BIOGRAPHY - Page 5
The moment came when Banner returned from space as the most powerful Hulk yet on record, the Green Scar. He sought revenge on the Illuminati, but then suffered the betrayal of one of his own Warbound allies from Sakaar, pushing his anger and loss to unprecedented levels and unleashing the Sakaaran prophecy of the Worldbreaker, a Hulk strong enough to crack the mantle of the planet. Tony Stark commanded the nation’s satellite network to launch an orbital radiation strike at the Hulk’s position, but M.O.D.O.K. had infiltrated that network. Instead, the satellites siphoned off Banner’s gamma radiation, storing it for later Cathexis-Ray treatments. [World War Hulk #5] Although Banner was bound for S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, General Ross rerouted him to a new Gamma Base, manned by reprogrammed Life Model Decoys and allowing the Intelligencia regular access to him. The Cathexis-Ray transferred the altered gamma-cosmic radiation stored from Banner into Ross, creating the Red Hulk. In order to maintain the Red Hulk’s double identity, a LMD of General Ross was also put into circulation, remotely operated by M.O.D.O.K. in circumstances where “Rulk” and Ross needed to be seen together and at odds. [Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #600, Hulk (2nd series) #23] The Intelligencia also tested other subjects, turning Rick Jones into a new Abomination and his wife Marlo into a new Harpy. [Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #3]
The Red Hulk’s activities began to draw attention from S.H.I.E.L.D. and other parties. [Hulk (2nd series) #1] Banner escaped from “Gamma Base” to roam freely as the simple-minded green Hulk, prompting M.O.D.O.K. and A.I.M. to recapture him. She-Hulk was on the Red Hulk’s tail, however, and she uncovered the secret of Gamma Base while trying to reveal it to the press. The Red Hulk exceeded his mandate as the Green Hulk broke free again and attacked him. Ross drained Banner of his gamma radiation, leaving him unable to transform into the Hulk anymore, and useless to the Intelligencia’s experiments. Banner escaped, but She-Hulk was captured as a suitable replacement test subject. [Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #600] Still, M.O.D.O.K. and the Leader began to doubt Red Hulk could be trusted to follow orders long term. They prepped Betty Ross for the Cathexis-Ray treatment, draining She-Hulk as the baseline gamma charge to create a Red She-Hulk. This was done without Red Hulk’s knowledge and he was left in the dark on Red 
She-Hulk’s identity, leading him to be just as suspicious of the Intelligencia as they had become of him. [Hulk (2nd series) #14-17]
Plans continued for the Intelligencia’s endgame. They intended to capture as many of their intellectual rivals as possible, targeting Reed Richards, Doctor Doom, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, T’Challa, Hank McCoy, Amadeus Cho and, of course, the now-powerless but still brilliant Bruce Banner. Their mental strength would then be neutralized but harnessed for the final stage of using the Cathexis-Ray and a gamma-cosmic charge to empower an entire regiment of A.I.Marines. A Hulk-powered military coup of the White House would receive a veil of legitimacy from General “Thunderbolt” Ross in his human form. However, Ross’s other identity as the Red Hulk was becoming increasingly belligerent. Ross was a proud man who wanted his military mind to be valued in their planning as much as his Hulk strength. Leader was more open to considering all avenues and variables, but M.O.D.O.K.’s ego did not appreciate contradiction, and he and Red Hulk lashed out at one another. It became clear to Ross that he needed new allies. [Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #4]
M.O.D.O.K. and Leader had correctly predicted that the Red Hulk’s loyalty was not guaranteed, and they had several fallback strategies in place if he went rogue. Ross attempted to outthink his former allies by taking out-of-character and unpredictable steps, such as allying with his own greatest foe, Bruce Banner. Ross and Banner attempted to upset the Intelligencia’s schemes by orchestrating the very public death of Thaddeus Ross at the Red Hulk’s hands, using the LMD for the ruse and denying the Intelligencia their figurehead for their coup. Although the Intel had fail-safes in place, Ross and Banner succeeded in instilling doubt in M.O.D.O.K. and his allies, raising concerns about who could be trusted. [Fall of the Hulks: Gamma]
The harvesting of their rivals began and, despite Red Hulk’s interference, the Intelligencia’s plans continued satisfactorily. Soon five of the eight smartest men in the world were captured and under their dominion. Doom’s Liddleville technology was co-opted to drain the men of their intellectual 
power for the Intel’s use. Banner attacked the Intelligencia’s Hellcarrier with a squad of Avengers and other allies while Red Hulk attempted to infiltrate the base separately. M.O.D.O.K. got his revenge on Rulk by beating and capturing him with the help of the Cosmic Hulk robot. Banner was also undone and loaded into the Liddleville scenario. With Banner de-powered by the Red Hulk, M.O.D.O.K. and the others now used Ross as their living battery to power the Cathexis-Ray and create their A.I.Marines. As an added bonus, the heroes aboard the Hellcarrier also Hulked out, turning them into a threat the Intelligencia could use to help justify their military coup, now headed by an LMD of Ross’s old protégé, Colonel Glenn Talbot.
Even with all their planning and scheming, M.O.D.O.K. and Leader failed to maintain control of their situation. Banner and Red Hulk freed themselves from captivity, shutting down Liddleville and the Cathexis-Ray technology. Samson and Red She-Hulk turned on the Intelligencia as well. The Leader’s intelligence was drained away by the Red Hulk and his energy-siphoning powers, but M.O.D.O.K. was undone by Amadeus Cho. Also caught in the Cathexis backwash, Cho’s quantum hypermind was Hulked out by the gamma-cosmic process. Amadeus’s mind was powerful enough to oppose M.O.D.O.K. in mental combat. When he got close enough, Cho re-wrote the quantum possibilities of M.O.D.O.K.’s own cellular structure and transformed the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing back into an unassuming and un-enhanced George Tarleton. The Hulked-Out Heroes and A.I.Marines were drained as the Cathexis-Ray was put in reverse, repowering Banner as the Hulk. The Hulk then ended the attempted coup as Red Hulk betrayed them and tried to reclaim the Intelligencia’s plans at the last moment. [Fall of the Hulks / World War Hulks crossover]
George Tarleton and the Red Hulk were imprisoned at a repurposed Gamma Base while Samuel Sterns, the former Leader, was sent to the Raft. George was left passive and somewhat simple-minded after his ordeal, barely remembering his time as M.O.D.O.K. Unfortunately, M.O.D.O.K. and the Leader had initiated Project: Scorched Earth in the event of their defeat. When M.O.D.O.K. and Leader failed to check-in with their systems after a month, all of the most radical and unhinged ideas the Intelligencia ever conceived but restrained themselves from unleashing were activated as a failsafe. Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers coordinated a number of heroes (including the Red Hulk seeking redemption) to put a stop to Scorched Earth. Eventually, Ross and the Hulks discovered a volcano base where M.O.D.O.K.s LMD servitors and medically-preserved clone brains were triggering and coordinating the various doomsday projects. The clone brains were destroyed, and Scorched Earth seemingly failed.
As of this point, the original George Tarleton has never reappeared. He may still be in protective custody somewhere in America. [Hulk (2nd series) #25-28]
However, the true purpose of Project: Scorched Earth was not a petty attempt to knock the board over after losing the game of world domination. Instead, it was a distraction engineered to draw attention away from M.O.D.O.K.’s resurrection. M.O.D.O.K.’s cloning facilities were normally used 
for spare parts, creating replacement organs for his unstable body or producing functioning brains for their computing power, like those running Scorched Earth. M.O.D.O.K. ensured that one cloned brain kept its higher brain functions intact, allowing it to monitor Scorched Earth remotely and engineer its own survival. Using clone parts from his storages, this brain gave itself a physical body. “Born” as M.O.D.O.K., this brain considered itself an improvement over the original transformed George Tarleton – it had not suffered the pain of the transformation process and was unencumbered by the ego and insecurities that Tarleton brought with him. More calm, rational and calculating than his predecessor, the brain chose to re-classify himself as M.O.D.O.K. Superior. [Hulk (2nd series) #29]