the Sealer Beam. Convinced that the Hulk had been contained, General Ross and the others left the Leader alone with the Hulk[14].
While the Hulk was imprisoned within the Plasti-Thene, the Leader began preparations to initiate his secret agenda, using the military base's missiles to start a nuclear war. The Leader used his mental power to put all of the base personnel, save Betty Ross, to sleep, and took over the installation. Betty slipped off and found the Sealer Beam, then she reversed the power on the device and freed the Hulk from the Plasti-Thene cage. Following a brief battle between the Hulk and the Leader's Super Humanoid, the Leader fired a handgun at the Hulk and enveloped the jade giant's body with a blob of Plasti-thene, entrapping him again[15].
The Hulk however managed to break free from his prison through sheer strength alone, but he and the Super-Humanoid were teleported to a deserted island by the Leader, who was then free to launch the lethal, atomic missile directed to the East. Returning to the base, the Hulk was too late to stop the Leader from launching the missile. Believing that Bruce Banner could stop the already launched missile, Betty convinced the Hulk to calm down enough to change back to his alter ego. Banner then used his newly-designed Hunter Missile to destroy the one launched by the Leader. As the Leader launched a second missile, Banner changed into the Hulk once more and jumped away to catch up to the missile. When it exploded and the Hulk crashed on Earth, the Leader escaped and flew past the unconscious Bruce Banner, unaware that he had just flown past his arch-nemesis[16].



Alternate Realities

Los Diablos Missile Base from Incredible Hulk vs. Superman Vol 1 1 001


On Earth-7642, the Los Diablos Missile Base was visited by reporter Clark Kent and military contractor Lex Luthor shortly after the defeat of Metal Master. Both were interested in Bruce Banner's gamma experiments, particularly the Gamma Ray Projector and his time helping General Thunderbolt Ross hunt the Hulk. During a battle with the Hulk, Luthor was able to manipulate Ross into giving him access to the Gamma Ray Projector and use it to defeat him. Hulk was able to destroy projector and the building housing it.[17]


See Also

Links and References

