The Incredible Hulk #315
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIncredible Hulk #315 is the pivotal issue in which Doc Samson successfully and physically separates Bruce Banner from the Hulk for the first time in the character's then-24-year history, splitting what had always been a single tortured psyche into two fully independent beings — an unconscious Banner and a purely mindless, rampaging creature. By stripping away Banner's restraining intelligence entirely, John Byrne literalized the Jekyll-and-Hyde premise that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had originally drawn on, pushing the concept further than any previous creative team had dared. The issue set the immediate stage for Banner forming the Hulkbusters, his own team dedicated to hunting down his now-estranged alter ego, and for the eventual Banner–Betty Ross romance arc — structural elements that directly preceded and helped shape Peter David's celebrated, decade-long run on the title. Its narrative DNA — the question of who the Hulk is without Banner, and vice versa — echoed through Marvel's treatment of the character for decades afterward.
In "Freedom!", John Byrne delivers a gripping chapter in the Hulk’s saga as Doc Samson finally succeeds in separating Bruce Banner from the Hulk—only for the fragile peace to shatter when SHIELD moves to eliminate the Hulk permanently. With the jade giant on the loose and Samson torn between duty and desperation, the line between protector and predator blurs in a story defined by moral weight and raw consequence. The issue’s dynamic art by Byrne, with inks by Keith Williams and colors by Andy Yanchus, captures every pulse of tension, while the cover by Byrne sets the tone with a stark, haunting image of the Hulk’s newfound freedom—and the cost of it.
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John Byrne came to the title through an unusual creative swap: after casually remarking to editor-in-chief Jim Shooter that the Hulk had drifted too far from its roots, Shooter interpreted the comment as a pitch and pressed Byrne to take over the book. Because Byrne's schedule was already overloaded writing and drawing Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight simultaneously, he engineered a cross-title handoff — swapping creative teams with Bill Mantlo in a storyline that bridged Alpha Flight #28 and Incredible Hulk #313–314. Byrne has stated publicly that once he was installed on the book, Shooter walked back several of the editorial freedoms he had initially promised, leading Byrne to exit after only six issues — his planned seventh chapter ultimately surfacing in Marvel Fanfare #29. Issue #315 itself, released with an October 8, 1985 on-sale date and a January 1986 cover date, was only Byrne's second issue on the series, titled 'Freedom!' and fully written, penciled, and inked (with background ink assist from Keith Williams) by Byrne under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Issue title: 'Freedom!' — written, penciled, and cover-drawn by John Byrne, with background inks by Keith Williams; on-sale October 8, 1985; cover-dated January 1986.
- Central story event: Doc Samson uses an experimental nutrient-bath procedure at the rebuilt Gamma Base to physically separate Bruce Banner and the Hulk into two distinct, independent beings — a landmark transformation in the character's history.
- First appearance of Dianne Bellamy, a television news reporter who witnesses the separation procedure live on air and becomes an ongoing supporting character during the Byrne run.
- Without Banner's consciousness to moderate it, the now mindless Hulk escapes S.H.I.E.L.D. custody after Samson frees it, launching the 'Banner hunts the Hulk' story engine that drives the remainder of Byrne's run through issue #319.
- The separation sets up Bruce Banner forming the Hulkbusters (formally debuted in #317) — a team of specialist outcasts he recruits to track down and destroy his former alter ego.
- The Hulk's point-of-view dream sequence that opens the issue implies the creature possesses its own independent psyche rather than being a mere projection of Banner's emotions — a subtle characterization choice that anticipated later writers' explorations of the Hulk's multiple personalities.
- The separation is temporary: Banner and the Hulk are forcibly re-merged in issue #323, with the Vision of the Avengers playing a key role in that reunification.
- The issue has been reprinted in numerous collections, including Incredible Hulk Visionaries: John Byrne (2008), Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 1 (2016), the Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 14: Going Gray (2020), and the Hulk: Grand Design Treasury Edition (2022).
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Reprinted in L'incroyable Hulk #175 (1986), Marvel Superheltene #3/1988 (1988), Fantastici Quattro #21 (1990), Fantastici Quattro #22 (1990), Fantastici Quattro #23 (1990), Marvel Super-Heroes Megazine #2 (1994), Hulk: Transformations #[1996 edition] (1996), Hulk: ¡Libertad! #[nn] (1998), Hulk: Transformations #[2001 edition] (2001), Incredible Hulk Visionaries: John Byrne #[nn] (2008), Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus #[1] (2016), 100% Marvel HC. El Increíble Hulk de John Byrne #[nn] (2017), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #14 (2020), Hulk: Grand Design Treasury Edition #[nn] (2022), Alpha Flight #29, Alpha Flight #30, Coleccionable El Increíble Hulk #1, De verbijsterende Hulk Special #16, Der unglaubliche Hulk #19, Marvels universum #9/1987
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