Amazing Fantasy #15
Amazing Fantasy Vol. 2 #15 holds its own small piece of Marvel history as the debut of Amadeus Cho — a Korean-American teenage genius who would grow into one of the publisher's most prominent Asian-American heroes, eventually inheriting the mantle of the Hulk a decade after his first appearance. Marvel framed the issue explicitly as a spiritual successor to the 1962 original, positioning its anthology of short stories as a deliberate attempt to discover the next generation of breakout characters under the same storied title. The Greg Pak–written lead story seeded the entire Planet Hulk and World War Hulk era of storytelling, with Cho's relationship with Bruce Banner established here carrying narrative weight through years of subsequent Hulk comics. That a single short story tucked into an anthology special could launch a character who received his own 20th-anniversary one-shot in 2025 speaks to how much creative ground Pak and artist Takeshi Miyazawa covered in very few pages.
In "Mastermind Excello," Amadeus Cho, grieving the loss of his family, stumbles upon a coyote pup left behind after its mother’s death. While eating at a roadside diner, he unexpectedly reunites with Bruce Banner, sparking an unlikely friendship that takes an extraordinary turn when the Hulk enters the scene.
In "I Was That Guy in Spider-Man's Armpit!", a playful mystery unfolds as the man hidden beneath Spider-Man’s armpit on the iconic cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 finally speaks—revealing himself in a humorous, self-aware twist that nods to the legendary artist behind the moment. Written by an unnamed creator and illustrated by an unnamed interior artist, the story leans into the lore of the cover with a wink, turning a single frame into a full-blown comic anecdote.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The second volume of Amazing Fantasy launched in August 2004 under the Marvel Next imprint, initially as a vehicle for the new spider-heroine Araña, before transitioning into an anthology format spotlighting various emerging concepts. By the time the series reached issue #15, the editorial direction had shifted toward a milestone-issue format: Marvel assembled five separate short stories by a roster of writers — Greg Pak, Dan Slott, Daniel Way, Robert Kirkman, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa — with art from Takeshi Miyazawa, Pete Woods, Nick Dragotta, Jeff Parker, Sal Buscema, and Khari Randolph, and a cover by Pete Woods that consciously echoed the original 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15 composition, showing Spider-Man swinging past onlooking new heroes. The issue was explicitly positioned as a Planet Hulk/World War Hulk tie-in, grounding the Amadeus Cho story in the broader Hulk narrative Pak was building at the same time.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Amadeus Cho (also known as 'Mastermind Excello'), a Korean-American teenage genius created by writer Greg Pak and artist Takeshi Miyazawa.
- Cho's debut story establishes his core concept: a hyper-intelligent 16-year-old on the run after winning an online intellect competition attracts the attention of a shadowy agency; his family home is destroyed and his parents are killed, forcing him to flee.
- The story concludes with Cho's first encounter with the Hulk (Bruce Banner), planting the foundation for their long alliance across Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, and The Incredible Hercules.
- The issue is an oversized 48-page special containing five distinct short stories; Dan Slott contributes vignettes introducing the fictional organization G.R.A.M.P.A. (Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity) and its agents Ace and One-Eyed Jacquie.
- Other contributing writers include Daniel Way, Robert Kirkman, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, making it a notable snapshot of early-2000s Marvel writing talent.
- The cover by Pete Woods deliberately reworked the composition of the original 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15, with Spider-Man swinging past a group of newly introduced characters.
- The issue was formally designated a Planet Hulk/World War Hulk tie-in and was later reprinted as part of Marvel's Planet Hulk collected editions, including the Planet Hulk hardcover and omnibus.
- Amadeus Cho went on to star in The Incredible Hercules (2008–2010) and eventually became the Totally Awesome Hulk beginning in December 2015; his 20th anniversary was commemorated with a special one-shot in May 2025, co-created by Pak and Miyazawa.
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Reprinted in Hulk: Planet Hulk #[nn] (2007), World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker #1 (2007), Hulk: Planet Hulk #[nn] (2008), Pet Avengers Classic #[nn] (2009), The Mighty World of Marvel #2 (2009), Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude #[nn] (2010), Heroic Age Magazine #[nn] (2010), Mighty Avengers: Dark Reign #[nn] (2011), Marvel Comics - La collection #15 (2014), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #30 (2014), Spiderman #100 (2015), Amadeus Cho: Genius at Work #[nn] (2016), Hulk: Planet Hulk Omnibus #[nn] (2017), Planet Hulk #[nn] (2017), Incredible Hercules: The Complete Collection #1 (2019), Marvel Must-Have #[12] (2020), Marvel's Voices: Identity #[nn] (2022), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #46
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