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Cover: Steve Geiger & Bob McLeod

The Incredible Hulk #338

Name: The Incredible Hulk #338
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Dec 1987 · Marvel · 0.75 USD; 0.95 CAD; 0.40 GBP

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“Mercy Killing”

★ 1st appearance — Mercy

In "Mercy Killing," Bruce Banner, Rick Jones, and Clay Quartermain flee from SHIELD in a desperate bid to locate a hidden cache of gamma bombs, as the Hulk is pushed to his limits by a mysterious figure known only as Mercy—someone who claims to be offering him peace through death. Peter David's gripping story, illustrated with bold, dynamic energy by Todd McFarlane and inked by Jim Sanders III, brings a haunting intensity to the Hulk's struggle, while Petra Scotese's colors and Rick Parker's lettering heighten the tension. The cover by Steve Geiger and Bob McLeod captures the moment’s raw emotional weight.

writer Peter David · artist Todd McFarlane · inker Jim Sanders III · colorist Petra Scotese · letterer Rick Parker · cover Steve Geiger, Bob McLeod

ComicBooks.com Value

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CGC 9.8 · 57 in census $54

CGC 9.6 · 41 in census $31

CGC 9.4 · 23 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 11 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 9 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 5 in census $20

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CGC 8.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $20*

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Trivia · 7 facts

First appearance of Mercy (Abigail Wright), an enigmatic entity who claims to be an alien missionary but whose true origin remains ambiguous in Marvel canon — she kills individuals she believes are beyond hope, and the Hulk is the only target she has never been able to 'help.'
Written by Peter David with pencils by Todd McFarlane (inked by Jim Sanders III); cover pencils by Steve Geiger, inked by Bob McLeod — a separate cover art team from the interior.
The Leader (Samuel Sterns) appears in disguise, meeting with Senator Tidewater in Washington D.C. — an early, shadowy move in the slow-burn political machination that drives David's larger story arc toward the 'Ground Zero' climax.
The Grand Comics Database notes a deliberate visual gag on the opening page: the character Mercy kills is named Alfred and drawn to resemble Batman's butler — an in-joke typical of David's pop-culture-aware scripting style.
Mercy would return in subsequent Hulk issues and much later became a member of the Thunderbolts (2012–2014 series), demonstrating the durability of the character David introduced here.
The issue has been reprinted twice: in the Spanish-language Marvel Héroes #106 (Panini España, November 2021) and in Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 15: Ground Zero (Marvel, August 2024), which collects Incredible Hulk #331–346.
A version of Mercy appeared in the video game The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, voiced by Vanessa Marshall — though that game's depiction reimagines her origin and role significantly from the comics.