comicbooks.com Join Free
Home › Doc Samson
Doc Samson

Doc Samson

264 appearances · Bronze Age · 1975–2025 · 10 key issues
Who is Doc Samson?

A brilliant psychiatrist working with S.H.I.E.L.D., Dr. Leonard Samson exposed himself to a measured dose of gamma-irradiated blood drawn from Bruce Banner, gaining superhuman strength and durability — with his power level reflected in the length of his distinctive green hair.

Few characters in Marvel's Bronze Age arrived with quite the gravitational pull of Doc Samson, who crashed onto the scene in The Incredible Hulk #193 in 1975, courtesy of John Romita. Over the course of roughly fifty years — a span that speaks to genuine staying power — he's logged 215 catalog appearances, racking up ten key issues that any serious collector will want on their radar. His world revolves around the thunderous green chaos of the Hulk's corner of the Marvel Universe, where he keeps company with Bruce Banner, Iron Man, and Tony Stark, making him a fixture in stories where brains and brawn collide in spectacular fashion. If you've been sleeping on Doc Samson, half a century of Incredible Hulk adventures is more than enough reason to wake up.

Identity

Real name. Leonard Samson (legally changed from Leonard Skivorski, Jr.)

Powers. Gamma-derived superhuman strength, durability, stamina and regeneration (tied to his green hair); also a Ph.D. psychiatrist.

Teams & affiliations
Fantastic Four
★ First appearance
The Incredible Hulk #141
Jul 1971

Trivia

  • Doc Samson's original origin was built around curing Betty Ross, not introducing a new superhero, and his gamma-powered transformation was a byproduct of that medical plot rather than the story's main goal.en.wikipedia.org
  • Sal Buscema has drawn more of Doc Samson's comics than any other artist in our catalog — 29 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years — 1975–2022

The Incredible Hulk #193 1975
The Incredible Hulk #193
The Incredible Hulk #231 1979
The Incredible Hulk #231
The Incredible Hulk #279 1983
The Incredible Hulk #279
The Incredible Hulk #324 1986
The Incredible Hulk #324
The Incredible Hulk #365 1990
The Incredible Hulk #365
Marvel Swimsuit Special #2 1993
Marvel Swimsuit Special #2
Sentry / The Void #1 2001
Sentry / The Void #1
Hulk: Gray #4 2004
Hulk: Gray #4
World War Hulk #5 2008
World War Hulk #5
Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] 2011
Infinity Gauntlet #[nn]
Hulk #2 2015
Hulk #2
Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #1 2019
Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #1
Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #13 2022
Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #13

Appearances (1–150 of 264, oldest first)

The Incredible Hulk Annual (1976)
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964)
#15
DC Special Series (1977)
#27
Fantastic Four (1979)
Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions (1982)
#1
Marvel Two-in-One Annual (1976)
#7
West Coast Avengers (1984)
#1
G.I. Joe, a Real American Hero (1982)
#27
Marvel Age Annual (1985)
Spécial Strange (1975)
Marvel Super-Heroes Omnibus (1987)
Titans (1976)
Strange (1970)
Ombrax-Saga (1986)
Marvel Comics Presents (1988)
Marvel Super-Heroes (1990)
The Infinity Gauntlet (1991)
#3
Quasar (1989)
Crossover Classics: The Marvel / DC Collection (1992)
Marvel Holiday Special (1992)
Marvel Swimsuit Special (1992)
Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk (1995)
Marvels: Portraits (1995)
#4
The Savage Hulk (1996)
Hulk (1997)
Iron Man (1996)
#10
Mutant X 1999 (1999)
Die Fantastischen Vier (1999)
#8
Incredible Hulk (2000)
Earth X (2000)
Sentry / The Void (2001)
#1
Defenders (2001)
Avengers (1998)
Marvel Heroes (2001)
#27
Hulk: Gray (2003)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Hulk 2004 (2004)
Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko (2005)
Avengers: Above and Beyond (2005)
She-Hulk (2004)
Best of Marvel : mariages Marvel (2006)
Doc Samson (2006)
The Amazing Spider-Man (1999)
Civil War (2006)
X-Factor (2006)
#13
Marvel Holiday Special 2006 (2006)
#1
Avengers: The Initiative (2007)
#1
World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker (2007)
#1
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days (2007)
#1
World War Hulk (2007)