Bullseye and Hulk stories from BICM/W

[Midnighter]

There are two stories from Breaking Into Comics The Marvel Way that are not on MCP.

These are BICM/W 1/4, in which Bullseye recovers from the spine fracture and escapes from the hospital where he was hospitalized, and BICM/W 2/3, where Hulk, in the grip of nightmares, saves a girl from of sentient and aggressive trees while sleeping.

As far as the story of Hulk is concerned, since nightmares have to do with Sakaar, it certainly takes place after World War Hulk. Since Hulk is sleeping in the middle of the forest, he should be in the period when he is free again following the clash with Red Hulk in H2 1-6 but before he gets stuck in the person of Bruce Banner in IH2 600.

I would place it in the period between H2 9 (before Secret Invasion, given the presence of Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel) and IHRC 126/2 (after Secret Invasion).

Bullseye's story is more complex. It should be between DD 191 and DD 197. But I note that also the appearance of Bullseye in DD 196 is missing.
The problem is that in DD 191 he is clearly immobilized following the rupture of the spine in DD 181, and he is in the same conditions in DD 196 where he is taken from the hospital by the men of Lord Dark Wind and taken to Japan where he will be subjected to adamantium implantation (in DD 197).
In BICM/W 1/4 instead we see him recovering mobility to the point that kills everyone in the hospital and escapes by replacing a policeman.

Either the story is not canon, or we can imagine that the escape did not last long and that following the new arrest he was immobilized again in the hospital.

So, the proposed placements:

HULK/DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER
[...]
H2 7
H2 8
H2 9
BICM/W 2/3 <--- ADD
IHRC 126/2
MA 21
MA 22
[...]

BULLSEYE/LESTER/"BENJAMIN POINDEXTER"
[...]
DD 172 (14 - 22)
DD 181
DD 191
BICM/W 1/4 <---ADD IF REPUTATED CANON
DD 196 <--- ADD
DD 197
DD 198
DD 199
[...]

[Leoparis]

Bullseye was paralyzed twice, after DD 181 and after DD3 27.

The doctor treating him says, "It's been 18 months since the patient was admitted after breaking his spine."

Strictly speaking, the 18 months refer to his admission rather than to breaking his spine. But 18 months is quite long to fit between his comic appearances.

The time between 181 and 196 (where he's abducted from the hospital) is just 15 months. Bullseye is still immobile in DD 191 and I don't see how his 18 months recovery could occur before 196. Nor do I see how it could happen anywhere from 197 to 200.

The time separating DD3 27 from EL3 1 is 10 months, from EL3 8 is 17 months. In EL3 1 & in 8-10 he is still paralyzed until pages 1-8. On page 9 Elektra travels to Jakarta and after a fight with monkeys finds Bullseye fit on the last pages, his recovery happened behind the scenes.
The behind the scenes recovery might make this spot between pages 8 and 9 the most probable but this would entail a very long unlikely break in this Elektra series.

So I could not fit this story but here are his appearances after DD3 27 leading to his recovery:

BULLSEYE/LESTER
DD3 27
[EL3 1]
[EL3 8]
[EL3 9]
[EL3 10]
[EL3 11]
UA3 5

His appearance in DD 196 needs to be added as indicated by Midnighter.

As for the Hulk story, my only comment is I was surprised to see Peter David's take on the Green Scar, a take apparently similar to the one taken by Al Ewing in Immortal Hulk (no spoilers).

[Col_Fury]

BICM/W 1 (2010) was published a little over three years before DD3 27 (2013); it's clearly referring to DD 181's spine break and not to a story that hadn't been published yet.

As Midnighter said, we either assume a relapse between DD 191 & 196 or it's not canon.

[Leoparis]

I knew all that. I have no rule against placing an anthology story from 2010 later in the regular series chronology if that's the better fit.

The relapse after 18 months does not work for me as it entails a second spine shattering for which there is no evidence. There has always been one version of it, which is DD 181. Plus there are not eighteen months of publication time between DD 181 and 196 and even less between DD 191 and 196.

After Bullseye's initial injury, DD 196-198 show steps to his recovery in Japan which, to my mind, contradict BICM/W (occurring in the U.S.).

In EL3 the recovery occurs in narration behind the scenes, which is why I find it more likely than before DD 196. But "more likely" is a relative term, I still find it so unlikely that I prefer it to stay noncanon. (Do not be alarmed that I express my thinking process in this way, it helps me acknowledge where I stand and that has sometimes allowed me to see a solution when I thought there were none. I would like to find a reasonable solution to include that story and I may come back to it in one month, one year or one decade.)

And if I were to place BICM/W after 181 I would prefer before 191 (i.e. DD considers killing or punishing Bullseye after his recent rampage in BICM/W) than before 196 (also because there is more time for Bullseye to recover between 181 and 191 than between 191 and 196). (According to one of the unlisted flashbacks in 191 there are months of psychotherapy for Chuckie.)

Meanwhile Bullseye's appearance in DD 196 can be added.

[intp]

I find it interesting that Hulk gets a listing for BICM/W 2/3, a very odd story that seems somewhat dubious as canon. Unless the entire part with the saving of the woman and the sentient, malevolent trees is just a continuation of Hulk's dreams? The use of regular coloration (instead of the hazy images) suggests it's "really" happening, but then it just leaves a ton of unanswered questions, like who's the woman and what the heck is the deal with the trees?

So is the part of Hulk's "actual" appearance just that he took a nap in a forest after Hulk (2008) # 9 and had some dreams?

[Midnighter]

Yes, it is true that the story is strange and leaves many open questions, but there is nothing to place it as out of continuity.
Who is the girl? Who can tell: she is someone who is on the run from a serial killer, or an abusive husband, or she could also be an Asgardian on the run from Broxton who ran into a religious fundamentalist, or a mutant on the run from a Purifier (difficult, since we are after Decimation, but who knows).
Maybe it's the Hulk seeing the personification of his nightmares in the trees, or maybe it's a cursed forest, or maybe a distortion of reality is taking place...
But since they are characters who appear only in these pages, for the purposes of the MCP they are not relevant details.
Is there anything in the story that places it outside the Earth-616 continuity? No, as long as it takes place after the Hulk experiences the events he relives in the nightmares. The rest are elements that can easily remain undefined in the context of the Marvel Universe. So it's just a matter of placing it at an appropriate time for the Hulk.

[intp]

It occurred to me that it could just be Nightmare's doing, tormenting Hulk in his dreams, as he is portrayed in one panel as doing so in a story around the same time (a bit later) in Doctor Voodo: Avenger of the Supernatural # 4. Though there's not enough information, I don't think, to justify adding a bts appearance for Nightmare in DRV 4.