The Incredible Hulk #178
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #178 closes the Counter-Earth chapter of Adam Warlock's mythology, delivering the symbolic death-and-resurrection sequence that writer Roy Thomas had been building toward since Marvel Premiere #1 (1972). The issue self-consciously stages Warlock's cocoon transformation as a Christ-allegory — one of the most sustained pieces of religious iconography in Bronze Age Marvel — giving the character a narrative dignity that the cancelled solo series never got to provide on its own terms. More consequentially, this issue serves as the bridge between two eras of the character: it wraps up the Thomas-era Counter-Earth saga and leaves Warlock free to be reimagined by Jim Starlin, whose run beginning in Strange Tales #178 would launch what many consider one of the most ambitious cosmic storylines in Marvel's history.
In "Triumph on Terra-Two!", the Hulk is suddenly stripped of his powers and returned to Bruce Banner, forced to witness the escalating conflict on Counter-Earth from the sidelines. With the fate of his friend Adam Warlock hanging in the balance and a mysterious figure claiming the presidency of the rogue world, Banner must find a way to act—before it’s too late. Written by Tony Isabella, Gerry Conway, and Roy Thomas, with art by Herb Trimpe and John Romita, and a cover by Trimpe and Romita, this 1974 issue delivers a tense, high-stakes turn in the Hulk’s saga.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Warlock's ongoing solo title, 'The Power of Warlock,' was cancelled after just eight issues (1972–1973) with its Counter-Earth storyline unresolved; editor Roy Thomas engineered a three-issue guest arc in The Incredible Hulk (#176–178) specifically to provide that closure. The script credits on #178 reflect the collaborative, sometimes chaotic nature of Bronze Age Marvel production: a plot attributed to Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway was scripted by Tony Isabella, with pencils by series regular Herb Trimpe, inks by Jack Abel, and cover alterations by Marvel art director John Romita Sr. — whose touch-ups to both the interior pages and the cover were documented decades later by comics historian Nick Caputo. By the time the issue hit stands, the editor-in-chief credit had shifted from Stan Lee (listed on the preceding issue) to Len Wein, reflecting a period of editorial transition at Marvel.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published August 1974 (cover date); on-sale April 30, 1974, per contemporary trade records.
- Story title: 'Triumph on Terra-Two!' — this is the concluding chapter of the three-part 'Crisis on Counter-Earth' arc spanning Incredible Hulk #176–178.
- Features the death and rebirth of Adam Warlock, staged as a deliberate Christological allegory: Warlock is publicly executed, cocooned, and then resurrected far more powerful than before, devolving the Man-Beast and all his New Men back to their animal forms.
- Script credited to Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Tony Isabella; pencils by Herb Trimpe; inks by Jack Abel; cover art by Herb Trimpe with alterations by John Romita Sr. (documented by Nick Caputo in 2006).
- The Man-Beast, who had been secretly possessing the body of Counter-Earth's President Rex Carpenter since Warlock #2, is fully unmasked and defeated in this issue — closing a plot thread left dangling by the cancelled solo series.
- Adam Warlock's next appearance after this issue is Strange Tales #178, where Jim Starlin takes over the character and begins the celebrated 'Magus Saga.'
- The issue was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition #24 (1979), and has since been collected in Essential Hulk Vol. 5 (2008), Essential Warlock #1 (2012), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #6: Crisis on Counter-Earth (2021), and the Adam Warlock Omnibus (2022).
- Page 18, panel 1 contains a single panel drawn by John Romita Sr. rather than Herb Trimpe, per Grand Comics Database documentation.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in L'incroyable Hulk #37 (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel #192 (1976), L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #190 (1977), Marvel Treasury Edition #24 (1979), Gamma la bombe qui a créé Hulk #10 (1980), Hulk #7/1980 (1980), Hulk #7/1980 (1980), Essential Hulk #5 (2008), Essential Warlock #1 (2012), Marvel Gold. Warlock: La Saga de la Contratierra #[nn] (2012), Marvel Masterworks: Warlock #1 (2014), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #10 (2016), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #6 (2021), Adam Warlock Omnibus #[nn] (2022), Adam Warlock Omnibus #[nn] (2023)
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