Marvel Comics Presents (1st series) #58

Issue Date: 
September 1990
Story Title: 
On the Road – Part 5: “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide” (First Story)
Staff: 

First Story: Michael Higgins (writer), Dave Ross (penciller), Dan Day (inker), Brad Vancata (colorist), Todd Klein (letterer), Kelly Corvese (assistant editor), Terry Kavanagh (editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief), Dave Cockrum & Jeff Albrecht (cover art)

Brief Description: 

First Story:
Wolverine sets out to discover the identity and motivation of the mysterious murderer who looks just like him. Meanwhile, the Hulk battles the impostor until the man has a moment of clarity and flees. He takes a bottle of pills that helps his blind rage to subside momentarily. The Hulk frees the hostages the Logan look-alike had taken and then finds the weakened madman. The Hulk finally realizes the doppelganger’s true identity. The Hulk is shocked by this revelation since he had believed this person to be dead.

Full Summary: 

First Story:

Wolverine has recovered from being gunned down and narrowly evaded being the subject of an autopsy! Now he’s determined to figure out why he is wanted for a crime he knows he didn’t commit. He stands on a street corner reading a newspaper. Inside is a photo of the man responsible for these murders. He looks exactly like Logan, down to the adamantium claws. Logan asks himself the obvious questions: “Who is he? Why is he trying to screw up my life?” Despite his desire to just lay low, Logan realizes he has to go back and figure this out. He crumples up the newspaper and tosses it aside.
At a pharmaceutical company nearby, the Hulk is engaged in combat with Logan’s impersonator who has taken a handful of hostages. The Hulk demands some answers to which the mystery man replies “What good will answers be to you, Hulk---- when you’re dead?!” He lunges at the Hulk with his claws. The Hulk evades this and uses the man’s momentum to fling him against a wall.
Again the Hulk demands to know “Who are you!?!” The faux Wolverine confesses that they’ve crossed paths before but vows to use his new claws to ensure that never happens again.
The Hulk laughs and says that maybe he’s really a clown since he knows that this guy isn’t Wolverine and doesn’t think his fake claws are going to do much damage to him. The doppelganger rakes his claws across the Hulk’s chest and does some real damage. The Hulk looks down at the wound and then lashes out at “Logan”, sending him flying across the room once more.
The Hulk warns him that “The kid gloves are off!” as he stalks towards him. The fake Wolverine flings an office chair at the Hulk and makes a run for it. The Hulk threatens to kill him once he gets a hold of him. The impostor knocks a large shelving unit over onto the Hulk and attacks him with his claws. The enraged Hulk grabs a pipe and sprays “Wolverine” with a blast of hot steam. The Hulk offers to end this before he’s forced to kill the guy but he won’t give up. He lunges at the Hulk again but his attack is easily blocked by the Hulk with the pipe. The Hulk tells him that he can keep this up for as long as he wants and asks the guy “…what are you going to do next?” This stops the phony Logan in his tracks and he looks dumbfounded for an instant before crying out “WHAT AM I DOING!?” several times. The man is clearly in anguish as he runs off screaming “No place to run! No place to hide!”
The Hulk can’t help but feel a bit sorry for the confused man and says to himself “And I thought I had problems.” He then releases the man’s hostages before going to look for the copycat. Outside the lab, the duplicate of Wolverine downs a bottle of pills which helps diminish the pain he is in. He thinks to himself that this will only last for a short time before the madness returns. “Once I was a man! What am I now?” he asks.
Outside, the police and SWAT teams are surprised to see the hostages emerge unharmed. They tell the shocked authorities that they were saved by the Hulk! Inside, the Hulk finds the Wolverine look-alike and asks if he’s finished. The man apologizes weakly and says he didn’t want any of this to happen. He is barely conscious and the Hulk helps him sit up. The Hulk tells the man that he’s starting to believe him and that he reminds him of a friend. He assures the guy that he won’t hurt him and asks that he trust him. The man agrees that it’s past time he tried trusting someone. He says to the Hulk “You don’t remember me, do you?” and begins to tell the Hulk who he is. The Hulk tells him to “Take it easy” and that he knows who he is now. The Hulk looks surprised as he realizes the man’s identity and says “Only it can’t be—you’re dead!”

Characters Involved: 

First story
:
Wolverine
Hulk
Mimic / Calvin Rankin
Unnamed hostages

Unnamed police officers and SWAT team members

Story Notes: 

The other features in the issue are:

2nd Story: Werewolf by Night in “Children of the Beast “Part 5

3rd Story: Sub-Mariner in “Neptune’s Eye” Part 2

4th Story: Iron Man in “Neutralizing Effects”
First story:

This story takes place between INCREDIBLE HULK #369 (in which Freedom Force appeared) and INCREDIBLE HULK #370 for the Hulk and just prior to the X-TINCTION AGENDA crossover in the X-Books.
The X-Men were believed to have sacrificed themselves to save the world from the Adversary as seen in UNCANNY X-MEN #227. Following their televised death, they were resurrected by Roma and took up residence in Australia where they operated clandestinely for quite some time.
At this period in the Hulk’s evolution, his transformation from Bruce Banner into the gray-skinned Hulk only occurred at night. He also went by the name “Mr. Fixit.”
Logan’s “twin” is none other than Calvin Rankin AKA The Mimic. The mystery of this duplicate Wolverine is not revealed until MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1st series) #59. Prior to this revelation, Mimic was believed to have died in INCREDIBLE HULK #161.

Issue Information: 

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