Incredible Hulk #181. Wolverine & the Wendigo.

(Cover from November 1974.)

"And Now... The Wolverine!"

Written by Len Wein.

Drawn by Herb Trimpe.

Inked by Jack Abel.

Lettering by Artie Simek.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

Former British boxing legend Henry "Splash it on all over" Cooper once said a good big 'un will always beat a good little 'un, which shows he hadn't read this issue, as the newly introduced Wolverine knocks out the Wendigo in double-quick time. On the other hand, Wolvie does "Our Henry" proud by getting nowhere at all with the Hulk before he and the green-skinned one are zapped by a potion whipped up by Marie Cartier.

However, before she can transfer the Wendigo curse from her brother to the Hulk, Georges Baptiste takes matters into his own hands and transfers the Wendigo's curse onto himself, taking the wood-beast's place and sparing the Hulk.

It might be Wolverine's first full debut but it feels like a noticeably different character to the one we're used to. His speech patterns aren't the same and he seems to rely on agility and nimble-footedness to fight his foes as much as aggression. There's really little to tie him to the X-Man we're familiar with other than his name, his determination, and his willingness to wave his claws around at any opportunity.

As for his foes, maybe it's just me but I'm disappointed the Wendigo's easier to beat than the Hulk. Frankly I'd have been happy to see Wolvie failing to make any impact at all in his fight against either of them, leading to a three-way fight of total futility before Marie finally intervenes.

So it all ends unhappily, with Marie Cartier regaining her brother but losing the man who loves her. There's a lesson in here for us all, though I'm not totally sure how we should apply it to our own daily lives, but we can say that Georges Baptiste was the best of our little cast although the one least appreciated by those around him. And, if he were here right now, I'm sure that's a lesson Henry "Splash it on all over" Cooper would heartily endorse.

Incredible Hulk #180. Wolverine's debut & the Wendigo's return.

(Cover from October 1974.)

"And The Wind Howls... Wendigo!"

Written by Len Wein.

Drawn by Herb Trimpe.

Inked by Jack Abel.

Lettering by Artie Simek.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

"He's a living, raging powerhouse who's bound to knock you back on your emerald posterior." No it's not the rancher we meet at the start of the issue, it's the character we meet at the end of it.

But more of that later because, again looking for some peace and quiet, the living raging powerhouse the comic's actually named after fails miserably in his attempts to find it as the Hulk lands in Canada and is promptly summoned to a stone hut by Marie Cartier, sister of the man who's now the Wendigo. Having done what's presumably a crash course in shamanism, she wants to transfer the Wendigo's curse to the Hulk and thus cure her brother. But, before she can work her magical machinations, the Hulk and the Wendigo start to fight. It's a battle that's going nowhere, with neither party able to gain the upper hand - and that's when the third combatant joins the fray.

He's known as Weapon X.

He's also known as...

The Wolverine.

And so the most famous X-Man of them all makes his first-ever appearance. Admittedly, it's a somewhat limited debut as we only get to see him in the very last panel but at least we see enough to intrigue us as to just who this character is who's happy to take on both the Hulk and Wendigo at the same time. And if his "ears" are a little too small for those of us familiar with later incarnations, it's an appealing story all round, thanks to the Hulk's battle with a hungry wolf-pack, Marie's dastardly scheming, the appalled Georges Baptiste trying to talk her out of it, and a hotchpotch of magic. We also get the Wendigo who's one of my favourite Hulk baddies.

The tale though does contain possibly the silliest panel in the entire history of the strip as the Hulk and Wendigo run into each other head first, reducing their fight to something resembling comedy status. Still, spirits high, given all that's happened in this issue, it seems next issue's likely to be no laughing matter at all.

Incredible Hulk #162. The Wendigo

(Cover from April 1973.)

"Spawn Of The Flesh-Eater!"

Written by Steve Englehart.

Drawn by Herb Trimpe.

Inked by Sal Trapani.

Lettering by Artie Simek.

Colours by David Hunt.

If a prophet's without honour in his own land, it seems the Hulk's without profile in any other. This issue we discover that a being who should be one of the most famous people in history can move around Canada without recognition. Not only that but he can suffer the indignity of being mistaken for another monster altogether.

Still looking for Glenn and Betty Talbot, the Hulk stumbles across a group of people who think he's the infamous wood-beast the Wendigo and that he's snatched their friend Paul Cartier. Wearing his helpful hat for once, the Hulk sets out to rescue Cartier but it turns out the man's eaten human flesh and hasn't been taken by the Wendigo but has instead become the Wendigo. Now the Hulk sets out to capture the creature, in the hope that Cartier can somehow be cured.

After a number of issues whose events left few ripples on the pond of history, we get one that ultimately has a major impact on the whole future of Marvel Comics, even if we have to wait another year or so to find out why. It has to be said that for such a classic monster the Wendigo actually looks pretty silly on its first appearance and I've never worked out just why it was decided it has to shout, "Wen-di-go!" at every opportunity. It's a bit like like Supergirl blundering around shouting, "Supergirl!" all the time. Admittedly, if I were Supergirl I'd probably run around shouting, "Supergirl!" all the time but that says more about me than it does about the dignity of such a tactic. Still, at least it's better than the lame dialogue the thing's lumbered with on the front cover. "This is MY territory, intruder! MINE!" Would it have been possible to make a worse stab at capturing the persona of the Wendigo than that?

Still, however the Wendigo looks and whatever it says, there's undeniably something appealing about the monster - presumably because of its roots in myth and its direct connection with cannibalism. Plus, it's that good old Hulk standby, two monsters hitting each other. And, while hardly haunting, the final sublimation of Paul Cartier into the Wendigo at the tale's death enables the tale to linger long in the memory.