The Incredible Hulk #347
The Incredible Hulk #347 marks the debut of the Grey Hulk's fully realized civilian alias 'Joe Fixit' — a morally ambiguous, suit-wearing casino enforcer in Las Vegas — which fundamentally reoriented Bruce Banner's struggle from 'will the Hulk ruin Banner's life?' to 'will Banner ruin the Hulk's life?', a deliberate inversion of the title's standard formula by writer Peter David. The issue also introduces Marlo Chandler, who would grow into one of the Hulk supporting cast's most layered figures, eventually marrying Rick Jones, briefly serving as the human host of Death, and spanning from the title into the Captain Marvel series of 1999–2004. Together, these two debuts launched what is widely regarded as the defining arc of Peter David's celebrated decade-long run, grounding the Hulk's multiple-personality mythology in noir atmosphere and character-driven storytelling rather than pure superhero action.
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Peter David took over The Incredible Hulk beginning with issue #331, inheriting a number of dangling plot threads from Al Milgrom's preceding run, and spent the early issues — pencilled by Todd McFarlane — steadily deepening the psychological dimension of Banner's dissociative identity. After a gamma-bomb explosion in issue #345 apparently destroyed the Hulk, David used issue #347 as a fresh start: artist Jeff Purves, who would hold the pencilling duties through issue #361, stepped in to visualize the new Las Vegas setting, and editor Bobbie Chase oversaw the issue's September 1988 publication. David later described the Joe Fixit concept as 'a means to shake up the standard formula,' with the explicit goal of reversing the usual Banner/Hulk dynamic — an idea whose creative longevity clearly exceeded even David's own expectations, as he returned to the character in a Marvel limited series decades later.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of the Grey Hulk under the alias 'Joe Fixit' — a grey-skinned, pinstripe-suited enforcer working for Las Vegas casino owner Michael Berengetti (also debuting here).
- First appearance of Marlo Chandler, introduced as an aerobics and swimming instructor set up on a blind date with Mr. Fixit; her name is a deliberate literary mashup of fictional detective Philip Marlowe and his creator Raymond Chandler, as crafted by writer Peter David.
- Written by Peter David; pencilled by Jeff Purves; inked by Mike (Val) Gustovich; colored by Petra Scotese; lettered by Joe Rosen; edited by Bobbie Chase. Cover art also by Jeff Purves.
- The Absorbing Man (Crusher Creel) appears as an antagonist, hired by mob rival Anthony Gold (also debuting here) to deal with Mr. Fixit — setting up the multi-issue Las Vegas arc that ran through issue #361.
- The issue follows directly from Incredible Hulk #345, in which a massive gamma-bomb detonation by the Leader had seemingly killed the Hulk; #347 resolves that cliffhanger by revealing the Grey Hulk survived and built a new nocturnal life in Las Vegas, with the full explanation of how deferred to issues #351–352.
- The story contains a topical reference to the real-world PEPCON industrial disaster, which burned ten square miles of Las Vegas in May 1988 — the 'burned-out building' where Anthony Gold sets up headquarters.
- The issue has been reprinted numerous times, including in Hulk: Transformations (1996/2001), Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 2 (2005), True Believers: Hulk – Joe Fixit #1 (November 2019), the Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus Vol. 1 (2019), and a Marvel Facsimile Edition published in March 2023.
Cast · 9 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
With the Hulk officially dead, he assumes his "Joe Fixit" persona in Vegas and becomes a casino owner's bruiser. When a mob boss tries to move in on Berengetti, Joe fixes things but Tony Gold runs to the Absorbing Man for help.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
