The Incredible Hulk #337
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #337 (November 1987) is the concluding chapter of a pivotal two-part story in Peter David's early run that permanently dismantles two of the Gray Hulk era's defining institutions: the Hulkbusters task force disbands here for the first time, and Gamma Base itself is blown apart, stripping Bruce Banner of any government-sanctioned safety net and sending him, Rick Jones, and Clay Quartermain on the run as fugitives. The issue also serves as a moral crossroads for the original X-Factor — Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl — who are forced to choose between complying with a SHIELD kill order and standing up for a man they have every reason to fear, a dilemma David uses to sharpen both teams' ethical identities ahead of the larger 'Fall of the Mutants' event. Its place at the intersection of two major 1987 Marvel storylines, and its role as the moment the Gray Hulk's status quo is publicly confirmed and then immediately upended, make it a genuine structural turning point rather than a simple crossover tie-in.
In "Crossroads," the Hulk finds himself hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Hulkbusters, but when a crisis forces a reluctant alliance, Gray Hulk teams up with X-Factor to survive. With Betty gone and Bruce Banner on the run, Clay and Rick join the fight, leading to a dramatic escape from Gamma Base. Written by Peter David and illustrated by Todd McFarlane, with inks by Jim Sanders III, colors by Petra Scotese, and letters by Rick Parker, this pivotal issue features a cover by Steve Geiger and Bob McLeod.
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Writer Peter David, who had taken over the title from Al Milgrom in 1987, scripted this second part of a two-issue arc with pencils by Todd McFarlane — then in the early, kinetic phase of his tenure on the book covering roughly issues #331–345 — inked by Jim Sanders III and colored by Petra Scotese, under editor Bob Harras and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. The story grew directly out of plot threads David inherited and reshaped: the Hulkbusters (originally created by John Byrne in Incredible Hulk #317) and the Gray Hulk's post-merger status established before David arrived, which he took as raw material for a more psychologically driven take on Banner's fractured identity. The issue's concurrent tie to the 'Fall of the Mutants' publishing initiative — which used X-Factor's vigilante double identity as the X-Terminators as a source of dramatic tension — reflects the tightly coordinated editorial planning Marvel employed across its X-titles in the late 1980s.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published November 1987, written by Peter David, penciled by Todd McFarlane, inked by Jim Sanders III, colored by Petra Scotese, lettered by Rick Parker; Bob Harras edited, Tom DeFalco served as editor-in-chief.
- First appearance of Agent Trump, a SHIELD second-in-command at Gamma Base who assumes authority over the kill order when Quartermain goes missing.
- The Hulkbusters formally disband in this issue: Armand Martel and Hideko Takata resign from the team, while members LaRoquette and Saunders are left stranded in the ruins of Gamma Base.
- Gamma Base is destroyed — Clay Quartermain rigs it to explode to cover the escape of Banner, Rick Jones, X-Factor, and the departing Hulkbusters, permanently ending it as a series setting.
- The issue is Part 2 of 2 of the X-Factor crossover arc (following Incredible Hulk #336), and functions as a tie-in to the 'Fall of the Mutants' storyline; at the time, X-Factor operated publicly as the mutant-hunting X-Terminators, a double identity they maintain until X-Factor #24–26.
- Iceman's lapse in maintaining the ice block containing the Hulk — a direct consequence of his magically boosted, out-of-control powers first shown in Thor #377–378 — is the in-story reason the Hulk breaks free at Gamma Base.
- The issue has been collected multiple times: in Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 1 (2005), the X-Men: Fall of the Mutants hardcover (2011) and its Omnibus (2021), X-Men: Fall of the Mutants Vol. 2 trade paperback (2013), the Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus Vol. 1 (2019), the Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 15: Ground Zero (2024), and the X-Factor: The Original X-Men hardcover (2024).
- The issue's back-matter includes a 'Pro File' spotlight on Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald and Bullpen Bulletins content, as well as an in-universe advertisement for the Mutant Registration Act — a piece of Marvel's coordinated 'Fall of the Mutants' marketing campaign aimed at blurring the line between the fictional Marvel Universe and the reader's world.
Cast · 18 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Der unglaubliche Hulk #22 (1988), Hulk #6/1990 (1990), Fantastici Quattro #51 (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 #24, Marvel Two-In-One Alpha Flight & La Masa #53, Marvels universum #12/1990
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