 The current Circus of Crime first came to the authorities' attention when they carried out a series of robberies of small towns using the Ringmaster's skill in hypnotism to mesmerize entire towns.Regrettably for the Circus, Rick Jones was one of the victims of their capers, and his involvement led to the involvement of the Hulk, as Rick briefly had telepathic control over the Hulk.He resisted the Ringmaster's hypnotism when the Ringmaster tried to bill him as 'The Monster of the Age', leading to the Circus' arrest.