The Incredible Hulk #5
The penultimate chapter of the Hulk's original six-issue run, this January 1963 issue delivers the first appearance of Tyrannus — an immortal Roman emperor turned subterranean warlord who would become one of the Hulk's most persistent recurring antagonists across decades of Marvel continuity. The issue also marks the first time the Hulk is forced to restrain his own violence for someone else's sake, with Tyrannus using Betty Ross as leverage to enslave the jade giant as a gladiatorial combatant — a narrative prototype that later resonated far beyond the page, including the gladiatorial arena sequence in Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Together with the second story introducing General Fang, the issue showcases the early Silver Age Hulk's format of packing two complete adventures into a single issue, reflecting Marvel's experimental period before the character found his definitive voice in Tales to Astonish.
In "Beauty and the Beast!", the Hulk faces off against General Fang, a would-be conqueror seeking to seize control of the Asian province of Llhasa, using only one disguise as the Abominable Snowman to outwit him. As the battle unfolds, Rick Jones grows increasingly concerned—watching the Hulk’s growing aggression and his mounting resistance to returning to his human form, Bruce Banner. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with dynamic art by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, and colors by Stan Goldberg, this 1963 classic features a cover by Kirby and Ayers that captures the story’s eerie, high-stakes tension.
In "Beauty and the Beast!", the Hulk is drawn into a subterranean kingdom where Tyrannus holds Betty captive, forcing the green giant to serve as his enforcer. With Betty's safety at stake, the Hulk must find a way to break free before Tyrannus's dark plans come to fruition.
In "The Hordes of General Fang!", the Hulk faces off against General Fang's Army in a fierce stand at the gates of Llhasa, where the Abominable Snowman legend becomes his greatest weapon. As the battle rages, Sentinel Four and the High Lama watch from afar, while the U.S. Army stands ready—though it's the Hulk’s growing aggression and his hesitation to return to Bruce Banner that may prove as dangerous as any enemy.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was produced by the core creative team of writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller Jack Kirby, with Dick Ayers on inks, Stan Goldberg on colors, and Artie Simek lettering the lead story. It arrived as one of only six issues in the Hulk's debut series, which was cancelled due to low sales — a short run that historians have attributed both to commercial underperformance and to Marvel's constrained distribution arrangement at the time. Despite the cancellation, reader mail demanding the character's return led Stan Lee to keep the Hulk alive as a guest star in other titles before the character secured a regular feature in Tales to Astonish beginning with issue #60 in 1964. The character of Tyrannus was specifically inspired by Ayesha, the immortal protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel She: A History of Adventure, grounding the villain in a long tradition of literary 'eternal ruler' archetypes.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Tyrannus (real name Romulus Augustulus), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; he would go on to appear across Tales to Astonish, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Nova, and dozens of subsequent Hulk issues.
- First appearance of General Fang, a warlord antagonist in the second story 'The Hordes of General Fang!', alongside the first appearance of the High Lama.
- The issue contains two complete stories: 'Beauty and the Beast!' (11 pages, the Tyrannus story) and 'The Hordes of General Fang!' (13 pages).
- Credits: Script by Stan Lee; Pencils by Jack Kirby; Inks by Dick Ayers; Colors by Stan Goldberg; Letters by Artie Simek (with Jon D'Agostino credited on pages 8–13 of the Fang story).
- Tyrannus is depicted in-continuity as the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus, who was banished to Subterranea by Merlin and discovered a Fountain of Youth granting him immortality — a backstory developed retroactively but rooted in this debut issue.
- The Hulk's first gladiatorial combat sequence appears here, dressed in arena garb and forced to fight a mechanical opponent — a motif that recurred throughout the character's history and visually echoed in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
- The 'Hordes of General Fang' story was reprinted in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #7 (February 1967); both stories have been collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1, the Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 1: Man or Monster?, and the Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1.
- Tyrannus was adapted for the 1966 animated series The Marvel Super Heroes in the Hulk segment 'Enter Tyrannus', and has appeared as a boss in multiple Hulk video games including the 1994 SNES/Sega Genesis title.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #6 (1966), Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #7 (1967), Koloss #5/1968 (1968), Marvel Annual #1973 (1972), The Mighty World of Marvel #10 (1972), The Mighty World of Marvel #9 (1972), The Incredible Hulk #[1] (81446-X) (1978), De spectaculaire Spider-Man #2 (1979), Edderkoppen pocket [Edderkoppen superseriepocket] #1 (1979), Hulk Pocket Book #3 (1980), L'Incredibile Hulk #12 (1981), Les Vengeurs Color #3 (1983), O Espectacular Homem-Aranha #7 (1983), O Espectacular Homem-Aranha #9 (1983), Marvel Masterworks #8 (1989), Orígenes Marvel #5 (1992), Essential Hulk #1 (1999), Marvel Klassik #6 (1999), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #1 (2003), Biblioteca Marvel: Hulk #1 (2004), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #1 (2008), Biblioteca Histórica Marvel - O Incrível Hulk #1 (2008), Marvel Masterworks: El Increíble Hulk #1 (2008), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #1 (2009) + 15 more
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