The Incredible Hulk #126
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #126 is the closing chapter of a three-part crossover that quietly planted the seeds of one of Marvel's most unusual super-teams. By concluding a story arc begun in Doctor Strange #183 and continued through Sub-Mariner #22, the issue brought the Hulk, Doctor Strange, and the spirit of Namor's adventure together in a single narrative thread that writers and editors would later identify as the proto-origin of the Defenders. The issue also introduces Barbara Norriss, a cult member whose act of self-sacrifice — trapping herself in the Undying Ones' dimension — sets up her eventual transformation into the Valkyrie, one of the Defenders' most enduring members. And the dimensional entity introduced here as the Night-Crawler, later renamed Dark-Crawler to avoid confusion with the X-Man, marks a rare case in Marvel history where a character's very name had to be retroactively revised because of another title's landmark debut.
In "…Where Stalks the Night-Crawler!", Bruce Banner, drained from his fight with the Absorbing Man, is taken to a mysterious mansion and ensnared by an evil cult seeking to summon the Undying Ones. Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Herb Trimpe—whose dynamic art defines the cover and interior—this 1970 Marvel classic sees Banner transformed into the Hulk and flung into a realm ruled by the Night-Crawler, where he battles across dimensions and encounters a trapped Dr. Strange. The cover by Herb Trimpe captures the eerie tension of the cult's occult scheme, setting the stage for a surreal, supernatural showdown.
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Writer Roy Thomas found himself in an awkward editorial position when Marvel cancelled the Doctor Strange series mid-story: a multi-part tale involving the Undying Ones was already in motion, and Thomas was left holding an unresolved storyline with no title to finish it in. Because Thomas was simultaneously writing both Sub-Mariner and The Incredible Hulk, he threaded the conclusion across those two ongoing series, making Hulk #126 a story born as much from editorial necessity as creative design. Artist and cover painter Herb Trimpe — the Hulk book's regular penciler and inker throughout this period — handled the full interior art, with Stan Lee serving as editor and letterer Artie Simek completing the production team.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-dated April 1970 (release date January 5, 1970); written by Roy Thomas, penciled and inked by Herb Trimpe, lettered by Artie Simek, edited by Stan Lee.
- Story title: '...Where Stalks the Night-Crawler!' — the third and final chapter of a crossover that began in Doctor Strange #183 (November 1969) and continued in Sub-Mariner #22 (February 1970).
- First full appearance of Barbara Norriss (listed in some sources as a cameo in the previous issue #125); her self-sacrifice to keep the Undying Ones imprisoned directly enables her later transformation into the Valkyrie when the Enchantress bonds Brunnhilde's essence to her body in Defenders #4 (February 1973).
- First appearance of the Night-Crawler, a powerful extradimensional demon and ancient enemy of the Undying Ones; the character was subsequently renamed Dark-Crawler in Incredible Hulk #269 to avoid confusion with the X-Men's Kurt Wagner.
- First appearance of the Cult of the Undying Ones and their leader Van Nyborg, as well as the Nameless One and its demonic army.
- Crossover significance: the story arc across these three issues is retroactively recognized as the origin of the Defenders, the team that would officially form in Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971).
- Doctor Strange's appearance here bridges his trapped status since Sub-Mariner #22 and his forced return to the role of Sorcerer Supreme in Marvel Feature #1 after Baron Mordo attempts to claim his title.
- Reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes (1967 series) #78 (January 1979).
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Reprints
Reprinted in La Increible Mole #25 (1971), The Mighty World of Marvel #85 (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel #86 (1974), Hulk E I Difensori #3 (1975), Hulk #2 (1977), Marvel Super-Heroes #78 (1979), Hulk #7 (1984), Selecciones Marvel #8 (2000), Day of the Defenders #1 (2001), Essential Doctor Strange #2 (2005), Essential Hulk #3 (2005), Essential Defenders #1 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #4 (2010), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #6 (2011), Essential Hulk #3 [Second Edition] (2012), Doctor Strange Epic Collection #3 (2016), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #4 (2019), Doctor Strange Omnibus #2 (2021), The Defenders Omnibus #1 (2021), Defenders Epic Collection #1 (2023), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #2 (2023), Der unglaubliche Hulk #5, O Incrível Hulk #11
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