Tales to Astonish #90
Tales to Astonish #90 (April 1967) is one of the most consequential single issues of the Silver Age because it simultaneously introduces two characters of lasting importance: the Abomination, who became one of the Hulk's defining arch-rivals, and the Silver Age return of Byrrah, Namor's scheming Atlantean cousin absent from comics since the Golden Age. The Abomination's debut is structurally bold for the era — a gamma-spawned villain who physically out-powers the Hulk in their very first clash, giving the series a credible new threat at a moment when Lee and Kane were deliberately engineering a foe stronger than the title character. The issue also represents a notable narrative first: it marks the first time the Hulk is knocked unconscious by an opponent, a story beat that raised the dramatic stakes of the entire strip.
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Both stories in the issue were scripted by Stan Lee. The Sub-Mariner half ('To Be Beaten by Byrrah!') was penciled and inked by Bill Everett, the character's Golden Age creator, while the Hulk half ('The Abomination!') was drawn by Gil Kane, one of several pencilers who rotated through the notoriously difficult-to-staff Hulk strip during the 1960s. Lee's own account of the Abomination's genesis was characteristically simple: he chose the name because he realized it had never been used for a comics character, then directed Kane to design something bigger and more powerful than the Hulk — essentially reverse-engineering the character's dramatic function before settling on the Cold War spy origin that placed KGB agent Emil Blonsky at Bruce Banner's gamma base. The issue's cover was drawn by Jack Kirby, whose portrait of Byrrah was later reused as that character's Series A Marvel Value Stamp.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of the Abomination (Emil Blonsky), created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gil Kane — cover dated April 1967.
- The Abomination is introduced as a KGB spy who deliberately exposes himself to Banner's gamma-ray projector, receiving a more concentrated dose of radiation than Banner did, leaving him permanently transformed and unable to revert to human form.
- The issue marks the first time the Hulk is knocked unconscious by an opponent; the Abomination also kidnaps Betty Ross at the story's end.
- First Silver Age appearance of Byrrah (Sub-Mariner's Atlantean cousin and political rival), whose Golden Age debut was Sub-Mariner Comics #35 (1954).
- The Sub-Mariner story ('To Be Beaten by Byrrah!') is written by Stan Lee and drawn/inked by Bill Everett; the Hulk story ('The Abomination!') is written by Stan Lee and drawn/inked by Gil Kane; the cover is by Jack Kirby.
- The letters page ('Mails to Astonish') includes a letter from future Marvel writer Bill Mantlo.
- The Hulk story from this issue was reprinted in the Simon & Schuster Fireside Books trade paperback Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains (October 1976), placing the Abomination alongside Doctor Doom, the Red Skull, Loki, the Green Goblin, Dormammu, and Mephisto as one of Marvel's defining villain origin stories.
- The Abomination was adapted into live-action as the main antagonist of The Incredible Hulk (2008, played by Tim Roth), with the character returning in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022).
Cast · 14 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Stranger leaves earth with the rampaging Hulk left behind to wreak destruction on his behalf. Turning back into his alter ego, Banner surrenders himself to Gamma base and tries to kill himself with radiation to stop the Hulk's destruction. Stopped before he can use his gamma machine, the machine is instead used by a foreign spy who is transformed into the Abomination. More powerful than even the Hulk, Abomination beats the jade giant down and kidnaps Betty as he escapes from the base.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).