When the Wolverine Crossed the Pond
By 1976, Incredible Hulk #181 had already made comic history in North America — but across the Atlantic, U.K. fans were only just getting their first taste of Wolverine. That moment came in The Mighty World of Marvel #198, published by Marvel UK, which reprinted the full Hulk vs. Wolverine showdown for the first time on British soil.
📰 Publication Details
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Publisher: Marvel UK (London, England)
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Series Title: The Mighty World of Marvel
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Issue Number: 198
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Year of Release: 1976
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Format: Weekly anthology comic, full magazine size (8.25 × 11.25 in / 21 × 29 cm)
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Interior: Black-and-white reprint of Incredible Hulk #181
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Language: English (U.K.)
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Original Story: The Incredible Hulk #181 (U.S., Nov 1974)
🇬🇧 What Makes It Special
In the 1970s, Marvel UK was a publishing powerhouse that reintroduced American superheroes to British readers through weekly anthology magazines. Each issue collected multiple serialized stories in black and white — and #198 was the one that gave the U.K. its first encounter with Wolverine.
Unlike the American original, this version was entirely monochrome, edited slightly to fit the weekly format, and presented alongside other serialized tales like Daredevil and Spider-Man. Despite those changes, it preserved every key panel of the historic Hulk vs. Wolverine fight — even in stark black ink, the ferocity jumped off the page.
Collectors love this issue because it’s not just a reprint; it’s the first time Wolverine ever appeared in the U.K. market.
💬 Collector Notes
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Commonly misidentified as a minor reprint, MWOM #198 is actually a regional first appearance.
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Printed on thin newsprint; high-grade survivors are rare, especially with intact staples and white pages.
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Early Mighty World of Marvel issues were weekly, so most were casually handled — pristine copies are collector gold.
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Black-and-white art gives Herb Trimpe’s linework a sharper, more raw feel, highlighting Wolverine’s early design.
🌍 Legacy
The Mighty World of Marvel #198 carried one of Marvel’s most iconic showdowns across the Atlantic and solidified Wolverine’s status as a global phenomenon. British fans who discovered the character here would later see him rise in X-Men comics and animated shows — but it all started in these monochrome pages.
For collectors, it’s a quiet but crucial chapter in the story of Hulk #181. Proof that legends travel — and sometimes, they travel weekly.
Next in this series: We head to France, where Strange Special Origines gave Wolverine his European debut with a bold new title design and striking color palette.
Stay nerdy,
Randell
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