Before Bruce Banner came along... before there was even a Marvel Universe, comics legend Jack Kirby created a very different Hulk. In 1960, in those transitional years that saw Atlas Comics eventually become Marvel Comics, the company didn't really run many superhero titles as the genre largely fell out of favour. Instead, consumers could choose between war, western, romance, crime and funny animal comics. And Comics Code-approved horror/sci-fi that featured gigantic monsters attempting to dominate the Earth in a variety of ways.
The Living Hulk made his debut in the pages of Journey Into Mystery, appearing as an orange alien furball. An escapee from a prison planet. The monsters were all replaced with superheroes when the Fantastic Four proved to be a hit. The Living Hulk was renamed the 'Living Titan' when his origin was reprinted in 1971's Monsters on the Prowl which also saw his fur recoloured to white. The following year, he'd be renamed Xemnu when he officially joined the cast of thousands that inhabit the Marvel Universe, encountering his successor, the incredible Hulk, fighting him alongside his fellow Defenders. In fact, Xemnu the Titan was one of the first of the 'Marvel Monsters' to make the jump to the mainstream universe.
From there, Xemnu's appearances have been few and far between, though they almost always prove to be a fun ride. He's sometimes mistaken for one of the many mute behemoths from the age of monsters and no one's quite sure which prison he's meant to be in, but he's guaranteed to make a comeback whether he's been blow-up, atomised or just plain punched to death.
MCG Notes:
- Issue listings in blue & black: The must-read Xemnu stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
- Issue listings in grey: Part of Xemnu's chronology, cameo appearances or stories of note that non-essential or no longer considered 'required reading'.
- Chronology: Every appearance of Xemnu from this period is included in chronological order - mapping out the timeline rather than just the order the issues were released.
- Spoilers: The issue/story overviews may include spoilers, so be warned!
Journey into Mystery #62[1/2] (1960)
First appearance of the Living Hulk; the convict cyborg alien Hulk escapes exile on a prison planet, but only manages to flee as far as Earth where his ship crashes; the Living Hulk is discovered and revitalised by electrician Joe Harper; the Hulk successfully uses his hypnotic powers to enslave Earth, until Joe electrocutes him and leaves him in a state of shock, sending him back to orbit the Sun in his ship.
Journey into Mystery #66[1/3] (1961)
The Living Hulk escapes the Sun's orbit and returns to Earth where he builds a mass-hypnosis device; Joe Harper defeats the Hulk again, this time using a small mirror to deflect his hypnotic power back at him, disintegrating him to atoms.
Marvel Feature #3 (1972)
Defenders #12 (1974)
First appearance of Xemnu the Titan as 'Amos Moses'; Xemnu takes possession of the Mayor of Plucketville and hypnotises the town into building him a spacecraft; Xemnu defeats the Hulk when he wanders into town, but his cries for help are answered by the Defenders; Xemnu reveals himself and soon makes an attempt to escape; the Hulk throws the spacecraft at Xemnu which explodes, killing him.
Incredible Hulk Annual #5 (1976)
Having survived again, Xemnu the Titan creates duplicates of the aliens Blip, Diablo, Goom, Groot & Taboo to attack the Hulk who defeats all five; the Hulk's fight with Xemnu himself is interrupted when their fight destroys a dam and washes them both away.
Marvel Two-in-One #78 (1981)
'Amos Moses' creates new TV shows to manipulate human audiences, including one called 'Monster Man' based on the Thing; the Thing complains about the show, so 'Amos' hypnotises Wonder Man into attacking him; 'Amos' is revealed to be Xemnu, and the Thing breaks his control over Wonder Man; the pair chase Xemnu out of town.
Sensational She-Hulk #6-7 (1989)
Xemnu steals Ulysses Archer's space truck; after meeting She-Hulk and her friends at the Star Stop diner in deep space, Xemnu decides to transform her into a Xem and make her his bride; Xemnu is defeated and given to the gigantic alien Enilwen who collects teddy bears.
Sensational She-Hulk #42-43 (1992)
Xemnu uses his hypnotic abilities to convince Enilwen to free him; Xemnu confronts She-Hulk at the Star Stop once again, threatening to sell her into slavery, but he's knocked out by a monkey wrench swung by Louise Mason before he can put his plan into action.
Beyond! #4 (2006)
Xemnu behind the scenes; a Space Phantom appears disguised as Xemnu, which means the real Xemnu would be in Limbo at this time.
Annihilation: Conquest #1 (2008)
A Phalanx-infected Xemnu is sent with Shatterax and Korath the Pursuer to retrieve the resurrected Adam Warlock; Xemnu and the others fail and report back to their master Ultron who kills Korath for the group's failure during ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST.
Deadpool Team-Up #894 (2010)
Having returned to Earth, Xemnu (who's apparently mute, now) has found a place in Monster Metropolis, working as a guard; Xemnu leads Deadpool to the Punisher (having been transformed into Franken-Castle and is living in Monster Metropolis) when a client with a sinister agenda manipulates Deadpool.
Hulk #30[1/2] (2011)
Xemnu returns, referring to himself as 'the original Hulk' and spoiling for a fight with the Hulk to reclaim the title; Xemnu initially battles the Red Hulk until the green Hulk joins the fray; the Impossible Man merges the two Hulks into a 'Composite Hulk' (or 'Compound Hulk') who is then forced to fight Xemnu's grey Hulk clone, Kluh; the Composite Hulk kills Kluh and uses the fire from a Makluan dragon to burn off Xemnu's fur before booting him back through the portal to the other side of space.
Uncanny X-Men #9 (2012)
Xemnu cameo; Xemnu is among the alien who escape imprisonment by SWORD when Unit facilitates their release; Xemnu and the other are recaptured by members of the X-Men and Avengers, including the Red Hulk.
Thunderbolts Annual #1 (2014)
Xemnu cameo; Xemnu is revealed to be among the monsters imprisoned under Bloodstone Manor.
Rocket Raccoon #2 (2014)
Rocket Raccoon is arrested and taken to the prison planet Devin-9 where Xemnu is also detained during ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW!
Rocket Raccoon #11 (2015)
Xemnu cameo; Rocket Raccoon finds himself on the prison planet Devin-12 where he's reunited with Xemnu.
Uncanny X-Men #33 (2015)
Xemnu is among the monsters on Monster Isle and briefly clashes with Magik and Shadowcat.
Notable appearances of Xemnu the Titan following 2015's SECRET WARS event:
Immortal Hulk #28 (2020)
Xemnu cameo; Dario Agger recruits Xemnu as part of his plan to discredit the Hulk and act as Roxxon's own 'Hulk'.
Immortal Hulk #30-33 (2020)
The Hulk defeats Dario Agger's 'Bio-Assets' but inadvertently unleashes a swarm of parasites from the creatures stomach on the population of Phoenix, Arizona; Xemnu contains the parasites, acting as a hero; Xemnu uses his powers via social media to gain an even greater following and public support; Xemnu secretly turns members of Roxxon staff into human-Xem hybrids; the Hulk breaks Xemnu apart with a final punch.
Notable collected editions featuring Xemnu the Titan:
Marvel Monsters (2006)
Includes...
Journey into Mystery #62
Defenders Omnibus (2021)
Includes...
Defenders #12
Marvel Feature #3
Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Omnibus
Includes...
Sensational She-Hulk #6-7, 42-43
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