WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #33 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo, Marc Deering, Mark Morales, Paul Mounts, Nick Pitarra, Michael Garland, & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now
The Hulk has only ever called a handful of people his friends. His famous fury doesn't carry over to everyone, which has given some people the chance to get close to the Hulk. But one of those connections - a current one based on one of the Hulk's longest relationships - just turned out to be a lie.
The final pages of Immortal Hulk #33 reveal that the person pretending to be the resurrected Rick Jones isn't the classic ally of the Hulk, but rather one of his oldest foes -- the Leader -- disguised as Rick.
The issue primarily centers on the Hulk trying - and succeeding - to get past Xemnu's influence on his mind. Working the rest of his team, Hulk attacks Dario Agger's ROXXON HQ to bring down Xemnu once and for all. There, the heroes are forced to contend with the various brain-dead techno-zombies that Xemnu has been building out of people. While Doc Samson and Betty Ross remain downstairs to keep the creatures from escaping the building and making their way to the public, Hulk and Rick head to the top floor to confront Dario and Xemnu. When they arrive, they find that Xemnu has already turned on Dario, reducing him to a barely living pile of gore.
Xemnu almost takes control over the Hulk's mind, but Rick is able to use his powers and amplify the gamma inside the Hulk - unleashing the World-Breaker Hulk and giving him the chance to kill Xemnu. Hulk goes to regroup with the others while Rick remains behind. And then, the issue reveals that Rick isn't what he appears. In fact, he's secretly being controlled by the Leader - who spares Dario's life but tells him to stay out of the way of the Hulk, because the Leader already has plans for the jade giant.
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1964's Tales to Astonish #62, Samuel Sterns was bombarded by gamma radiation at the chemical plant he worked at. The radiation turned his skin green and amplified his intelligence to a massive degree. With his newfound powers, Sterns became the Leader, one of the Hulk's signature enemies. He's battled the Hulk frequently over the years and has even been killed a handful of times. However, his experience with dealing with the magical elements of the world and his extreme intelligence have helped him cross the line between life and death - which might be how he got access to Rick.
Rick Jones was killed during the events of Secret Empire but was resurrected by the scientists who worked at Shadow Base in a monstrous new body - until the body was ripped open while fighting the Hulk and revealed his more human appearance. In light of what happens in this issue, Rick may have never been restored, and the Leader may have been controlling his body the whole time.
While this could mean that Rick Jones still exists in some form elsewhere, it's also worth noting where the Leader seems to be controlling Rick Jones from. The empty body of David Banner, Green Door and rocky terrain around him suggests that the Leader has gone to the Hell dimension that previously served as a battleground between Hulk and the One-Below-All. Maybe it's vital that the Leader finds a connection to control Rick from there, as it is the apparent source of much of the gamma energy in the Marvel Universe.
Perhaps most importantly, the Leader was the person who received a desperate message from the far future. Two of the only life-beings left in the universe sent a message rocketing into the past in an attempt to warn the present about the danger the Devil Hulk presents to the continued existence of life in the universe. The Leader has apparently been moving behind-the-scenes since then, making his plans for his greatest enemy. He already has the easiest way to strike him, too. The Hulk seems to still recognize Rick Jones as one of his genuine "friends," even when his intelligence is reduced. This could allow the Leader to strike when the Hulk is at his weakest and come from a direction he'd never see coming. It could be devastating if done at the right precise time, which could, in turn, save the future of the Marvel Universe.