The Incredible Hulk #131
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #131 marks the debut of Jim Wilson, a Black teenager from Harlem whose introduction brought a deliberate sociopolitical dimension to the Hulk's world — Roy Thomas grounded his story in the ghettos of Los Angeles, framing Wilson and the Hulk as twin outsiders whose bond transcended race and power in a way that was genuinely uncommon for a mainstream superhero title in 1970. Wilson served as a narrative bridge between Marvel's superhero universe and the real-world struggles of urban youth, replacing Rick Jones (who had migrated to Captain Marvel's stories) and eventually being revealed — years later — as the nephew of Sam Wilson, the Falcon, quietly connecting two of Marvel's most prominent Black characters across separate titles. Beyond the character debut, the issue's letters page carried Stan Lee's 'Stan's Soapbox' column announcing Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel, making this one of a tight cluster of September 1970 cover-dated books that mark the symbolic boundary between the Silver and Bronze Ages of comics. Jim Wilson's long-running arc — which concluded with his death from AIDS in 1994 — remains one of the medium's most sustained explorations of real-world social crisis through a superhero lens, and it all began here.
In "A Titan Stalks the Tenements!", the Hulk's rampage through the city reaches a breaking point when Iron Man intervenes to help General Ross reunite the fractured Banner and the Hulk. Written by Roy Thomas and brought to life by Herb Trimpe’s dynamic art and John Severin’s sharp inks, this 1970 Marvel classic delivers a tense, action-packed clash of wills and science. The cover by Herb Trimpe captures the raw power of the moment, a towering Hulk dwarfing the urban landscape.
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Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by penciller Herb Trimpe with inks by John Severin — who was settling into what contemporaries noted was one of the more distinctive artistic partnerships on the title — the issue was edited by Stan Lee and went on sale June 9, 1970, with a September 1970 cover date. The story continued directly from issue #130, in which Bruce Banner had been physically separated from the Hulk by an experimental Gammatron device, a plot device Thomas used to spotlight both the codependency between Banner and his gamma-irradiated alter ego and to create narrative space for a new supporting cast member. The same 'Stan's Soapbox' column that ran across Marvel's September 1970 cover-dated line — including this issue — announced Kirby's resignation, lending the book an unintentional but historically resonant position at the threshold of a new editorial era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Jim Wilson (James 'Jim' Wilson), a 15-year-old runaway from Harlem who befriends the Hulk while squatting in a condemned Los Angeles tenement — one of the Hulk's closest human allies throughout the 1970s.
- Written by Roy Thomas with art by penciller Herb Trimpe and inker John Severin; edited by Stan Lee; on-sale date June 9, 1970, with a September 1970 cover date.
- Jim Wilson was conceived as a functional replacement for Rick Jones, who had moved on to become Captain Marvel's sidekick at this point in Marvel continuity.
- In Incredible Hulk #232 (February 1979), Jim Wilson is retroactively revealed to be the nephew of Sam Wilson — the Falcon — a connection that writer Len Wein had conceived but never published during his own run on the title.
- The issue's 'Stan's Soapbox' column announces Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel, making it one of a cohort of September 1970 cover-dated books that historically bracket the end of the Silver Age.
- The story resolves a multi-issue plot in which Banner and the Hulk had been split into separate physical beings; Iron Man assists General Ross in using the Gammatron device to re-merge them by the issue's end.
- Jim Wilson later appeared in the 2008 Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Incredible Hulk, portrayed by P.J. Kerr in a brief scene as a college student who witnesses the Hulk's emergence at Culver University.
- The issue has been reprinted in: Marvel Super-Heroes #83 (1979), Essential Hulk Vol. 3 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 6 (2011), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus Vol. 2 (2023), and the Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: In the Hands of Hydra (2019), as well as in multiple international editions including Marvel UK's The Mighty World of Marvel #94 (1974) and Italian and French editions.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Spindelmannen #5/1974 (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel #93 (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel #94 (1974), Hulk #5 (1977), Marvel Super-Heroes #83 (1979), Super Spider-Man TV Comic #504 (1982), Biblioteca Marvel: Hulk #13 (2004), Essential Hulk #3 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #6 (2011), Essential Hulk #3 [Second Edition] (2012), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #4 (2019), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #2 (2023), Hulk E I Difensori #8, L'Incredibile Hulk #34
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