In an issue that is a flashback to all things Ross, we’re made privy to the extent of his deals with M.O.D.O.K. and The Leader. That when Ross committed treason and freed the Abomination, that M.O.D.O.K. put him up to it. That when he died, the Leader brought him back without his mind, that alien tech brought him back completely later on.
Long after Betty died, while the Hulk was in space, Leader and M.O.D.O.K. approached Ross shortly after Captain America was killed, and offered to bring back Betty. Ross refused, but they warned him that the Hulk would return.
During the conclusion of World War Hulk, when Hulk was seemingly assaulted with cosmic energy and defeated, the Intelligencia had hijacked the satellites doing the job, and instead energy was siphoned off from the Hulk for the Cathexis Ray. Being at Ground Zero for the incident wound up only helping Ross with the sequence of events.
Banner was never taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody after World War Hulk, rather he was taken by Leader and M.O.D.O.K. and stashed away in an A.I.M. facility that had L.M.D.’s to put up the appearance of it being military.
The Cathexis Ray transformed Ross into the Red Hulk, and he was ready to go.
The Abomination was killed as revenge for the death of Betty. The Helicarrier was brought down to change up operations. The Ross L.M.D. on board was something he hadn’t expected, and when Clay Quartermain came across Rulk and Samson, Samson killed him.
The Ross we saw talking over Rulk back in the first arc was an L.M.D. speaking for M.O.D.O.K. This Ross was also the one later killed by Rulk, in a plan we discover was come up with by Bruce Banner so that Ross’s name couldn’t be run through the ground during the military coup that was planned by the Intelligencia.
