The Incredible Hulk #169
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #169 (November 1973) is the debut issue of the Bi-Beast, a two-headed android guardian of a hidden sky-city built by an avian subspecies of the Inhumans — one of the more conceptually inventive villains Steve Englehart and Herb Trimpe delivered during their Bronze Age tenure on the title. The issue also resolves the Harpy transformation of Betty Ross that began in #168, making it the pivot point of one of the era's most psychologically dense Hulk arcs, in which MODOK weaponizes Bruce Banner's closest relationships against him. As the midpoint of a three-issue sequence (##168–170) that blended gamma-mutation horror, Silver Age Inhumans continuity, and AIM espionage thriller elements, this issue exemplifies the storytelling ambition that separated the Bronze Age Hulk from its blunter Silver Age predecessors.
In "Calamity in the Clouds!", the Hulk and the Harpy are caught in a violent tornado that spirals them into a mysterious floating city, where they face the enigmatic Bi-Beast. Written by Steve Englehart and brought to life with dynamic art by Herb Trimpe—both on the interior and the cover—this 1973 Marvel classic delivers a surreal, high-stakes adventure where Bruce Banner must navigate a failing skybound civilization, all while trying to reverse the Harpy’s transformation. The story’s escalating tension culminates in a dramatic confrontation with M.O.D.O.K., who arrives with his own ambitions for the city, setting the stage for a shocking climax.
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Steve Englehart scripted and Herb Trimpe pencilled the issue, with inks by Jack Abel — the same creative team that had been driving the Hulk through one of its most tonally adventurous stretches of the Bronze Age. Englehart himself later described the Bi-Beast as conceived as 'just another idea for something powerful/impressive enough to fight the Hulk,' a candid acknowledgment of the practical demands of monthly action storytelling, even as the surrounding narrative context elevated the character well beyond a simple bruiser. Unusually, the issue carries no letters page; Marvel replaced it with a 14-question reader survey, an editorial decision that marks the issue as a minor production curiosity. Englehart's run concluded around this arc, with the plotting credit on the immediately following issue passing to Chris Claremont.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Bi-Beast, a two-headed android created by an avian subspecies of the Inhumans to serve as the living legacy of their 'Sky Island' civilization, floating 80 miles above Earth.
- Written by Steve Englehart; pencilled by Herb Trimpe; inked by Jack Abel; colored by Petra Goldberg; lettered by John Costanza. Cover art also by Herb Trimpe.
- Cover-dated November 1973; released July 31, 1973. Part of the ongoing volume launched in 1968.
- The Bi-Beast is designed with two heads stacked vertically: the top head holds knowledge of avian warfare; the bottom head holds knowledge of avian culture and science.
- This issue serves as the second installment of a three-part arc (##168–170) involving MODOK, AIM, Betty Ross as the Harpy, and the destruction of Sky Island; Betty Ross reverts to human form in this issue.
- The Bi-Beast apparently dies at the end of the arc when Sky Island self-destructs — though a second Bi-Beast cylinder is secretly ejected before the explosion, enabling the character's return in Incredible Hulk #215.
- The letters page was replaced in this issue by a 14-question reader survey from Marvel Comics — an unusual editorial substitution.
- The story was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition #26 (on-sale April 1980), combined with Incredible Hulk ##167–170 as a continuous narrative, with the original splash title pages of ##169 and 170 removed to create a seamless flow.
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Reprinted in L'incroyable Hulk #28 (1973), The Mighty World of Marvel #173 (1976), Gamma la bombe qui a créé Hulk #7 (1979), Hulk #5/1980 (1980), Marvel Treasury Edition #26 (1980), Hulk #5/1980 (1980), Hulk: Beauty and the Behemoth #[nn] (1998), Essential Hulk #4 (2006), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #6 (2021), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #3 (2025), Χούλκ [Hulk] #11, Hulk E I Difensori #40
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