The Incredible Hulk #228 Introduced One of Marvel's Most Underrated Villains

The Hulk almost failed out of the starting gate, his new series only running six issues before it was cancelled and he was relegated to Tales to Astonish. At first, the Hulk was more an example of the kind of monster comics that Marvel had been doing before 1961’s Fantastic Four #1 – stories of scientific hubris and humans transformed into something terrifying. However, as the years went on, he gained some more of the superhero trappings that were all the rage at the time and has since become one of the most popular superheroes ever. DC has Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Marvel has Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the Hulk (sorry MCU fans; Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor are popular, but they can’t sell comics to save their lives without superstar creators; meanwhile, the other three do it all).

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Hulk stories are some of Marvel’s best horror comics, allowing creators to tell deep stories about trauma and what it can do someone, but there are also some fantastic superhero stories from the Jade Giant. It can be hard to find a villain that can challenge the strongest one there is, but creators have done their part to give readers some awesome antagonists in his stories. Sometimes, a villain will debut in one book and eventually move to others, becoming the nemesis of a different hero than the one they first fought. The Incredible Hulk #228 is a perfect example of this. This issue comes from that period when artist Sal Buscema was giving readers some of the best action art of all time, with writer Roger Stern, a legend of Marvel’s Bronze Age who was dropping best of all time runs all over the place in the ’70s and ’80s, and Peter Gillis wowing readers with their Hulk storytelling. What really gives the issue legs is the addition of a villain that would become a part of the hottest Marvel book of the late ’90s, an underrated legend.

Moonstone Proved to Be a Villain With Legs

Moonstone attacking the Hulk — Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

The ’70s were a great time to be a Hulk fan. To begin with, Sal Buscema’s art is some of the best Hulk art ever. I was introduced to Buscema in 1991, when I started reading The Spectacular Spider-Man. His art style was very different from the pin-up style that was all the rage in the X-Men books that I was reading, but there was something to it that immediately spoke to me. His work on the Hulk in the ’70s was the beginning of his style starting to form beyond the Marvel house style of the day. His character acting, action penciling, and storytelling were second to none and his time on the Hulk allowed him to expand his style in new directions. This issue looks spectacular, especially the battle between Moonstone and Hulk.

Stern and Willis’s script brings in Doc Samson, the gamma-powered psychiatrist that worked with the Hulk. During this period, the Green Goliath was staying at Gamma Base, as Samson tries to cure him. General Ross obviously hates the whole idea and eventually another psychiatrist is brought in – Dr. Karla Sofen, who had debuted three years before in Captain America #192. As Moonstone, she’s powered by, well, a moon stone, giving her super strength, flight, invulnerability, energy powers, and phasing, making her perfect for for the Jade Giant. Her real goal was to get her hands on the Gammavator, a new gamma device that she’s being paid to steal by the Corporation, a nationwide crime gang. She fights Hulk and the issue ends with her changed back into civilian form as everyone’s favorite rage monster is about to throw her out a giant hole in the wall.

Moonstone made for an excellent villain in this issue, becoming everyone’s favorite on Gamma Base before she made her move. At this point in her existence, she was a just a normal Marvel villain, popping up in one and done stories, and would eventually end up joining the Masters of Evil, becoming Baron Zemo’s second-in-command. She was always played as an intelligent, manipulative villain and her time with the Masters led her to her biggest star turn (and the book where I was introduced to her): Thunderbolts. She would take on the role of Meteorite and take her place at Zemo’s side, but as time went on, she decided that being a hero was way better than what the baron had planned and led the resistance against him. She’d become one of the stars of the book, sharing the lead with Hawkeye.

The Thunderbolts were massively popular in the late ’90s; in a lot of ways, their success was one of the biggest factors in Marvel revitalizing their Heroes line. Moonstone was always one of the most interesting members of the team, with writers Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza building her into a new character who could have been one of the biggest heroes around if the company had stuck to it. However, with the success of Avengers (Vol. 3), Captain America (Vol. 3), Iron Man (Vol. 3), and The Mighty Thor (Vol. 2), the Thunderbotls were surplus to requirements. Moonstone would fade away, but would get another chance at stardom after Civil War, when the Thunderbolts became the Marvel Suicide Squad, leading to her joining the Avengers in the excellent “Dark Reign” status quo. However, all of her prior development had been forgotten, and she was regressed as a character back into the manipulative villain who used her feminine wiles to get her way. It was somewhat disappointing and she’s since faded away again.

The Incredible Hulk #228 Is a Perfect Addition to Any Collection

Hulk about to throw Moonstone — Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

One of the things I’ve noticed about the history of the Hulk is that other than Peter David’s run and The Immortal Hulk, few people really dig into his history. I think part of this is the kind of fandom that Hulk stories have created – power scalers who look up feats and don’t read comics. This is a shame, because there have been some excellent runs on the character over the decades, including Stern and Buscema’s classic ’70s run. It dug into the psychological storytelling that would become a hallmark of the character, with Buscema’s artwork giving readers a powerful Green Goliath in big, splashy, kinetic fights scenes. It’s an awesome run and the ComicBook Vending Machine is giving you a chance to own it.

Classic Moonstone stories don’t get a lot of praise, but this issue shows off what makes her such a great villain. This is the more simple version pre-Thunderbolts, but there’s just something about her that jumps off the page at you. Stern, Willis, and Buscema give readers a fantastic little yarn with a cool cliffhanger that leads into the next issue. These old Hulk books are awesome; while they’re not as psychologically complex as what would come down the pipe, issues like this do their best to get to the heart of the character while also giving readers some pulse-pounding action. They aren’t exactly easy to find, but the ComicBook Vending Machine gives you a chance to own a great little piece of Hulk history, curated by our experts.