World War Hulk Front Line #4 (Of 6) Nov ,2007 (G)

'Embedded: Behind Enemy Lines'

In bed with her boyfriend Danny Granville, Sally Floyd can't help but ask why he has a black eye. He tells her that he got in a fight with a rock, and the rock won. The following morning, her fellow reporter Ben Urich reports in and tells her that he is joining a flock of humans going to Madison Square Garden, which the Hulk has converted into an arena. As Urich moves through the crowd of people, he notes that these are not locals, but thrill seekers who have sneaked into Manhattan to witness the carnage. Elsewhere in the city, Sally takes the time to check on her parents. Her mother still thinks it is too early for Sally to have moved in with her boyfriend Danny. As the two talk about how dangerous the situation is, Sally promises that she is still dry even though there are no Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for her to go to. She then lets her mother go and enters a bar to get a drink.

There the bartender gives her a drink that has been paid for by another patron. This patron turns out to be Daily Bugle owner J. Jonah Jameson. Getting down to business, Jameson explains that he has come to her because he doesn't need the competition that the Front Line brings and offers to buy the paper. She refuses to sell and points out how successful the Front Line is becoming. Having had enough of Jameson, Sally decides to go elsewhere. As she gets up to leave, Jonah warns her that she is making a mistake. She turns to him and reminds Jameson that she is an alcoholic, and big mistakes are the only kind she knows how to make.

While back at the arena, Ben Urich is in the stand among the other arena-goers witnessing as the Hulk and his Warbound pit zoo animals against creatures that they have brought to Earth from Sakaar. He is appalled by the bloodlust from the other members of the audience by this display of animal cruelty. As Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, and Tony Stark are being dragged out to fight, Ben has a conversation with the man sitting next to him, who is a fight fan. Hearing the man obsess over the gory details of the previous fight disturb the veteran reporter even more. He then watches as the four members of the Illuminati battle for their lives against a Devil Corker. He gets to thinking about the invasion the Hulk brought upon them and notes that this alien civilization brought a culture of barbarism to this world. Seeing how he is surrounded for people crying out for blood, Urich realizes that they haven't been overrun, because you can't be overrun if you are exactly like your invaders.