Fantastic Four #12
Fantastic Four #12 holds a foundational place in Marvel history as the first genuine crossover between two Silver Age Marvel titles — the moment characters from separate ongoing series physically met, fought, and shared continuity on the same page. Wikipedia's Marvel Universe article confirms it plainly: this is 'the first crossover comic book in modern Marvel continuity.' That single issue planted the seed of everything collectors now call the shared universe: heroes from different books inhabiting one coherent world, guest-starring in each other's adventures, and setting up storylines that played out years later — most directly the titanic rematch between the Thing and the Hulk in Fantastic Four #25–26. The Thing vs. Hulk bout here was also the first time two Marvel characters from separate titles threw punches at each other, establishing the 'brawl-cute' crossover formula that Marvel would deploy for decades.
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The issue was written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, inked by Dick Ayers, and lettered by Art Simek, with Lee also serving as editor — the same core team driving the early Fantastic Four run. It carried a cover date of March 1963 and went on sale December 10, 1962, the same week that The Amazing Spider-Man #1 hit newsstands — a remarkable confluence that multiple sources describe as a pivotal moment in the construction of the Marvel Universe. One reported editorial motivation was to boost visibility for the struggling Hulk title by featuring the green giant in Marvel's flagship book, and the story fits canonically between Incredible Hulk #5 and #6 (the final issues of that first series). The issue was produced under the 'Marvel Method,' with Kirby laying out the story visually before Lee added dialogue.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: March 1963; on-sale date: December 10, 1962. Published by Marvel Comics.
- Creative team: Written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, inked by Dick Ayers, lettered by Art Simek, edited by Stan Lee.
- First meeting — and first battle — between the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk; simultaneously the first crossover between two separate Silver Age Marvel titles.
- First meeting between Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and Bruce Banner; the story depicts mutual scientific respect between the two characters.
- General 'Thunderbolt' Ross appears in a Fantastic Four title for the first time, recruiting the FF to capture the Hulk at Gamma Base in New Mexico.
- Rick Jones, Banner's young companion from the Hulk's own series, also appears, maintaining continuity with Incredible Hulk #5.
- The issue's villain is Karl Kort (the Wrecker), a communist spy and saboteur who is framing the Hulk for acts of destruction — it is the FF and Rick Jones who expose him, not the Hulk.
- The issue was reprinted in the UK in The Mighty World of Marvel #24–25 (1973) and The Complete Fantastic Four #24–25 (1978), and was later collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2. In 2025 Marvel published a Facsimile Edition restoring it in its original form, complete with period ads, as part of a sequential reprint of the first twelve FF issues timed to the theatrical release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Cast · 13 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Fantastic Four goes to a briefing at the base in New Mexico. There, they meet Bruce Banner and his assistant, Karl Kort, to discuss how to stop the Hulk.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).