The story picks up where last issue ended off as the unconscious Rick Jones is about to be crushed by the Hulk (we seem to open several issues looking at Rick's unconscious body). However, the Hulk lands just short of Rick, having recognized him as his old friend. Hulk is tempted to 'smash' him, but refuses to strike someone who is smaller than he and unable to fight. The Hulk lumbers off to get some water to revive Rick and in doing so, calms down, becoming Bruce Banner again. The revived Rick greets Bruce and explains his current predicament, giving Kane an excuse to retell how Rick and Mar-Vell were bound together. Bruce knows Reed Richards is the specialist on the Negative Zone, but tells Rick that Reed thinks the Negative Zone is too dangerous for the public and probably wouldn't help him (although Rick could easily get an audience with Reed by asking via the Avengers).
As Bruce leads Rick back to his cavern laboratory, he notes Reed has noticed connections between the Negative Zone, Gamma Rays and Cosmic Rays, so in helping Mar-Vell to get out of the Negative Zone, Bruce might also stumble upon research which will rid him of being the Hulk. Bruce is actually glad to have someone else's problems to focus on for a change. After a lengthy period of research, Bruce comes up with a name: Josiah Weller, "one of the top brains in relativity theory... and head of the research department at Desert State University!" Bruce gives Weller a ring, but it seems student radicals are performing an anti-war rally outside his office, complete with a giant bonfire. Apparently the students are convinced Weller is working on research for warfare; hearing Weller is in danger makes Bruce stressed and he quickly erupts into anger, transforming back into the Hulk. There's no way Rick can face the Hulk alone, so Rick brings out Captain Marvel with the lines "Justice like lightning... ever shall appear!!" (quoting the same poem which later inspired the super hero team Thunderbolts)
Captain Marvel tries to calm the Hulk down, which works as well as you'd expect; a fight breaks out. Mar-Vell punches the Hulk, but the blow has no effect: "I could have smashed a robot with that blow--but you're still standing!" Yeesh, Marv, you really do fight robots too often. The Hulk swats Mar-Vell asides then smashes out of the laboratory, destroying Banner's research on the Negative Zone as he leaps away to Desert State University.
When the student protestors hear the Hulk is coming, they cheer his imminent arrival: "That green brother's as much anti-establishment as any of us!" Er, just 'cause the Hulk fights the army, it doesn't mean he's anti-war. Captain Marvel catches up before the Hulk can do any damage. Mar-Vell hits the Hulk with his most powerful blows, but they do no good and the Hulk smashes him again; with that, the three hours are up and Mar-Vell is exchanged with Rick Jones. Rick then puts his own life on the line. Standing between the Hulk and the protestors, Rick tells him if he's going to hurt anyone, he'll have to kill him first. Unable to injure Rick, the Hulk turns and walks away. Mar-Vell is proud of Rick for ending the fight. "Perhaps--we make a better team than we thought, Rick!"
Thoughts: It's a pity that nothing comes of Dr. Weller - Bruce brings him up and he's the subject of the protest, but he's ultimately nothing more than a device to get Bruce angry about something. Even the protestors disappear once the last Captain Marvel vs. Hulk fight begins. What if Weller really was developing something for the army? What if the protestors were right? What if the protestors were seriously over-zealous and learned a valuable lesson from seeing the Hulk's thoughtless rampage? They're just a backdrop, unfortunately.
With this issue, Captain Marvel was quietly cancelled. The final panel announced: "And thus ends the final chapter of our second try-out of the sensational new Captain Marvel!" The book would eventually return with an issue #22, but this time the series would be off the racks for more than six months.
Fortunately for Captain Marvel, Roy Thomas wasn't done with him yet, and Roy was writing plenty of Marvel Comics!
Next: Sub-Mariner #30!
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