The Incredible Hulk #336
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIssue #336 sits squarely within the early, formative stretch of Peter David's celebrated twelve-year tenure on The Incredible Hulk — a run that rescued a title that had fallen to near-obscurity and transformed it into one of Marvel's most psychologically sophisticated series of the era. The issue spotlights the gray Hulk at a pivotal moment: an ordinary citizen mistakes Banner's transformation for a mutant power-up and calls in X-Factor, a plot engine that lets David riff sharply on the late-1980s climate of mutant hysteria permeating Marvel's line. The three-issue X-Factor team of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Iceman struggling to contain a smarter, meaner gray Hulk also serves as an important chapter in Iceman's own character arc — his recently magically amplified powers are dangerously out of control throughout the fight, a thread woven across multiple titles of the period. As a crossover that never required a dedicated event comic, it demonstrates how David and editor Bob Harras were threading the gray Hulk organically into the wider Marvel universe during a run that would eventually climb back into the monthly sales top ten.
In "X-Tremes!", the Hulk finds himself at odds with X-Factor when a mysterious figure, hoping for a reward, calls the team to help subdue him after witnessing his transformation into Bruce Banner. Written by Peter David and brought to life with bold, dynamic art by Todd McFarlane, this 1987 issue sees the green giant clash with the heroic mutants—leaving readers wondering why the Hulk appears gray and what SHIELD’s true intentions are. The cover by Steve Geiger and Bob McLeod captures the intensity of the moment, setting the stage for a high-stakes confrontation.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Peter David inherited the Hulk title in 1987 under circumstances that would become part of Marvel lore: editor Bob Harras offered him the book only after every other writer on staff had turned it down, a situation David has confirmed in multiple interviews. Because the series had low sales and little editorial scrutiny, David was granted unusual creative latitude — latitude he used, together with penciler Todd McFarlane, to lean hard into action-driven storytelling that suited McFarlane's kinetic early style. Issue #336, released on July 7, 1987 with an October cover date, was penciled by McFarlane and inked by Jim Sanders III, with colors by Petra Scotese and letters by Rick Parker, all under the editorial oversight of Bob Harras and Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story title is 'X-Tremes!'; written by Peter David, penciled by Todd McFarlane, inked by Jim Sanders III, colored by Petra Scotese, lettered by Rick Parker, edited by Bob Harras.
- Release date: July 7, 1987; cover date: October 1987; published by Marvel Comics.
- This is Part 1 of a 2-part arc; the story concludes in Incredible Hulk #337.
- The central conflict is triggered when a civilian witnesses Bruce Banner transforming out of the gray Hulk and, believing him to be a mutant, contacts X-Factor for a finder's fee — exploiting the in-universe mutant-hunting cover identity X-Factor was publicly maintaining at the time.
- Iceman's powers are depicted as dangerously out of control, having been magically boosted in Thor #377–378; his inability to regulate them is a running subplot resolved later in X-Factor #21 when he adopts a power-dampening belt.
- Only Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl/Jean Grey, and Iceman (Bobby Drake) appear from the X-Factor roster; Skids (Sally Blevins) has a brief appearance at X-Factor HQ delivering the tip that triggers the mission.
- Minor characters Dick Terrance, Melanie, Bob Craig, and Phyllis all receive their first appearances in this issue according to the Grand Comics Database.
- The issue has been reprinted in: Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 15 — Ground Zero (2024); X-Factor: The Original X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 (2024); and a Spanish-language edition in Marvel Héroes #106 (Panini España, November 2021).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Der unglaubliche Hulk #22 (1988), Hulk #6/1990 (1990), Fantastici Quattro #50 (1991), Hulk Visionaries: Peter David #1 (2005), X-Men: Fall of the Mutants #[nn] (2011), Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #1 (2019), X-Men: Fall of the Mutants Omnibus #[nn] (2021), Marvel Héroes #106 (2021), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #15 (2024), X-Factor: The Original X-Men Omnibus #1 (2024), De verbijsterende Hulk Special #23, Hulk #6, Marvel Two-In-One Alpha Flight & La Masa #52, Marvels universum #12/1990
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