Sunshine Joe Fixit's History
Together with Samson, the Hulk investigated Shadow Base and the disappearance of the body of Rick Jones, who had died during Hydra's short-lived empire. In a confrontation with Bushwacker, Bruce manifested the Joe Fixit persona, albeit with no accompanying physical transformation, and was able to escape. While hiding from Shadow Base, Bruce was attacked by a mutated Rick Jones, turned into Abomination by his pursuers. With Harpy's help, the Hulk managed to evade Shadow Base and dig up Rick Jones from the mutagenic shell that had turned him into Abomination.
When Rick awoke, he shared with Bruce and his allies the location of the Shadow Base's headquarters. They assaulted Shadow Base, joining forces with Gamma Flight in the process, who were coincidentally raiding the facility at the same time. The Hulk confronted and killed General Fortean, who had used the Abomination tissue on himself. In the aftermath, Banner seized command of Shadow Base's assets, and set out to use its resources to wage war on the human world for their abuse of the environment, sparking a counterculture movement in the process that embraced his ideals.
Unbeknownst to Bruce, the Leader had been studying the Below-Place and managed to replace Brian as the host of the One Below All. Sterns had additionally infiltrated Bruce Banner's circles, having taken control of Rick Jones' mind and having infiltrated Bruce's mindscape by taking over his Green Scar alter. During his war against the human world, the Hulk combated Roxxon. In an attempt to rid of the Hulk, Roxxon's CEO Dario Agger enlisted the help of Xemnu, who used his hypnosis to brainwash the world into believing that he was the one true Hulk and everybody's hero. In order to stop Roxxon's interference, the Leader, as the Green Scar, helped the Hulk fight back and put an end to Xemnu's brainwashing, while also caging the Devil Hulk persona within Banner's mindscape. Due to this, Savage Hulk became the Hulk's main manifestation again.
The Leader eventually made his move when he used Rick Jones to overload the Hulk with gamma energy, causing him to decimate a town where he was present. While the Hulk was fending off Gamma Flight to avoid capture, the Leader tightened his hold over Banner's mindscape, subduing Bruce and Fixit as well. Devil Hulk managed to break free when the Leader attempted to bring Bruce to the Below-Place, but the ill-timed intervention of the childish Savage Hulk to stop the conflict resulted in Sterns seemingly killing the manifestation of the Devil Hulk alter. Savage Hulk and Joe Fixit were left behind in Banner's body, which was being held prisoner by Gamma Flight aboard the Alpha Flight Low-Orbit Space Station. In the Below-Place, Leader hooked Banner and the remains of the Devil Hulk to plant-like structures for some unrevealed purpose.
Hulk was later met by Henry Gyrich, who was acting commander of the Alpha Flight Interstellar Defense and Diplomacy Initiative, which included authority of Gamma Flight. Gyrich informed Hulk that he would get to decide what happened to him. He also told Hulk that the manacles that held him could adjust in size, thus becoming Banner wouldn't get him free. Joe Fixit, however, was able to transform into Banner by emerging from the Hulk's body like a cocoon. Joe then knocked out Gyrich and the guards that were with him. While trying to escape, Joe was confronted by Gamma Flight and Doc Samson, resurrected in Walter Langkowski's body. Joe then used a gun he took from one of the guards to break open the space station's window and flee into outer space. Joe transformed into Savage Hulk, allowing him to withstand the reentry through Earth's atmosphere. Hulk landed near Coney Island where he was confronted by the Thing as he got ashore. Thing battled Hulk until Hulk transformed into Banner and the Joe Fixit persona convinced Thing to stop. The two then talked it out, and Thing decided to let Hulk go.
Joe Fixit and Savage Hulk went into hiding in New York City. Savage Hulk had been greatly weakened after having his gamma energy drained by the Leader after he took Banner and the Devil Hulk. So, Joe Fixit used thievery and scams to survive and tried to avoid becoming a hero, so he didn't draw attention to himself. After witnessing two police officers harass a member of the Teen Brigade, however, Joe Fixit decided to be a hero and transformed into Savage Hulk to aid the teen. After scaring off the police officers, Hulk was attacked by the U-Foes who were hired by Henry Gyrich to take him out.
The U-Foes took turns attacking Hulk, but when Vector accidentally sent Hulk flying all the way to New Jersey with a telekinetic attack, the U-Foes searched for him. After finding Hulk, X-Ray finished Hulk off with a blast of anti-gamma rays (cosmic rays), killing him. Savage Hulk and Joe Fixit both were sent to Below-Place and found themselves staring down an enlarged Leader, who was possessed by the One Below All.
The Leader trapped Savage Hulk and Joe in the Below-Place by turning the Green Door into the Red Door and then sent various Qlippoth against Savage Hulk and Joe in an attempt to assimilate them. Unexpectedly, as X-Ray of the U-Foes bombarded Hulk's corpse with cosmic rays to prevent him from resurrecting, Joe Fixit was transformed into a Red Hulk and used his newfound power to smash through the Red Door, allowing him and Savage Hulk to escape. Joe then resurrected in the body of the Savage Hulk, no longer emaciated and with cosmic power running through him, much to the shock of the U-Foes.
With his strength restored, Joe easily overwhelmed the U-Foes to the point where Vector was forced to send Joe flying toward Manhattan with his telekinesis to save him and his team. After learning the U-Foes had let the Hulk get away, Gyrich swallowed his pride and asked the Avengers for help. The Avengers confronted Joe at a bar where he was having a few drinks. As the Avengers were about to battle Hulk, Betty as the Harpy appeared to aid Hulk. Later, Gamma Flight appeared to aid Hulk as well. During the fight, She-Hulk unexpectedly turned on her fellow Avengers to aid her cousin after learning from Betty that she also seen the Green Door. Gamma Flight eventually teleported away with Betty, She-Hulk, and Joe to a warehouse in Brooklyn formerly operated by the Kingpin. Joe and Betty then decided to make up and kiss.
Later, Joe and Betty had intercourse in a hotel room. The two then had a heart-to-heart talk where Joe admitted he left Bruce Banner in the Below-Place and Betty revealed that she liked how Joe never hid anything from her but became upset after remembering that he used to be a criminal enforcer in Las Vegas. Tired of Bruce and his personas keeping secrets from her, Betty decided to leave again. Joe then talked with She-Hulk and Jackie, telling them he was done hiding and planned to rescue Bruce Banner from the Below-Place.
Joe, Jen, and Jackie went to the Baxter Building to meet with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. After a brief fight between Joe and the Avengers and other heroes, the Fantastic Four intervened and escorted Joe, Jen, and Jackie to the Forever Gate, which had the ability to send Joe to the Below-Place to rescue Bruce Banner. Joe was reluctant to pass through at first, but he was motivated to by Jackie who passed through the Forever Gate with him.
After arriving to the Below-Place, Joe Fixit and Savage Hulk separated into different beings and journeyed with Jackie through the Below-Place until they came across a fortress the Leader built to protect himself. Savage Hulk entered first and later Joe and Jackie. Joe and Savage Hulk fought a monstrously transformed Leader but were quickly overwhelmed. After coming to terms with her past, Jackie unleashed a beam of energy from her eyes that hurt the Leader, allowing Joe and Savage Hulk to separate the Leader from the One Below All and rescuing Bruce Banner. After confronting the One Below All who turned out to be an aspect of the One Above All who cryptically told them the purpose of the Hulk, Joe, Savage Hulk, and Jackie fled the Leader's crumbling fortress with Leader and Banner. They were then met by the Thing and Walt Langkowski resurrected in Doc Samson's body and traveled back to Earth using the Forever Gate. Banner merged back with Joe Fixit and Savage Hulk, and after receiving clothing from Reed Richards snuck out of the Baxter Building and into the outside world.
