Hulk 102-107

Rather than go into detail about the plots of these issues, I'd prefer to take a broad-brush approach. Hulk #102 was the first issue of the Hulk's own title, following the splitting of Tales to Astonish into separate mags for Greenskin and the Sub-Mariner. As you can see from the cover, it contains a retelling of the Hulk's origin, rather oddly and in rhyme by an Asgard Oracle:

In that first issue, the Hulk helps defeat an invasion of Asgard by forces led by the Enchantress and the Executioner, then is returned to Earth by Odin. In #103, he faces the Space Parasite (which seems pretty much like a knock-off of the Parasite, a Superman villain of a year or so earlier). He's a former king of an alien world who subjected himself to an experimental treatment in order to defeat an invasion force, but who found himself transformed into a being that needs constant battle in order to stay alive. Needless to say, the Hulk provides plenty of that; indeed, the Space Parasite is defeated.

In #104, some crooks bring back the Rhino, an old Spiderman villain. Like all super-criminals, he is new and improved:

His assignment is to kidnap Bruce Banner, who is currently being held by the authorities and subdued by drugs to prevent him transforming into the Hulk. But of course the process of kidnapping him elevates his blood pressure and he battles the Rhino, apparently killing the villain (hah!).

In #105 and #106, the Hulk fights the Missing Link, a caveman who had come to light in Red China following a nuclear explosion. At the end of #105, Rick Jones, using a ray gun constructed by Reed Richards from plans created by Bruce Banner, turns the Hulk back into BB, just as the Missing Link is getting free of a bunch of debris that the Hulkster had dumped on him. Is this the end?

Well, no, it's just a cliffhanger, for when the Missing Link attacks Banner in the next issue, he turns back into the Green Giant. Meanwhile, a Russian counterpart to Nick Fury named Alexi Brevlov kidnaps the two behemoths onto his flying ship (which looks very much like SHIELD's helicarrier). But as he tries to transport them back to the USSR, they break free. The Missing Link dies and Brevlov is ordered to kill the Hulk (although he does not want to do so, as the Hulk had saved him in the crash of the flying ship).

In the final issue of this run, the Hulk finds himself transported to a remote section of Communist China. The Mandarin wants to control him; you can imagine how that works out.

The series sees several changes in the creative team during this run. The first few issues are scripted by Gary Friedrich, then Bill Everett and Roy Thomas for one issue, then Archie Goodwin and Roy, then back to Gary Friedrich. Initially it's Marie Severin on the pencils with Tuska inks. Then in #106, Herb Trimpe's long association with the Hulk begins. He's inked in that first issue by Tuska, but that pairing didn't seem to be working well:

A little too cartoon-like for Marvel, I'd say. The following issue featured Syd Shores on inks, a much better combination, although that didn't last either, as Johnny Severin took over with #108.

Friedrich's scripts emphasized that the Hulk was a man of peace, hounded by society until he lashed out:

It seems a bit of a stretch but then peace was a big part of the zeitgeist of 1968, when these issues appeared.

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Fantastic Four Fridays: Crossover Central

One of the keys to Marvel's success in the Silver Age was the relentless use of crossover stories to introduce the readers of one Marvel mag to characters in other titles. This story marks the very beginning of that trend.

Ben and Alicia are leaving a performance at the symphony, when Ben's appearance attracts the attention of some soldiers, who suspect he's the Hulk:

After the confusion is resolved, Ben learns that Thunderbolt Ross (the Hulk's nemesis) is requesting the aid of the FF to capture old Greenskin. There's a cute little sight gag:

After the boys brag about how they'd defeat the Hulk, we get another taste of Sue's inferiority complex:

The Hulk is suspected of destroying a secret project in the Southwest. But Bruce Banner believes that the actual culprit is the Wrecker. It turns out that the secret project was an early version of "Star Wars"; a plan to safeguard cities from nuclear attack:

Banner's assistant, Karl Kort, drops his wallet, which conveniently contains a membership card in a "subversive communist front organization". Thus the Wrecker's identity is revealed to Rick Jones. Before he can tell the others, Kort kidnaps him. He leaves a note for Banner telling him to get rid of the FF or he'll never see Rick alive again. So Bruce decides to turn himself into the Hulk again. Remember, this is during the era where Stan and Jack were still experimenting with the Hulk's transformations; at one point it was voluntary, at another it was brought on by nightfall. It was only later that they hit on the idea that stress caused Banner to change.

A little later all three groups are in an underground cave. The first meeting of the FF and the Hulk:

Note as well that the Hulk's vocabulary is a little more extensive than the "Hulk smash!" character of the later 1960s.

There are several pages of the FF mixing it up with the Hulk, when suddenly a beam weapon incapacitates the behemoth. The Thing, angry that his battle was cut short, discovers the culprit: a giant robot controlled by the Wrecker. He makes short work of the robot and the team confronts Karl Kort, who has one last card to play:

But as you can probably guess from that panel, Sue proves useful for more than just morale-boosting. The Hulk gets away.

Comments: Obviously a hugely significant issue in terms of a preview of things to come in the Marvel line. One oddity; the crossover came too late to save the Hulk's own magazine, which saw its final issue come out that same month (March 1963). Incidentally, there was another FF crossover in Amazing Spiderman #1, which also had a 3/63 cover date.

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