Incredible Hulk #600

History

The issue was produced under editor Mark Paniccia with Joe Quesada as Editor-in-Chief, and carries an on-sale date of July 22, 2009, with a September 2009 cover date. It reunited writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness — the creative team behind Hulk (2008) — with the relaunched Incredible Hulk title, giving them a bumper-sized format to work with. The milestone number was arrived at by applying legacy numbering across multiple series — chaining Tales to Astonish, the long-running Incredible Hulk (vol. 2), the short-lived adjectiveless Hulk (1999), and the first twelve issues of Hulk (2008) — though multiple sources note that Marvel's math was off by one issue, meaning the actual 600th sequential chapter had already passed before this issue shipped. The package was padded with a reprint of Hulk: Gray #1 by Loeb and Tim Sale, a cover gallery spanning the character's full publishing history, back-up strips by Stan Lee (with art by Rodney Buchemi) and Fred Van Lente (with art by Michael Ryan and Salva Espin), and humor strips by Chris Giarrusso, running to 104 pages total. Alex Ross painted the main cover, with variant covers by Ed McGuinness and a 1-in-25 incentive cover by Tim Sale.

Trivia · 7 facts

• Primary story written by Jeph Loeb with art by Ed McGuinness (pencils) and Mark Farmer (inks); main cover painted by Alex Ross; variant covers by Ed McGuinness and Tim Sale (1:25 incentive).
• Marks the relaunch of the Incredible Hulk title using legacy numbering that chains Tales to Astonish, Incredible Hulk (vol. 2), Hulk (1999), and the first 12 issues of Hulk (2008) — though multiple sources confirm Marvel released the issue one number early, making the count technically off by one.
• Key story development: the Red Hulk drains the gamma energy directly out of Bruce Banner, leaving Banner unable to transform into the Hulk — a temporary but significant status-quo change that set up the subsequent Fall of the Hulks crossover.
• Reveals that Doc Samson's violent behavior toward Rick Jones (A-Bomb) was caused by the Intelligencia implanting a multiple-personality disorder, with MODOK shown operating a secret gamma-powered army at Gamma Base.
• Back-up stories include a comedic strip written by Stan Lee (with a Hulk/Red Hulk fight resolved when a colorblind Galactus arrives) and a Savage She-Hulk/Lyra story by Fred Van Lente illustrated by Michael Ryan and Salva Espin.
• Reprints Hulk: Gray #1 (the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale origin retelling from 2003) in full, plus an extensive cover gallery spanning Incredible Hulk vol. 1, Tales to Astonish, Incredible Hulk vol. 2, and Hulk vol. 2.
• Material from the issue was later collected in Hulk Vol. 3: Hulk No More (2009 hardcover / 2010 paperback), the Hulk By Loeb & McGuinness Omnibus (2019), and the Hulk Modern Era Epic Collection Vol. 6: Who Is the Red Hulk? (2024).

Cast · 23 characters

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Variants (5)