154-471: Godzilla, King of the Monsters is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics . Running for 24 issues from 1977 to 1979, the series starred Godzilla , a Japanese monster film character licensed from Toho . The series is set in the publishers' shared Marvel Universe and was the first ongoing American comic book based on Godzilla. While the initial cycle of Godzilla films had ended following
308-653: A Once Upon a Time graphic novel was announced for publication in September. With Disney, Marvel announced in October 2013 that in January 2014 it would release its first title under their joint "Disney Kingdoms" imprint "Seekers of the Weird", a five-issue miniseries. On January 3, 2014, fellow Disney subsidiary Lucasfilm announced that as of 2015, Star Wars comics would once again be published by Marvel. Following
462-414: A Cold War culture that led their creators to revise the superhero conventions of previous eras to better reflect the psychological spirit of their age. Eschewing such comic book tropes as secret identities and even costumes at first, having a monster as one of the heroes, and having its characters bicker and complain in what was later called a "superheroes in the real world" approach, the series represented
616-554: A physicist who earned his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), is sarcastic and seemingly very self-assured when he first appears in Incredible Hulk #1, but is also emotionally withdrawn. Banner designed the gamma bomb that caused his affliction, and the ironic twist of his self-inflicted fate has been one of the most persistent common themes. Arie Kaplan describes
770-511: A teleporter and a force field that can protect him from the attacks of Hulk-level entities. After becoming a fugitive from the law, Banner is forced to go on the run and over the years learns various skills in order to both survive and remain under radar of those who are hunting him. Banner's most frequent method of travel includes hitchhiking, train hopping or simply just walking as he is unable to travel legally via planes, passenger ships or buses due to being in several travel watchlists. Banner
924-599: A 12-year run with issue #331 (May 1987). He returned to the Roger Stern and Mantlo abuse storylines, expanding the damage caused, and depicting Banner as suffering dissociative identity disorder (DID) . In 1998, David killed off Banner's long-time love Betty Ross. Marvel executives used Ross' death as an opportunity to pursue the return of the Savage Hulk. David disagreed, leading to his parting ways with Marvel. Also in 1998, Marvel relaunched The Rampaging Hulk as
1078-458: A Frankenstein in all of us; I’ve seen it demonstrated. And I felt that the Hulk had the element of truth in it, and anything to me with the element of truth is valid and the reader relates to that. And if you dramatize it, the reader will enjoy it." Kirby also commented upon his influences in drawing the character, and recalled the inspiration of witnessing the hysterical strength of a mother lifting
1232-617: A Marvelcon '76. At the 1975 event, Stan Lee used a Fantastic Four panel discussion to announce that Jack Kirby , the artist co-creator of most of Marvel's signature characters, was returning to Marvel after having left in 1970 to work for rival DC Comics . In October 1976, Marvel, which already licensed reprints in different countries, including the UK, created a superhero specifically for the British market. Captain Britain debuted exclusively in
1386-586: A brief time. During his time as president, he appointed his associate editor, prolific writer Roy Thomas , as editor-in-chief. Thomas added "Stan Lee Presents" to the opening page of each comic book. A series of new editors-in-chief oversaw the company during another slow time for the industry. Once again, Marvel attempted to diversify, and with the updating of the Comics Code published titles themed to horror ( The Tomb of Dracula ), martial arts ( Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu ), sword-and-sorcery ( Conan
1540-573: A car off her trapped child. Lee has also compared Hulk to the Golem of Jewish mythology. In The Science of Superheroes , Gresh and Weinberg see the Hulk as a reaction to the Cold War and the threat of nuclear attack, an interpretation shared by Weinstein in Up, Up and Oy Vey . This interpretation corresponds with other popularized fictional media created during this time period, which took advantage of
1694-541: A cash and stock deal worth approximately $ 4 billion, which if necessary would be adjusted at closing, giving Marvel shareholders $ 30 and 0.745 Disney shares for each share of Marvel they owned. As of 2008, Marvel and its major competitor DC Comics shared over 80% of the American comic-book market. As of September 2010, Marvel switched its bookstore distribution company from Diamond Book Distributors to Hachette Distribution Services . Marvel moved its office to
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#17327869704051848-451: A change that proved to be a great success. Marvel often presented flawed superheroes, freaks, and misfits—unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional comic books. Some Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters such as the Hulk and the Thing . This naturalistic approach even extended into topical politics. Comics historian Mike Benton also noted: In
2002-518: A chord with the older readers, including college-aged adults. In 1965, Spider-Man and the Hulk were both featured in Esquire magazine's list of 28 college campus heroes, alongside John F. Kennedy and Bob Dylan . In 2009, writer Geoff Boucher reflected that, Superman and DC Comics instantly seemed like boring old Pat Boone ; Marvel felt like The Beatles and the British Invasion . It
2156-505: A controversial personality, Shooter cured many of the procedural ills at Marvel, including repeatedly missed deadlines. During Shooter's nine-year tenure as editor-in-chief, Chris Claremont and John Byrne 's run on the Uncanny X-Men and Frank Miller 's run on Daredevil became critical and commercial successes. Shooter brought Marvel into the rapidly evolving direct market , institutionalized creator royalties, starting with
2310-518: A crossover that allowed Marvel to relaunch some of its flagship characters such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four , and outsource them to the studios of two of the former Marvel artists turned Image Comics founders, Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. The relaunched titles, which saw the characters transported to a parallel universe with a history distinct from the mainstream Marvel Universe, were
2464-524: A deal brokered by Malibu Comics ' owner Scott Mitchell Rosenberg . Three years later, on November 3, 1994, Rosenberg sold Malibu to Marvel. In purchasing Malibu, Marvel now owned computer coloring technology that had been developed by Rosenberg, and also integrated the Ultraverse line of comics and the Genesis Universe into Marvel's multiverse . Earlier that year, the company secured
2618-535: A deal with Harvey Comics , whereas Marvel took on the publishing and distribution of Harvey's titles. In late 1994, Marvel acquired the comic book distributor Heroes World Distribution to use as its own exclusive distributor. As the industry's other major publishers made exclusive distribution deals with other companies, the ripple effect resulted in the survival of only one other major distributor in North America, Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. Then, by
2772-505: A fan of the character since reading Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos . One arc featured Godzilla being shrunk by Pym Particles ; this was inspired by Moench's fond memories of a fight scene between a miniaturised man and a spider in science fiction movie The Incredible Shrinking Man , and his desire to devise a way Dugan and Godzilla could fight directly. While S.H.I.E.L.D. were established as Godzilla's primary adversaries numerous other Marvel characters made guest appearances, including
2926-501: A fugitive upon returning from the future where he was actually thrown to. Psychiatrist Doc Samson captures the Hulk and manages to physically separate Banner and the Hulk, allowing Banner to marry Betty. However, Banner and the Hulk's molecular structure destabilized and threatened to kill them, requiring Samson to reunite them with the aid of Vision . Samson is later able to merge elements of Banner's fractured psyche to create Professor Hulk, an intelligent but egocentric variation of
3080-476: A lasting legacy for himself. When Banner is shot in the head by an assassin, Tony Stark saves him with a variant of the Extremis virus. This procedure creates a new intelligent persona named Doc Green, who concludes that the world is in danger by Gamma Mutates and thus need to be depowered. He creates a cure and depowers A-Bomb, Skaar and Red Hulk. Eventually, Doc Green's intellect fades and his normal Hulk form
3234-781: A letter from a college dormitory stating the Hulk had been chosen as its official mascot. Kirby and Lee realized their character had found an audience in college-age readers. A year and a half after The Incredible Hulk was canceled, the Hulk became one of two features in Tales to Astonish , beginning in issue #60 (Oct. 1964). This new Hulk feature was initially scripted by Lee, with pencils by Steve Ditko and inks by George Roussos . Other artists later in this run included Jack Kirby (#68–87, June 1965 – Oct. 1966); Gil Kane (credited as "Scott Edwards", #76, (Feb. 1966)); Bill Everett (#78–84, April–Oct. 1966); John Buscema (#85–87); and Marie Severin . The Tales to Astonish run introduced
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#17327869704053388-442: A line of digital comics , Marvel AR, a software application that provides an augmented reality experience to readers and Marvel NOW! , a relaunch of most of the company's major titles with different creative teams. Marvel NOW! also saw the debut of new flagship titles including Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men . In April 2013, Marvel and other Disney conglomerate components began announcing joint projects. With ABC ,
3542-591: A month, maybe more, and ... suddenly we went ... to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all Independent News Distributors would accept from us." The company was briefly renamed to Goodman Comics in 1957 under the distribution deal with Independent News . The first modern comic books under the Marvel Comics brand were the science-fiction anthology Journey into Mystery #69 and the teen-humor title Patsy Walker #95 (both cover dated June 1961), which each displayed an "MC" box on its cover. Then, in
3696-598: A monthly or annual subscription fee. At the December 2007 the New York Anime Fest, the company announcement that Del Rey Manga would published two original English language Marvel manga books featuring the X-Men and Wolverine to hit the stands in spring 2009. In 2009 Marvel Comics closed its Open Submissions Policy, in which the company had accepted unsolicited samples from aspiring comic book artists, saying
3850-469: A new Atlas Comics line, but this lasted only a year and a half. In the mid-1970s a decline of the newsstand distribution network affected Marvel. Cult hits such as Howard the Duck fell victim to the distribution problems, with some titles reporting low sales when in fact the first specialty comic book stores resold them at a later date. But by the end of the decade, Marvel's fortunes were reviving, thanks to
4004-472: A new life, but the merger was not perfect, and the Hulk sometimes still considered Banner a separate person, and when overcome with rage the Merged Hulk would transform back into Banner's human body while still thinking himself the Hulk. The Merged Hulk is the largest of the three primary Hulk incarnations. While in a calm emotional state, the Merged Hulk is stronger than Savage Hulk when he is calm. Unlike
4158-525: A number of different titles. Goodman's business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these shell companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55 (May 1944). As well, some comics' covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12 (Winter 1946–47), were labeled "A Marvel Magazine" many years before Goodman would formally adopt
4312-507: A pursuing soldier describes as a "hulk". Banner's attempts to cure himself of these transformations alter their conditions, causing Banner to transform as a response to rage or fear. The Hulk is a founding member of the Avengers , but quickly leaves the group due to their distrust of him. Banner maintains the secret of his dual identity with Rick's aid, but Rick reveals his secret following his assumed death to Major Glenn Talbot who subsequently informed his superiors, forcing Banner to become
4466-488: A relationship with the General's daughter Betty Ross . During the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, Banner saves teenager Rick Jones , who was dared onto the testing field; Banner pushes Jones into a trench to save him, but is hit with the blast, absorbing massive amounts of gamma radiation. He awakens later seemingly unscathed, but he begins transforming into a powerful and destructive creature upon nightfall, which
4620-543: A reputation for focusing on characterization and adult issues to a greater extent than most superhero comics before them, a quality which the new generation of older readers appreciated. This applied to The Amazing Spider-Man title in particular, which turned out to be Marvel's most successful book. Its young hero suffered from self-doubt and mundane problems like any other teenager, something with which many readers could identify. Stan Lee and freelance artist and eventual co-plotter Jack Kirby 's Fantastic Four originated in
4774-437: A screening of a Godzilla film which left Moench largely unimpressed; however he felt that Marvel's Silver Age audience had grown up with the company and saw Godzilla as an opportunity for the publisher to reconnect with a younger audience, and was able to successfully convince Lee of his plan. To meet the challenge of adapting the scale of the character in films to the comic book medium, Moench planned to humanise Godzilla by adding
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (comic book) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4928-544: A second title, The Rampaging Hulk , a black-and-white comics magazine. This was originally conceived as a flashback series, set between the end of his original, short-lived solo title and the beginning of his feature in Tales to Astonish . After nine issues, the magazine was retitled The Hulk! and printed in color. In 1977, two Hulk television films were aired to strong ratings, leading to an Incredible Hulk TV series that aired from 1978 to 1982. A huge ratings success,
5082-418: A secret conspiracy and aided by the mysterious Mr. Blue. Jones appended his 43-issue Incredible Hulk run with the limited series Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks #1–4 (Nov. 2004 – Feb. 2005), which Marvel published after putting the ongoing series on hiatus. Peter David, who had initially signed a contract for the six-issue Tempest Fugit limited series, returned as writer when it was decided to make that story
5236-404: A series of junk bonds that he used to acquire other entertainment companies, secured by MEG stock. Marvel earned a great deal of money with their 1980s children's comics imprint Star Comics and they earned a great deal more money and worldwide success during the comic book boom of the early 1990s, launching the successful 2099 line of comics set in the future ( Spider-Man 2099 , etc.) and
5390-553: A soft spot in my heart for the Frankenstein monster. No one could ever convince me that he was the bad guy. ... He never wanted to hurt anyone; he merely groped his torturous way through a second life trying to defend himself, trying to come to terms with those who sought to destroy him. ... I decided I might as well borrow from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well—our protagonist would constantly change from his normal identity to his superhuman alter ego and back again. Kirby also stated
5544-533: A solid success amidst a generally struggling industry. In 1997, Toy Biz bought Marvel Entertainment Group to end the bankruptcy, forming a new corporation, Marvel Enterprises . With his business partner Avi Arad , publisher Bill Jemas , and editor-in-chief Bob Harras , Toy Biz co-owner Isaac Perlmutter helped stabilize the comics line. In 1998, the company launched the imprint Marvel Knights , taking place “with reduced [Marvel] continuity,” according to one history, with better production quality. The imprint
5698-499: A standard comic book rather than as a comics magazine. The Incredible Hulk was again cancelled with issue #474 of its second volume in March 1999 and was replaced with a new series, Hulk the following month, with returning writer Byrne and art by Ron Garney . New series writer Paul Jenkins developed the Hulk's multiple dissociative identities, and his run was followed by Bruce Jones with his run featuring Banner being pursued by
5852-577: A supporting cast. To this end, and inspired by the role of children in the films, Moench devised the character of Rob Takiguchi (named after a highschool friend of the writer's) to befriend Godzilla. The robot Red Ronin was also created for the series at the suggestion of Goodwin, who was aware of the success of super robots in Japan. Goodwin also came up with the plan of setting the series in Marvel's shared universe, allowing potential new readers to experience
6006-576: A time, drive-in film monsters another time—and even other comic books, particularly the EC horror line. Atlas also published a plethora of children's and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlo 's Homer the Happy Ghost (similar to Casper the Friendly Ghost ) and Homer Hooper (à la Archie Andrews ). Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with
6160-537: A young age. These experiences caused Bruce to develop a dissociative identity disorder and repress his negative emotions as a coping mechanism. After Brian killed Bruce's mother in a fit of rage, Bruce lived with several relatives up until his high school years, when his intelligence caught the attention of the United States Army . Banner was recruited to develop nuclear weapons under the authority of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross , and soon developed
6314-421: Is a personality of Hulk who is described as the "Hulk's Hulk". This form sports a white mohawk, black skin, and red lines on him. Titan is a more monstrous and malicious form of Hulk who stands at 30 ft., has black skin, rock-like spikes on his shoulders, and possesses the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes. This personality was born when it was planted in Hulk by D'Spayre . Considered to be one of
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (comic book) - Misplaced Pages Continue
6468-474: Is articulate, smart, and cunning, and does merciless attacks on those who do harm. Unlike the other Hulk incarnations, the Devil Hulk is content with waiting inside Bruce. If Bruce is injured by sunset, the Devil Hulk will emerge with his transformation being limited to night-time. Thanks to the Devil Hulk side and Banner working together, the Devil Hulk can maintain his form in sunlight. The Gravage Hulk
6622-531: Is generally on the move and rarely ever stays in one place for very long and only does so if there's a possibility of curing himself. He will only ever stay in one place for an extended period of time if it provides him with complete solitude and privacy where the Hulk can do little to no harm. To avoid being tracked, Banner does not use cell phones, debit or credit cards and will only use payphones or cash. He will often use fake identities when staying at motels or working jobs that require identification. Having been on
6776-643: Is restored. When the vision of the Inhuman Ulysses shows a rampaging Hulk standing over the corpses of many superheroes, Banner gives Hawkeye special arrows capable of killing him during a transformation, which Hawkeye accomplishes. The Hulk was first revived by the Hand , then by Hydra, and finally by the Challenger for a contest against the Grandmaster . Like other long-lived characters,
6930-536: Is roughly the same size as Sasquatch, standing around 9 or 10 ft (2.74 / 3.04 m) tall and weighing roughly 2,000 lbs (907.18 kg). Following his debut, Banner's transformations were triggered at nightfall, turning him into a grey-skinned Hulk. In Incredible Hulk #2, the Hulk started to appear with green skin, and in Avengers #3 (1963) Banner realized that his transformations were now triggered by surges of adrenaline in response to feelings of fear, pain or anger. Incredible Hulk #227 (1978) established that
7084-639: Is the result of Banner using the Gamma Projector on himself which merged his Savage Hulk and Grey Hulk identities. This form possesses the raw power of the Savage Hulk and the cunning intellect of the Grey Hulk. While he does not draw on anger to empower him, the Gravage Hulk identity draws on dimensional nexus energies to increase his strength. The Dark Hulk identity is the result of Hulk being possessed by Shanzar. This form has black skin and
7238-475: Is viciously strong. The Guilt Hulk is a malevolent representation of Banner's abusive father, Brian Banner, that manifests itself in Banner's childhood memories. The Green Scar identity is unleashed on Sakaar and is an enraged version of the Gravage Hulk. In addition, he is an expert in armed combat like the use of swords and shields. Green Scar is also a capable leader and an expert strategist. Kluh
7392-576: The X-Men: The Animated Series which was aired on Fox Kids , they later released Spider-Man: The Animated Series on the network as well. In 1993, Marvel teamed up with Thomas Nelson to create Christian media genre comics, including a Christian superhero named The Illuminator, they made adaptions of Christian novels too, including In His Steps , The Screwtape Letters , and The Pilgrim's Progress . In 1996, Marvel had some of its titles participate in " Heroes Reborn ",
7546-598: The Absorbing Man , and more. Lee stated that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . Although the Hulk's coloration has varied throughout the character's publication history, the usual color is green. One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, the character has appeared on a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectable items, inspired real-world structures (such as theme park attractions), and been referenced in several media. Banner and
7700-507: The American News Company —which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department lawsuit and discontinued its business. Atlas was left without distribution and was forced to turn to Independent News , the distribution arm of its biggest rival, National (DC) Comics , which imposed draconian restrictions on Goodman's company. As then-Atlas editor Stan Lee recalled in a 1988 interview, "[We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books
7854-979: The Avengers , X-Men , Fantastic Four , and Guardians of the Galaxy . Its stable of well-known supervillains includes Doctor Doom , Magneto , Green Goblin , Kingpin , Red Skull , Loki , Ultron , Thanos , Kang the Conqueror , Venom , and Galactus . Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe , with most locations mirroring real-life places; many major characters are based in New York City. Additionally, Marvel has published several licensed properties from other companies. This includes Star Wars comics , twice from 1977 to 1987 , and again since 2015 . Pulp-magazine publisher Martin Goodman created
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#17327869704058008-682: The Comics Code Authority (CCA) approval seal, due to the violence depicted in the issue. The CCA, which governed the content of American comic books, rejected the issue, requiring that changes be made. Instead, Marvel simply stopped submitting comics to the CCA. It then established its own Marvel Rating System for comics. Marvel also created new imprints , such as MAX (an explicit-content line) and Marvel Adventures (developed for child audiences). The company also created an alternate universe imprint, Ultimate Marvel , that allowed
8162-515: The Epic Comics imprint for creator-owned material in 1982; introduced company-wide crossover story arcs with Contest of Champions and Secret Wars ; and in 1986 launched the ultimately unsuccessful New Universe line to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Marvel Comics imprint. Star Comics , a children-oriented line differing from the regular Marvel titles, was briefly successful during this period, although hampered by legal action by
8316-575: The Fantastic Four , the Champions , Devil Dinosaur and the Avengers . The Champions, whose book was struggling for sales, were included as a personal favour to the much-loved Goodwin, while Moench felt the character was a good fit for facing off against the Fantastic Four. The inclusion of the recently-cancelled Devil Dinosaur was inspired by Moench and Trimpe's admiration of Jack Kirby . Trimpe however refused Moench's suggestion of featuring
8470-827: The Grand Canyon and fighting alongside Red Ronin against alien monsters the Beta-Beast and the Mega-Monsters-Triax, Rhiahn and Krollar (which are controlled by two warring alien races called the Betans and the Megans, respectively) in Salt Lake City . Godzilla was also incorrectly accused of cattle rustling. In order to cut down the damage caused by Godzilla's rampages, the Godzilla Squad expose
8624-511: The Hulk , having tired of drawing the character. The series ran for 24 issues between August 1977 and July 1979. During the run, toy company Mattel acquired the licence to produce merchandise based on the character as part of their Shogun Warriors line, which also featured many of the Japanese super robots which had inspired the design of Red Ronin. Impressed by Marvel's handling of Godzilla,
8778-580: The Illuminati decide the Hulk is too dangerous to remain on Earth and send him away by rocket ship which crashes on Planet Sakaar. The Hulk finds allies in the Warbound and marries alien queen Caiera , a relationship that bears him two sons: Skaar and Hiro-Kala . After the Illuminati's ship explodes and kills Caiera, the Hulk returns to Earth with his superhero group Warbound and declares war on
8932-583: The Silver Surfer , and such memorable antagonists as Doctor Doom , Magneto , Galactus , Loki , the Green Goblin , and Doctor Octopus , all existing in a shared reality known as the Marvel Universe , with locations that mirror real-life cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Marvel even lampooned itself and other comics companies in a parody comic, Not Brand Echh (a play on Marvel's dubbing of other companies as "Brand Echh", à la
9086-489: The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare approached Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee to do a comic book story about drug abuse. Lee agreed and wrote a three-part Spider-Man story portraying drug use as dangerous and unglamorous. However, the industry's self-censorship board, the Comics Code Authority , refused to approve the story because of the presence of narcotics, deeming
9240-516: The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970. Len Wein wrote the series from 1974 through 1978, working first with Herb Trimpe , then, as of issue #194 (December 1975), with Sal Buscema , who was the regular artist for ten years. Issues #180–181 (Oct.–Nov. 1974) introduced Wolverine as an antagonist, who would go on to become one of Marvel Comics' most popular characters. In 1977, Marvel launched
9394-471: The American comic licence for Godzilla was dormant until 1986, when Dark Horse Comics took it up after a revival of interest in the character brought on by new film Godzilla 1985 . In 2007, Godzilla appeared in an unauthorized cameo in The Mighty Avengers #31. Having been awakened and mutated by a nuclear explosion, Godzilla first appears by bursting out of an iceberg near Alaska and
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#17327869704059548-526: The Atlas years, allowing him now to release as many titles as demand warranted. Late that year, he sold Marvel Comics and its parent company, Magazine Management , to the Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation (later known as Cadence Industries) , though he remained as publisher. In 1969, Goodman finally ended his distribution deal with Independent by signing with Curtis Circulation Company . In 1971,
9702-570: The Barbarian in 1970, Red Sonja ), satire ( Howard the Duck ) and science fiction ( 2001: A Space Odyssey , " Killraven " in Amazing Adventures , Battlestar Galactica , Star Trek , and, late in the decade, the long-running Star Wars series). Some of these were published in larger-format black and white magazines, under its Curtis Magazines imprint. Marvel was able to capitalize on its successful superhero comics of
9856-577: The Barbarian title was canceled in 1993 after 275 issues, while the Savage Sword of Conan magazine had lasted 235 issues. Marvel published additional titles including miniseries until 2000 for a total of 650 issues. Conan was picked up by Dark Horse Comics three years later. In a cross-promotion, the November 1, 2006, episode of the CBS soap opera Guiding Light , titled "She's a Marvel", featured
10010-410: The Frankenstein inspiration stating, "I did a story called "The Hulk"– a small feature, and it was quite different from the Hulk that we know. But I felt that the Hulk had possibilities, and I took this little character from the small feature and I transformed it into the Hulk that we know today. Of course, I was experimenting with it. I thought the Hulk might be a good-looking Frankenstein. I felt there's
10164-521: The Godzilla Squad received the new Behemoth Helicarrier, together with the Tony Stark -created mecha Red Ronin to confront the monster. However, the sympathetic Rob took control of the latter, helping save Godzilla after a battle near San Diego . Following further appearances by Godzilla - the destruction of the Hoover Dam and flooding of Las Vegas , battling mutated sasquatch Yetrigar in
10318-546: The Grey Hulk to the moody teenager that Banner never allowed himself to be. While the grey Hulk still had the-madder-he-gets, the-stronger-he-gets part that is similar to the Savage Hulk, it is on a much slower rate. It is said by the Leader that the Grey Hulk is stronger on nights of the new moon and weaker on nights of the full moon. Originally, the night is when Bruce Banner became the Grey Hulk and changed back by dawn. In later comics, willpower or stress would have Banner turn into
10472-444: The Grey Hulk. During one storyline where he was placed under a spell to prevent him turning back into Bruce Banner and publicly presumed dead when he was teleported away from a gamma bomb explosion that destroyed an entire town, the grey Hulk adopted a specific name as Joe Fixit , a security expert for Las Vegas casino owner Michael Berengetti, with the grey Hulk often being referred to as Joe after these events. Joe Fixit later gained
10626-528: The Hulk alter ego has many key supporting characters, like his co-founders of the superhero team the Avengers , his queen Caiera , fellow warriors Korg and Miek , and sons Skaar and Hiro-Kala . However, his uncontrollable power has brought him into conflict with his fellow heroes and others. Despite this, he tries his best to do what's right while battling villains such as the Leader , the Abomination ,
10780-465: The Hulk has been concerned with finding sanctuary and quiet. He is often shown to quickly react emotionally to situations. Grest and Weinberg call Hulk the "dark, primordial side of Banner's psyche." Even in the earliest appearances, Hulk spoke in the third person. Hulk retains a modest intelligence, thinking and talking in full sentences. Lee even gives the Hulk expository dialogue in issue #6, allowing readers to learn just what capabilities Hulk has, when
10934-629: The Hulk has been represented with other alter egos, from a mindless, destructive force ( War ) to a brilliant warrior ( World-Breaker ), a self-hating protector (the Devil Hulk ), a genius scientist in his own right ( Doc Green ), and a gangster ( Joe Fixit ). Despite Hulk and Banner's desire for solitude, the character has a large supporting cast. This includes Banner's love interest Betty Ross , his best friend, Rick Jones , his cousin She-Hulk , and therapist and ally Doc Samson . In addition,
11088-466: The Hulk have been adapted into live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. The character was first played in live-action by Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 television series The Incredible Hulk and its subsequent television films The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988), The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), and The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990). In the film,
11242-443: The Hulk says, "But these muscles ain't just for show! All I gotta do is spring up and just keep goin'!" In the 1970s, Hulk was shown as more prone to anger and rage, and less talkative. Writers played with the nature of his transformations, briefly giving Banner control over the change, and the ability to maintain control of his Hulk form. Artistically and conceptually, the character has become progressively more muscular and powerful in
11396-571: The Hulk to provide something for him to focus on controlling rather than allowing his intellect to run without restraint against the world. The traditional Hulk, often called "Savage Hulk", was originally shown as grey and average in intelligence. He roamed aimlessly and became annoyed at "puny" humans who took him for a dangerous monster. Shortly after becoming the Hulk, his transformation continued turning him green, coinciding with him beginning to display primitive speech. By Incredible Hulk #4, radiation treatments gave Banner's mind complete control of
11550-535: The Hulk's body. While Banner relished his indestructibility and power, he was quick to anger and more aggressive in his Hulk form. He became known as a hero alongside the Avengers, but his increasing paranoia caused him to leave the group. He was convinced that he would never be trusted. Originally, the Hulk was shown as simple-minded and quick to anger. The Hulk generally divorces his identity from Banner's, decrying Banner as "puny Banner." From his earliest stories,
11704-435: The Hulk's character and cultural interpretations have changed with time, adding or modifying character traits. The Hulk is typically seen as a hulking man with green skin, hair, and eyes, wearing only a pair of torn purple pants that survive his physical transformation as the character progressed. As Bruce Banner, the character is about 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall and weighs 128 lbs (58.05 kg), but when transformed into
11858-592: The Hulk's creation: It was patently apparent that [the monstrous character the] Thing was the most popular character in [Marvel's recently created superhero team the] Fantastic Four . ... For a long time, I'd been aware of the fact that people were more likely to favor someone who was less than perfect. ... It's a safe bet that you remember Quasimodo , but how easily can you name any of the heroic, handsomer, more glamorous characters in The Hunchback of Notre Dame ? And then there's Frankenstein ... I've always had
12012-429: The Hulk's separate identity was not due to the mutation affecting his brain, but because Banner was suffering from dissociative identity disorder , with the savage Green Hulk representing Banner's repressed childhood rage and aggression, and the Grey Hulk representing Banner's repressed selfish desires and urges. During his decades of publication, Banner has been portrayed differently, but common themes persist. Banner,
12166-498: The Hulk, the character stands between 7 and 8 ft (2.13 - 2.43 m) tall and weighs between 1,040 and 1,400 lbs (471.73 - 635.02 kg). The Gray Hulk stands 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall and weighs 900 lbs (408.23 kg); the Merged Hulk stands 7 ft 6 in (2.28 m) tall and weighs 1,150 lbs (521.63 kg); the Green Scar stands 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) tall and weighs 2,400 lbs (1.08 ton). The Devil Hulk
12320-552: The Hulk. Professor Hulk soon becomes a key member of the Pantheon , a secretive organization of superpowered individuals. His tenure with the organization brings him into conflict with a tyrannical alternate future version of himself called the Maestro , who rules over a world where many heroes are dead. The Professor Hulk construct ultimately proves unstable, and Banner's psyche eventually splinters once more. In " Planet Hulk ",
12474-579: The Human Torch (art by Syd Shores and Dick Ayers , variously), the Sub-Mariner (drawn and most stories written by Bill Everett ), and Captain America (writer Stan Lee , artist John Romita Sr. ). Atlas did not achieve any breakout hits and, according to Stan Lee, survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply, and at a passable quality. In 1957, Goodman switched distributors to
12628-468: The Marvel material. In November 2023, Marvel reacquired the rights to publish the omnibus edition collecting all 24 issues of the Godzilla comic. In an overview of the series for Amazing Heroes , David Annandale felt the series occasionally veered towards ridiculousness, particularly the cattle rustler storyline, but felt it "was never less than entertaining" and compared it positively to some of
12782-430: The Marvel version and those who felt it trivialised the character. The Marvel version of Godzilla was ranked 23rd on Den of Geek 's listing of Marvel Comics' 31 best monster characters in 2015. Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City -based comic book publisher , a property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel
12936-439: The Savage Hulk and the Grey Hulk, Banner subconsciously installed a type of safeguard within this incarnation. The safeguard is that when the Merged Hulk gets angry, he regresses back to Banner with the mind of the Savage Hulk. A variation of the Merged Hulk identity takes on the name Doc Green as the result of Extremis fixing Hulk's brain, becoming powerful enough to destroy Tony Stark's mansion with one thunderclap. This form
13090-708: The Sports Illustrated Building in October 2010. Marvel relaunched the CrossGen imprint, owned by Disney Publishing Worldwide , in March 2011. Marvel and Disney Publishing began jointly publishing Disney/Pixar Presents magazine that May. Marvel discontinued its Marvel Adventures imprint in March 2012, and replaced them with a line of two titles connected to the Marvel Universe TV block . Also in March, Marvel announced its Marvel ReEvolution initiative that included Infinite Comics,
13244-520: The UK, and later appeared in American comics. During this time, Marvel and the Iowa-based Register and Tribune Syndicate launched a number of syndicated comic strips — The Amazing Spider-Man , Howard the Duck , Conan the Barbarian , and The Incredible Hulk . None of the strips lasted past 1982, except for The Amazing Spider-Man , which is still being published. In 1978, Jim Shooter became Marvel's editor-in-chief. Although
13398-604: The ability to transform into his version of Red Hulk form when in the Below-Place. Convinced that unaided, the Banner, Green Hulk, and Grey Hulk identities would eventually destroy each other, Doc Samson uses hypnosis to merge the three to create a new single identity combining Banner's intelligence with the Grey Hulk's and Banner's attitudes and the Green Hulk's body. This new Merged Hulk , Professor Hulk , or simply The Professor , considered himself cured and began
13552-432: The action avoided New York City , the hub of the company's most prominent heroes. Moench would acknowledge that this set-up still required readers to overlook why Marvel's heavy hitters took no action against Godzilla's rampages. Nick Fury , S.H.I.E.L.D.'s commander, was left out of the main cast to keep him available for guest appearances elsewhere. Moench relished the chance to give a more central role to Dugan, having been
13706-519: The character Harley Davidson Cooper (played by Beth Ehlers ) as a superheroine named the Guiding Light. The character's story continued in an eight-page backup feature, "A New Light", that appeared in several Marvel titles published November 1 and 8. Also that year, Marvel created a wiki on its Web site. In late 2007 the company launched Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited , a digital archive of over 2,500 back issues available for viewing, for
13860-412: The character thus: "Robert Bruce Banner lives in a constant state of panic, always wary that the monster inside him will erupt, and therefore he cannot form meaningful bonds with anyone." As a child, Banner's father Brian often got mad and physically abused both Banner and his mother, creating the psychological complex of fear, anger, and the fear of anger and the destruction it can cause that underlies
14014-729: The character was played by Eric Bana in Hulk (2003). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character was first portrayed by Edward Norton in the film The Incredible Hulk (2008) and then by Mark Ruffalo in later appearances in the franchise. The Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ( cover dated May 1962), written by writer-editor Stan Lee, penciled and co-plotted by Jack Kirby, and inked by Paul Reinman . Lee cites influence from Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in
14168-433: The character's name and referred to him as " Bob Banner ", an error which readers quickly picked up on. The discrepancy was resolved by giving the character the official full name " Robert Bruce Banner ." The Hulk got his name from a comic book character named The Heap who was a large green swamp monster. The Hulk's original series was canceled with issue #6 (March 1963). Lee had written each story, with Kirby penciling
14322-437: The character, who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is primarily represented by the alter ego Hulk, a green-skinned, hulking, and muscular humanoid possessing a limitless degree of physical strength, and the alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner , a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, both of whom typically resent each other. Following his accidental exposure to gamma rays while saving
14476-467: The character. Banner has been shown to be emotionally repressed, but capable of deep love for Betty Ross, and for solving problems posed to him. Under the writing of Paul Jenkins, Banner was shown to be a capable fugitive, applying deductive reasoning and observation to figure out the events transpiring around him. On the occasions that Banner controlled the Hulk's body, he applied principles of physics to problems and challenges and used deductive reasoning. It
14630-422: The city, and return to the sea. Due to the use of Godzilla and a number of prominent Marvel characters, the series has only been reprinted once in 2006, when the whole run was collected in a single volume as art of Marvel's budget price Essential series. As such the reprints were in black-and-white. As of 2024 the comic licence for Godzilla has been held by IDW Publishing , preventing any subsequent reprints of
14784-467: The commercial failure of 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla , dubbed versions remained popular attractions on American television, particularly with younger viewers. Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee was also a fan of the character, and arranged for a licence of the character in 1976; the deal struck was for Godzilla himself only, with none of the other Toho monsters which had appeared in the film series included. Toho themselves would pay no further attention to
14938-584: The company later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Goodman, who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. Launching his new line from his existing company's offices at 330 West 42nd Street, New York City, he officially held the titles of editor , managing editor , and business manager , with Abraham Goodman (Martin's brother) officially listed as publisher. Timely's first publication, Marvel Comics #1 ( cover dated Oct. 1939), included
15092-450: The company made a deal to produce a Shogun Warriors comic, also by Moench and Trimpe. Despite Marvel holding the rights to both properties simultaneously they never crossed over, however - though Trimpe created promotional art for Mattel featuring Godzilla and Rodan alongside Daimos , Great Mazinger , Raydeen and Gaiking . The first issue sold 200,000 copies. After two years of minimal communication with Marvel, Toho abruptly raised
15246-668: The company to reboot its major titles by revising and updating its characters to introduce to a new generation. Some of the company's properties were adapted into successful film franchises, such as the Men in Black film series (which was based on a Malibu book), starting in 1997, the Blade film series, starting in 1998, the X-Men film series, starting in 2000, and the highest grossing series, Spider-Man , beginning in 2002. Marvel's Conan
15400-442: The company's entire publishing line. This branding pattern, being typically either a full-body picture of the characters' solo titles or a collection of the main characters' faces in ensemble titles, would become standard for Marvel for decades. In 1968, while selling 50 million comic books a year, company founder Goodman revised the constraining distribution arrangement with Independent News he had reached under duress during
15554-493: The company's other titles and appeal to other Marvel readers. Another challenge was posed by the series being set in the Marvel Universe; having the monster consistently defeat the company's flagship superheroes would reflect badly on them. At the suggestion of Archie Goodwin , Moench used established supporting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Dum Dum Dugan and Jimmy Woo as the Godzilla Squad (later joined by Gabe Jones) while
15708-579: The context of the story irrelevant. Lee, with Goodman's approval, published the story regardless in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (May–July 1971), without the Comics Code seal. The market reacted well to the storyline, and the CCA subsequently revised the Code the same year. Goodman retired as publisher in 1972 and installed his son, Chip, as publisher. Shortly thereafter, Lee succeeded him as publisher and also became Marvel's president for
15862-476: The creatively daring though commercially unsuccessful Razorline imprint of superhero comics created by novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker . In 1990, Marvel began selling Marvel Universe Cards with trading card maker SkyBox International . These were collectible trading cards that featured the characters and events of the Marvel Universe. The 1990s saw the rise of variant covers , cover enhancements, swimsuit issues , and company-wide crossovers that affected
16016-415: The creature to Pym particles , reducing its height to around 12 inches tall and transporting him to New York City for study. However Godzilla escapes shortly after arrival, and after battling a sewer rat begins to grow again. Rob attempts to disguise the now 4-foot tall Godzilla through the city's streets in a hat and trenchcoat without success as the monster grows to seven feet and fights Dugan and Jones at
16170-482: The docks. With the aid of the Fantastic Four , the 20-foot and still growing Godzilla was lured to a museum but was then accidentally sent back in time. and teamed up with Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy . Following this Godzilla reappeared full-size in Times Square , where S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four and the Avengers attempted to steer him away from the city. In the end Rob is able to persuade Godzilla to spare
16324-503: The duo Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal . Goodman hired his wife's 16-year-old cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. When editor Simon left the company in late 1941, Goodman made Lieber—by then writing pseudonymously as " Stan Lee "—interim editor of the comics line, a position Lee kept for decades except for three years during his military service in World War II . Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to
16478-418: The elements of the Hulk's brain uniquely belonging to Banner and inserting them into a clone body. Banner eventually re-combines with the Hulk when his cloned body is destroyed in an attempt to recreate his original transformation. Following this, Bruce willingly joins the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. , allowing them to use the Hulk as a weapon in exchange for providing him with the means and funding to create
16632-581: The events of the company-wide crossover " Secret Wars " in 2015, a relaunched Marvel universe began in September 2015, called the All-New, All-Different Marvel . Hulk As Hulk/Joe Fixit: The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby , the character first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk (May 1962). In his comic book appearances,
16786-460: The fee for renewing the Godzilla licence. Wary of the impact it would have on the series' profitability and unwilling to sink a larger amount of money into a property they didn't own, Marvel withdrew from negotiations and Godzilla, King of the Monsters was cancelled after 24 issues. A planned fill-in issue of the title by Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko launching their Dragon Lord character
16940-526: The first appearance of Carl Burgos ' android superhero the Human Torch , and the first appearances of Bill Everett 's anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner , among other features. The issue was a great success; it and a second printing the following month sold a combined nearly 900,000 copies. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc. , Timely had its own staff in place by
17094-691: The first five issues and Steve Ditko penciling and inking the sixth. The character immediately guest-starred in The Fantastic Four #12 (March 1963), and months later became a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers , appearing in the first two issues of the team's eponymous series (Sept. and Nov. 1963), and returning as an antagonist in issue #3 and as an ally in #5 (Jan.–May 1964). He then guest-starred in Fantastic Four #25–26 (April–May 1964), which revealed Banner's full name as Robert Bruce Banner, and The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964). Around this time, co-creator Kirby received
17248-445: The first five parts of the revived (vol. 3). After a four-part tie-in to the " House of M " storyline and a one-issue epilogue , David left the series once more, citing the need to do non-Hulk work for the sake of his career. Writer Greg Pak took over the series in 2006, leading the Hulk through several crossover storylines including " Planet Hulk " and " World War Hulk ", which left the Hulk temporarily incapacitated and replaced as
17402-402: The following month dropped its comics to 20 cents for 36 pages, offering a lower-priced product with a higher distributor discount. In 1973, Perfect Film & Chemical renamed itself as Cadence Industries and renamed Magazine Management as Marvel Comics Group. Goodman, now disconnected from Marvel, set up a new company called Seaboard Periodicals in 1974, reviving Marvel's old Atlas name for
17556-516: The following year. The company's first true editor, writer-artist Joe Simon , teamed with artist Jack Kirby to create one of the first patriotically themed superheroes, Captain America , in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). It, too, proved a hit, with sales of nearly one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc., beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941. While no other Timely character would achieve
17710-498: The greatest scientific minds on Earth, Banner possesses "a mind so brilliant it cannot be measured on any known intelligence test." Norman Osborn estimates that he is the fourth most-intelligent person on Earth. Banner holds expertise in biology, chemistry, engineering, medicine, physiology, and nuclear physics. Using this knowledge, he creates advanced technology dubbed "Bannertech", which is on par with technological development from Tony Stark or Doctor Doom. These technologies include
17864-479: The grey color consistent in a Stan Lee-written prologue, and reprints the origin story keeping the grey coloration. Since December 1984, reprints of the first issue have displayed the original grey coloring, with the fictional canon specifying that the Hulk's skin had initially been grey. Lee gave the Hulk's alter ego the alliterative name "Bruce Banner" because he found he had less difficulty remembering alliterative names. Despite this, in later stories he misremembered
18018-412: The idea that Banner had suffered child abuse . Later Hulk writers Peter David and Greg Pak have called these stories an influence on their approaches to the character. Mantlo left the series for Alpha Flight and that series' writer John Byrne took over The Incredible Hulk . The final issue of Byrne's six issue run featured the wedding of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross . Writer Peter David began
18172-452: The last 4 issues afters Cates left the book. In March 2023, it was announced that a new volume of The Incredible Hulk would launch in June 2023, written by Philip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by Nic Klein. Robert Bruce Banner's psyche was profoundly affected by his troubled childhood, in which his father, Brian Banner , regarded him as a monster due to his seemingly unnatural intellect from
18326-429: The later entries in the original film series. He also noted that the mass property destruction without any sign of civilian casualties was "super-brawl syndrome taken to the extreme" due to the requirements of the young target audience and the Comics Code Authority . Moench was later interviewed about writing the series for fanzine G-Fan Magazine , and discovered Godzilla fandom was evenly split between those who "loved"
18480-410: The life of Rick Jones during the detonation of an experimental bomb, Banner is physically transformed into the Hulk when subjected to emotional stress, at or against his will. This transformation often leads to destructive rampages and conflicts that complicate Banner's civilian life. The Hulk's level of strength is usually conveyed proportionate to his anger level. Commonly portrayed as a raging savage,
18634-495: The middle of the decade, the industry had slumped, and in December 1996 MEG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In early 1997, when Marvel's Heroes World endeavor failed, Diamond also forged an exclusive deal with Marvel —giving the company its own section of its comics catalog Previews . Marvel in the early to mid-1990s expanded their entries in other media, including Saturday-morning cartoons and various comics collaborations to explore new genres. In 1992, they released
18788-469: The most part and expanded into a wider variety of genres than even Timely had published, featuring horror , Westerns , humor, talking animal , men's adventure -drama, giant monster, crime , and war comics , and later adding jungle books, romance titles, espionage , and even medieval adventure, Bible stories and sports. Goodman began using the globe logo of the Atlas News Company,
18942-416: The name in 1961. The company begin identifying the group of its comic division as Marvel Comic Group , on some comics cover-dated November 1948, when the company set up an in-house editorial board to compete with the likes of DC and Fawcett , even though the legal name is still Timely. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion. Goodman's comic book line dropped them for
19096-554: The newsstand-distribution company he owned, on comics cover-dated November 1951 even though another company, Kable News , continued to distribute his comics through the August 1952 issues. This globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas, rather than innovate, took a proven route of following popular trends in television and films— Westerns and war dramas prevailing for
19250-410: The overall continuity of the Marvel Universe . In early 1992, seven of Marvel’s prized artists — Todd McFarlane (known for his work on Spider-Man ), Jim Lee ( X-Men ), Rob Liefeld ( X-Force ), Marc Silvestri ( Wolverine ), Erik Larsen ( The Amazing Spider-Man ), Jim Valentino ( Guardians of the Galaxy ), and Whilce Portacio ( Uncanny X-Men ) — left to form Image Comics in
19404-403: The owners of the recently defunct Harvey Comics for purposefully plagiarizing their house style. In 1986, Marvel's parent, Marvel Entertainment Group , was sold to New World Entertainment , which within three years sold it to MacAndrews and Forbes , owned by Revlon executive Ronald Perelman in 1989. In 1991 Perelman took MEG public. Following the rapid rise of this stock, Perelman issued
19558-573: The planet in " World War Hulk ". However, after learning that Miek , one of the Warbound, had actually been responsible for the destruction, the Hulk allows himself to be defeated, with Banner subsequently redeeming himself as a hero as he works with and against the new Red Hulk to defeat the new supervillain team the Intelligencia. Later, the Hulk turns to Doctor Doom to physically separate himself and Banner, with Doom surgically extracting
19712-500: The predominantly child audiences of the medium, thus ushering what Marvel later called the Marvel Age of Comics . Modern Marvel's first superhero team, the titular stars of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), broke convention with other comic book archetypes of the time by squabbling, holding grudges both deep and petty, and eschewing anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. Subsequently, Marvel comics developed
19866-414: The prevailing sense among Americans that nuclear power could produce monsters and mutants. In the debut, Lee chose grey for the Hulk because he wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group. Colorist Stan Goldberg , however, had problems with the grey coloring, resulting in different shades of grey, and even green, in the issue. After seeing the first published issue, Lee chose to change
20020-406: The previous decade by acquiring a new newsstand distributor and greatly expanding its comics line. Marvel pulled ahead of rival DC Comics in 1972, during a time when the price and format of the standard newsstand comic were in flux. Goodman increased the price and size of Marvel's November 1971 cover-dated comics from 15 cents for 36 pages total to 25 cents for 52 pages. DC followed suit, but Marvel
20174-438: The rise of direct market distribution—selling through those same comics-specialty stores instead of newsstands. Marvel ventured into audio in 1975 with a radio series and a record, both had Stan Lee as narrator. The radio series was Fantastic Four . The record was Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero concept album for music fans. Marvel held its own comic book convention , Marvelcon '75, in spring 1975, and promised
20328-453: The run for years, Banner can normally tell when he is being followed and will generally make a run for it when he is discovered. Having traveled across the globe, Banner is able to sneak over borders without being detected and can get by, by either knowing or learning the local language. Often traveling light, Banner has little to no possessions that he carries in either a satchel or backpack. Often losing everything he owns after transforming into
20482-581: The sea when the monster attacks Seattle . Godzilla re-emerges in San Francisco and destroys the Golden Gate Bridge before being driven off by the combined efforts of the Godzilla Squad and Champions , with Hercules able to best the monster in combat. The Godzilla Squad then had to deal with the similar creations of the evil Doctor Demonicus , which ended up being defeated by Godzilla himself. Despite this brief alliance of convenience,
20636-412: The series introduced the popular Hulk catchphrase "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", and broadened the character's popularity from a niche comic book readership into the mainstream consciousness. Bill Mantlo became the series' writer for five years beginning with issue #245 (March 1980). Mantlo's "Crossroads of Eternity" stories (#300–313 (Oct. 1984 – Nov. 1985)) explored
20790-450: The series' title character by the demigod Hercules in the retitled The Incredible Hercules (Feb. 2008). The Hulk returned periodically in Hulk , which then starred the new Red Hulk . In September 2009, The Incredible Hulk was relaunched as The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #600. The series was retitled The Incredible Hulks with issue #612 (Nov. 2010) to encompass the Hulk's expanded family, and ran until issue #635 (Oct. 2011) when it
20944-486: The series. Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe was assigned to draw the series, and would later reflect on the similarities between the two characters. He was sent movie stills by Toho for reference, and attempted to keep the film version's personality by drawing Godzilla as "a guy in a rubber suit". Lee tapped Doug Moench to write it after hearing the latter was after working in a lighter tone following his work on Master of Kung Fu and Moon Knight . Lee took him to
21098-408: The skin color to green. Green was used in retellings of the origin, with even reprints of the original story being recolored for the next two decades, until The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #302 (December 1984) reintroduced the grey Hulk in flashbacks set close to the origin story. An exception is the early trade paperback, Origins of Marvel Comics , from 1974, which explains the difficulties in keeping
21252-611: The success of these three characters, some notable heroes—many of which continue to appear in modern-day retcon appearances and flashbacks—include the Whizzer , Miss America , the Destroyer , the original Vision , and the Angel . Timely also published one of humor cartoonist Basil Wolverton 's best-known features, " Powerhouse Pepper ", as well as a line of children's talking animal comics featuring characters like Super Rabbit and
21406-432: The super-villains the Leader , who would become the Hulk's nemesis, and the Abomination , another gamma-irradiated being. Marie Severin finished out the Hulk's run in Tales to Astonish . Beginning with issue #102 (April 1968) the book was retitled The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, and ran until 1999, when Marvel canceled the series and launched Hulk #1. Marvel filed for a trademark for "The Incredible Hulk" in 1967, and
21560-433: The then-common phrase "Brand X"). Originally, the company's publications were branded by a minuscule "Mc" on the upper right-hand corner of the covers. However, artist/writer Steve Ditko put a larger masthead picture of the title character of The Amazing Spider-Man on the upper left-hand corner on issue #2 that included the series' issue number and price. Lee appreciated the value of this visual motif and adapted it for
21714-439: The time-consuming review process had produced no suitably professional work. The same year, the company commemorated its 70th anniversary, dating to its inception as Timely Comics , by issuing the one-shot Marvel Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1 and a variety of other special issues. On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced it would acquire Marvel Comics' parent corporation, Marvel Entertainment, for
21868-548: The villain's control was an altered, unnamed version of Godzilla, with the story implying that Demonicus had defeated and modified his foe since the end of the series. The altered version debuted in Iron Man #193 (cover-dated April 1985) before recurring in #194 and #196 and making one final appearance in The Thing #31 in 1986. These appearances were not well-received. Following the discontinuation of Toho's deal with Marvel,
22022-530: The wake of DC Comics ' success in reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with the Flash , Green Lantern , Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman , Green Arrow , and other members of the team the Justice League of America , Marvel followed suit. In 1961, writer-editor Stan Lee revolutionized superhero comics by introducing superheroes designed to appeal to older readers than
22176-523: The world of [rival DC Comics '] Superman comic books, communism did not exist. Superman rarely crossed national borders or involved himself in political disputes. From 1962 to 1965, there were more communists [in Marvel Comics] than on the subscription list of Pravda . Communist agents attack Ant-Man in his laboratory, red henchmen jump the Fantastic Four on the moon, and Viet Cong guerrillas take potshots at Iron Man. All these elements struck
22330-560: The years since his debut. Originally, Stan Lee wanted the Hulk to be grey. Due to ink problems, Hulk's color was changed to green. This was later changed in the story to indicate that the Grey Hulk and the Savage Hulk are separate dissociative identities or entities fighting for control in Bruce's subconscious. The Grey Hulk incarnation can do the more unscrupulous things that Banner could not bring himself to do, with many sources comparing
22484-573: Was Kirby's artwork with its tension and psychedelia that made it perfect for the times—or was it Lee's bravado and melodrama, which was somehow insecure and brash at the same time? In addition to Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, Marvel began publishing further superhero titles featuring such heroes and antiheroes as the Hulk , Thor , Ant-Man , Iron Man , the X-Men , Daredevil , the Inhumans , Black Panther , Doctor Strange , Captain Marvel and
22638-543: Was also known as Omega Hulk . It was theorized by Doc Green that this form was an earlier incarnation of his possible future form Maestro. The Devil Hulk , or simply the Devil , is the result of the Hulk needing a father figure. While the character's physical appearance varies, he is always depicted as having glowing red eyes and reptilian traits. The new form of the Devil Hulk is the result of Banner and Hulk having been through different deaths and rebirths. This incarnation
22792-698: Was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics , and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics . The Marvel era began in August 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee , Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko , and numerous others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand. Marvel counts among its characters such well-known superheroes as Spider-Man , Iron Man , Wolverine , Captain America , Black Widow , Thor , Hulk , Daredevil , Doctor Strange , Black Panther , Captain Marvel , and Deadpool , as well as popular superhero teams such as
22946-487: Was helmed by soon-to-become editor-in-chief Joe Quesada ; it featured tough, gritty stories showcasing such characters as the Daredevil , the Inhumans , and Black Panther . With the new millennium, Marvel Comics emerged from bankruptcy and again began diversifying its offerings. X-Force #116 X-Force #119 (October 2001) was the first Marvel Comics title since The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 in 1971 to not have
23100-507: Was launched in 2018 and ran for 50 issues. The series had a spin-off one-shot Immortal She-Hulk and a spin-off series about Gamma Flight in June 2021. In November 2021, Donny Cates became the new writer of Hulk , with Ryan Ottley joining as artist. In May 2022, the series did a crossover with the Thor series, also written by Cates, entitled Hulk vs Thor: Banner of War . The series ran for 14 issues, with Ottley taking over as writer for
23254-489: Was replaced with The Incredible Hulk (vol. 3) (15 issues, Dec. 2011 – Dec. 2012) written by Jason Aaron with art by Marc Silvestri . As part of Marvel's 2012 Marvel NOW! relaunch, a series called Indestructible Hulk (Nov. 2012) debuted under the creative team of Mark Waid and Leinil Yu . This series was replaced in 2014 with The Hulk by Waid and artist Mark Bagley . A new series titled The Immortal Hulk , written by Al Ewing and drawn by Joe Bennett ,
23408-412: Was shown after his ability to turn into the Hulk was taken away by the red Hulk that Banner has been extremely versatile as well as cunning when dealing with the many situations that followed. When he was briefly separated from the Hulk by Doom, Banner became criminally insane, driven by his desire to regain the power of the Hulk, but once the two recombined he came to accept that he was a better person with
23562-443: Was soon confronted by S.H.I.E.L.D. , who unsuccessfully attempted to restrain the monster with Stark Industries technology. Nick Fury tasks Dum Dum Dugan with forming a 'Godzilla Squad' to stop the kaiju, including fellow agents Jimmy Woo and Gabe Jones , scientist Doctor Yuriko Takiguchi and his grandson Robert "Little Rob" Takiguchi, and genius Tamara Hashioka. Joined by Gabe Jones , they successfully drive Godzilla back into
23716-557: Was subsequently modified so Godzilla was replaced by separate monster called Wani and the story was published in Marvel Spotlight (vol. 2) #5 instead, cover-dated March 1980. Characters from the series such as Doctor Demonicus, Yetrigar and Red Ronin would go on to appear in other Marvel titles. Demonicus was a major villain in Shogun Warriors and later appeared during Dennis O'Neil 's run on Iron Man . Under
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