The Incredible Hulk #163
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #163 (May 1973) is the debut issue of the Gremlin — Kondrati Topolov, son of the Gargoyle, the very first villain the Hulk ever faced back in Incredible Hulk #1 — making it a rare Bronze Age key that threads directly back to the very origin of the series. By introducing a villain whose entire motivation is rooted in a decade-old continuity point, writer Steve Englehart demonstrated that Marvel's shared universe had genuine long-term narrative memory, a then-novel storytelling practice. The issue also marks the first appearance of the Soviet Super-Troopers, the armored strike force whose technology and lineage would feed directly into the later Soviet Super-Soldiers team. Together these debuts gave the Hulk mythology a new Cold War-inflected antagonist whose shadow stretched across the title for years and into Iron Man's landmark Armor Wars storyline.
In "Trackdown," General Ross chases the Hulk across the frozen Canadian wilderness, only to be captured alongside him by the enigmatic Gremlin. Trapped and subjected to experiments, the Hulk is forced to confront his own power—while Ross and a newly revealed Bruce Banner must devise a desperate plan to survive. With the Gremlin's Super-Trooper suits on the brink of perfection, one thing is certain: the Hulk’s return won’t be for the man who once hunted him. Written by Steve Englehart and illustrated by Herb Trimpe, with cover art by Trimpe, this 1973 Marvel classic delivers a tense, high-stakes clash of wits and wills in the icy grip of betrayal.
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The issue was written by Steve Englehart — then at the height of a prolific run simultaneously handling The Avengers and other Marvel titles — and penciled by Herb Trimpe, who was the regular Hulk artist for roughly seven consecutive years during the 1970s, with inks by Sal Trapani and lettering by John Costanza; Roy Thomas served as editor-in-chief. Englehart has explained his creative rationale in his own words: he made a point of treating a title's entire prior history with respect when he took over, and saw the long-forgotten Gargoyle from Hulk #1 as an opportunity to build something new rather than merely wave at the past — arriving at 'Gargoyle + Kremlin = Gremlin' as the conceptual shorthand. The story was released to newsstands on February 6, 1973, with a cover date of May 1973, placing it squarely in the early Bronze Age of Marvel's socially conscious, continuity-driven era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Gremlin (Kondrati Topolov), a mutant Soviet child genius and son of Yuri Topolov — the Gargoyle, the first villain the Hulk ever fought (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962).
- First appearance of the Soviet Super-Troopers, an armored Soviet strike force and direct precursor to the Soviet Super-Soldiers team.
- Story titled 'Trackdown!'; written by Steve Englehart, penciled by Herb Trimpe, inked by Sal Trapani, lettered by John Costanza, edited by Roy Thomas.
- Cover date: May 1973; on-sale date: February 6, 1973 (per Marvel Database).
- The issue picks up an ongoing plot thread: General Thunderbolt Ross is captured by the Gremlin during a hunt for the Hulk near the North Pole, leaving him a Soviet prisoner — a storyline that rippled through issues #163–166 and set up Glenn Talbot's own capture.
- The Gremlin falsely believes the Hulk killed his father; in reality the Gargoyle sacrificed himself so the Hulk could escape Russia in Incredible Hulk #1, a tragic irony central to the character's motivation.
- The Gremlin went on to become the second Titanium Man and appeared in Iron Man's Armor Wars, where he was apparently killed — a death that haunted Iron Man in subsequent stories.
- Herb Trimpe was the Incredible Hulk's near-exclusive penciler for approximately seven years in the 1970s, making his artwork on this issue representative of the definitive Bronze Age visual identity of the character.
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Reprints
Reprinted in L'incroyable Hulk #22 (1973), The Mighty World of Marvel #163 (1975), Gamma la bombe qui a créé Hulk #5 (1979), Hulk #3/1980 (1980), Essential Hulk #4 (2006), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #6 (2021), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #3 (2025), Biblioteca Marvel: Hulk #19, Hulk #3/1980, Χούλκ [Hulk] #5, Hulk E I Difensori #37, The Mighty World of Marvel #162
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