Tales to Astonish #83
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeTales to Astonish #83 is the crucial pivot point in one of Silver Age Marvel's most tightly serialized multi-character arcs: it simultaneously wraps up the Secret Empire's short-lived reign of terror in the Hulk strip and launches a new threat in the Sub-Mariner strip, as Number One manipulates an amnesiac Namor into becoming his unwilling weapon against the Hulk. The issue demonstrates Stan Lee's then-pioneering commitment to cross-strip, cross-issue continuity — the Secret Empire's collapse in one half of the book directly motivates the villain's desperate gambit in the other, even though the Hulk and Sub-Mariner never share a scene. It also marks Boomerang's second consecutive appearance in the Hulk half, cementing his early arc as the Secret Empire's mercenary enforcer before the organization implodes around him.
In "The Sub-Mariner Strikes!", the tide turns when the enigmatic Prince Namor emerges from the depths to confront a new threat, his arrival coinciding with a desperate attempt by the Boomerang to seize the Orion missile. With the military distracted by a manhunt for the Hulk, the oceanic warrior must decide whether to intervene—or let chaos unfold. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life by the dynamic duo of Jack Kirby and Bill Everett, this issue features cover art by Kirby and Everett, capturing the intensity of a world on the brink.
When the Hulk rescues Betty from the Boomerang, General Ross sees only a kidnapping, triggering a full-scale military pursuit. As gamma base hunts the Hulk, the Boomerang exploits the chaos to strike at the Orion missile—just as the Secret Empire’s Number Two and Number Nine watch from the shadows, ready to move.
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The issue was written by Stan Lee and published with a September 1966 cover date, going on sale June 2, 1966. The Sub-Mariner story was penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Dick Ayers — Kirby stepping in because regular Sub-Mariner penciler Gene Colan was apparently unavailable for this issue — while the Hulk story was penciled by Bill Everett. The Grand Comics Database notes that the original pencil credits for the Hulk story were later corrected from 'Kirby only' to reflect Kirby as layouts and Everett as finisher, a correction recorded by Mark Evanier.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published September 1966 (cover date); on-sale date June 2, 1966; 36 pages; cover price 12 cents — a standard split-book issue of the era pairing Hulk and Sub-Mariner.
- The Sub-Mariner story ('The Sub-Mariner Strikes!') is written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers — a notable departure from the Gene Colan art that defined the Sub-Mariner run in this title.
- The Hulk story ('Less Than Monster, More Than Man!') is written by Stan Lee with pencils by Bill Everett; the GCD notes original indexing credited Kirby alone but was later corrected to reflect Kirby layouts with Everett finishing.
- Boomerang (Fred Myers) appears here for his second consecutive issue, having made his first appearance in Tales to Astonish #81 — he is re-dispatched by the Secret Empire to steal the Orion Missile while the U.S. military is distracted hunting the Hulk.
- The Secret Empire, which debuted in Tales to Astonish #81, effectively collapses internally in this issue: Number Nine launches a stun grenade during a leadership vote that wipes out most of the organization, leaving only Number One alive.
- The Sub-Mariner story ends with Namor losing his memory after Warlord Krang fires a Fleet Destroyer missile; Number One then deceives the amnesiac Namor into believing they are allies, setting up Namor as his pawn against the Hulk in subsequent issues.
- The Hulk story subplot resolves the Betty Ross rescue arc: General Ross — convinced the Hulk kidnapped his daughter — pursues the jade giant with Gamma Base forces, only for Betty to reveal the Hulk actually saved her.
- The Sub-Mariner story from this issue has been reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #38 (September 1973, with two pages omitted), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 1 (2002), Essential Sub-Mariner Vol. 1 (2009), and the Namor the Sub-Mariner Omnibus Vol. 1 (August 2025); the Hulk story appears in the Incredible Hulk Omnibus Vol. 1 (2008) and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 3 (2023).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Smash! #75 (1967), Terrific! #15 (1967), Terrific! #16 (1967), Los Vengadores #80 (1967), Hit Comics Die fantastischen Vier #244 (1972), Eclipso #21 (1972), De Vier Verdedigers Classics #67 (1973), X-Mannen Classics #22 (1973), The Mighty World of Marvel #34 (1973), Marvel Super-Heroes #38 (1973), Die Spinne #12 (1974), Etranges Aventures #38 (1974), Hulk pocket #1 (1979), Hulk Pocket [Hulk Superseriepocket] #1 (1979), Der unglaubliche Hulk #1 (1980), De verbijsterende Hulk #32 (1982), Hulk #1 (1982), Essential Hulk #1 (1999), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #1 (2002), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #3 (2006), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #1 (2008), Essential Sub-Mariner #1 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #1 (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #3 (2013) + 6 more
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