Tales to Astonish #100 (1968)

thumb|left_and_Richard_Jones_(Earth-616)_from_Tales_to_Astonish_Vol_1_100_001.jpg) General Ross) promises to eventually capture the Hulk.)]] In need of allies, the Sub-Mariner views the Hulk's most recent battle and decides to establish a partnership between them. On his way to the surface, the Sub-Mariner is attacked by two men aboard a hydrofoil. Unknown to Namor, the men are under the control of his old enemy the Puppet Master. Furious to have one of his plans fouled by the Sub-Mariner once again, the Puppet Master (inspired by a newspaper story) decides to make the Hulk his next puppet and use him as a weapon against the Sub-Mariner.

thumb|right|[[Phillip Masters (Earth-616)|Puppet Master_from_Tales_to_Astonish_Vol_1_100_001.jpg)]] On the mainland, the military is cleaning up the mess following the Hulk destroying the home base of the Lords of the Living Lightning. General Ross and Glenn Talbot have brought Rick Jones on the scene in the event that the Hulk survived the blast believing that Jones would be able to control the Hulk should he lash out. This proves to be incorrect due to the fact that the Hulk is revived by the Puppet Master's manipulations, and he strikes out at Rick before jumping away, leaving all present (Rick included) to finally believe that the Hulk is an irredeemable menace.

Forcing the Hulk to battle the Sub-Mariner, their battle takes them across the coast, causing damage in their wake. However, the Sub-Mariner's constant immersion in water and the Hulk's inability to fight effectually in that element tip the fight in the Sub-Mariner's favor. While back on the mainland, Rick is brought to a hospital where Betty is torn between her love for Bruce Banner, and the menace of the Hulk, which leaves Talbot torn as well because if he kills the Hulk, Betty would never love him.

Meanwhile, the battle between the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner rages on, and is taken out into sea, where their combat causes a tsunami large enough to wipe out the Puppet Master's island base and defeat the foe. When the water finally settles, Namor finds the unconscious body of Bruce Banner on shore. Not realizing that Banner is truly the Hulk, and believing the behemoth to have perished in the waves, the Sub-Mariner leaves Banner to his own fate and returns to the sea.