SUSAN GALE

Real Name: Susan Gale

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth designation unclear - see comments) human

Occupation: CIA agent

Group Membership: CIA (Mr. Stone, others)

Affiliations: Dr. David Banner, CIA, Lugo Horvak

Enemies: Victor Nash, Stragg, Sam Zale;
    formerly the Hulk (David Banner)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: CIA headquarters, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk newspaper strip (November 3, 1978)

Powers/Abilities: Susan Gale does not possess any superhuman powers but she was a trained CIA agent and accomplished investigator. She was skilled in using all types of guns and was a black belt in martial arts.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'9")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde

History:
(Incredible Hulk newspaper strip - October 30, 1978 - BTS) - Susan Gale worked for the CIA and, although being a woman, became one of the agency's top agents.  

(Incredible Hulk newspaper strip - November 3, 1978) - Susan's boss, CIA director Mr. Stone, gave Susan the assignment of tracking down the new phenomenon known the Hulk, who had  begun to appear throughout various parts of the United States, and Stone wanted a quick investigation before other agencies beat the CIA to it. Being skeptical, Susan quipped that she would track down the Hulk before the "Tooth Fairy" got him first. After reading the Hulk's known files and recent sightings, Gale set out to investigate.

(Incredible Hulk newspaper strip - November 3, 1978-December 18, 1978) - Susan Gale met a farmer from a rural area outside of New York and investigated a report of the Hulk damaging his barn and harming his prized bull that was spooked after charging the green monster. After reporting back to her CIA boss, Mr. Stone, she was sent to New York City, where the Hulk had been recently sighted. Arriving in New York, she was accosted by a would-be mugger and used her martial arts training to fight off his attack while Dr. David Banner (secretly the Hulk himself) offered to help her after witnessing this from a nearby window overlooking the street. While investigating the area of the recent Hulk sighting, Susan found a ripped shirt on top of a garbage container in the alley. After Banner moved out of and  left his apartment to seek help from Professor Danby, who possibly could cure him of the Hulk curse, Susan using her CIA credentials to gain access to Banner's apartment from his former landlord and began investigating Banner's connection to the Hulk. She found a bus schedule with a destination circled and decided to travel there to find David Banner, hoping he would lead her to the Hulk.
   
    While en route, she wondered what connection Banner had with the Hulk and pondered if the Hulk was simply a robot or even an alien from outer space. She began to approach Banner's intended destination, a lab belonging to Dr. Danby, but was shot with a tranquilizer dart from Stragg, a hit man employed by Victor Nash, a billionaire criminal mastermind that was also investigating the Hulk. Stragg broke into the lab, killing Dr. Danby, and he managed to tranquilize the Hulk, taking the green giant and Susan Gale back to Mr. Nash's Caribbean island for study. After regaining consciousness, Susan Gale was taken to Mr. Nash himself, who gloated about capturing the Hulk so he could clone it and create an army of them under his control. Susan Gale teamed up with Banner and they attempted to escape the island but they came under attack by Mr. Nash's men and Stragg. When Gale and Banner fled into the jungle foliage, Mr. Nash set off explosives via remote control that were hidden around the island, toppling a tree onto Banner, who shoved Susan aside to protect her from being crushed. Banner then told her to save herself and she picked up a gun from a fallen guard and ran off as Mr. Nash, his men and Stragg began to close in on them. Hearing their footsteps, Banner began to panic and the sudden rush of adrenaline changed him back into the Hulk. Picking up the toppled tree, the Hulk swatted Stragg with it, rendering him unconscious, and Mr. Nash, fearing for his life, fled to his nearby airplane and escaped. Returning to his normal human form, Banner then ran off to find Susan Gale. Susan, having commandeered a speedboat, was surprised to see Banner approach her from the beach and they sped away from the island. While onboard the boat, Gale questioned Banner about the Hulk, stating that the CIA would always be seeking him out to find the Hulk because he was the only link to the monster. Reaching the USA, they both parted company on friendly terms.

(Incredible Hulk newspaper strip - February 26, 1979-May 13, 1979) - Mr. Stone wanted to bring the CIA case to a close and, after receiving intel from a news article by the Daily Bugle on a new Hulk sighting, Stone sent Susan Gale on a lead to locate and question Dr. Banner, who appeared in the newspaper article and was now working in a theme park called Monster Land. Arriving at the park, Gale met up with Banner and the two of them begin looking around the park, stumbling on possible corruption instigated by its new sole owner Sam Zale, whom they were unaware had murdered his business partner Will Hammond and blamed the Hulk for the death. Susan Gale later questioned Monster Land's robotic engineer Lugo Horvak about the Hulk, whom he claimed to have under his control via potent hypnotic command, and he shrugged off the "Hulk" as being one of his own robotic creations. Gale later witnessed the Hulk battle one of Lugo's robots and escape into the woods after its destruction.

    Suspicious of their meddling, Zale lured Susan Gale and Banner into the nearby swamp to kill them with a scoped rifle but witnessed a rattlesnake attack the pair and he ran off believing they would die in the swamp. Susan was bit by the deadly rattlesnake and fainted, prompting David Banner to attempt to remove some of the infected area by starting a small campfire and using it to sterilize his penknife to drain some of the venom. Feeling panicked, Banner soon transformed into the Hulk and carried Susan away to safety near a busy highway. Regaining consciousness, Susan was placed gently at the side of the road, from where she watched the Hulk get struck by an oncoming truck and run off into the woods. Later, after recovering from the snake bite at a nearby hospital, Gale returned to the Monster Land Park with a sheriff and overheard Sam Zale confessing to an enraged Hulk that it was he who murdered his partner and blamed the green monster for the crime. Susan and the sheriff then arrested Sam Zale and she stayed behind as a material witness, allowing the Hulk to leave the area. Susan Gale later called her boss Mr. Stone to tell him that she could not stop Banner from leaving and stated that she would pick up his trail later.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber.

    As a CIA agent, Susan Gale was not as tough as she should have been, as she was often placed into situations that made her more of a victim. She was trained in the use of guns yet never seemed to carry one of her own and relied on her skills as a black belt in martial arts. She was a skilled investigator yet could not clue in that Banner and the Hulk were one and the same. She was even duped in believing the real Hulk was under the mental commands of Monster Land's engineer Lugo Horvak and that the Hulk was simply one of his robots. She only appeared in two storylines and any further investigations of the Hulk probably ceased when the CIA no longer seemed interested in investigating Hulk sightings.

    It's a bit unclear as to what reality the Incredible Hulk newspaper strip takes place in. It seems to follow the general storyline of the Incredible Hulk TV series (with Hulk being David Banner rather than Bruce Banner) but it also does not fit perfectly into that reality either, as Jack McGee did not seem to recognize Dr. Banner as the Hulk when they were shown meeting in the newspaper strip. If it was in the TV series reality, one would think McGee would've recognized Banner at the very least. It also doesn't QUITE fit into the Spider-Man newspaper strip reality either, as the Hulk is Bruce Banner there rather than David. Most obviously, the strip does not fit into Earth-616 continuity either. Therefore, it's either entirely within its own reality or I suppose it could fit into the TV series or Spider-Man newspaper strip reality if you squint, so to speak. Personally, my vote is that it is within its own reality. --Proto-Man

    This profile was completed on 08/13/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by AvatarWarlord72.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Susan Gale should be distinguished from:

•  other "Susan" or "Gale" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

Mr. Stone

Mr. Stone was a CIA director who led a  special investigative task force to capture and study the Hulk.  When the monster dubbed by the newspapers as the Hulk became a countrywide phenomenon, the government became interested in investigating it to determine if it was a threat to national security. Mr. Stone the head of the CIA was given the task of putting a team of operatives together and  assigned one of his agents Susan Gale to track down the Hulk.  Susan Gale quickly discovered that a   Dr. David Banner always seemed to appear in the monster's vicinity when sighted which prompted Susan Gale to contact Mr. Stone about if the CIA had any info on him.

Mr. Stone and his fellow CIA agents spent many months checking every report and newspaper lead and  gathered tons of Hulk intel and  even studied many images and medical mock-ups of the Hulk  that was displayed throughout the office. Although having much information, the CIA could not figure out how the Hulk could keep disappearing only to reappear somewhere else. Mr. Stone wanted to bring the case to a close and after receiving a news article by the Daily Bugle on a new Hulk sighting  sent Susan Gale on a lead to locate Dr. Banner who appeared in the newspaper article and   was now working in a theme park called Monster Land to question him. After the arrest Sam Zale for murder, Susan Gale had to stay behind as a material witness  allowing the Hulk to leave  the area and she contacted her boss Mr. Stone using the sheriff's phone to tell him she could not stop him and stated she would pick up his trail later.

Appearances:
Incredible Hulk newspaper strip (October 30, 1978) - Stan Lee (writer), Larry Lieber (pencils), uncredited editor
Incredible Hulk newspaper strip (Feb 26-May 13, 1979) - Stan Lee (writer), Larry Lieber (pencils), uncredited editor
Incredible Hulk newspaper strip (May 14-15, 1979) - Stan Lee (writer), Larry Lieber (pencils), uncredited editor

First posted: 09/27/2026
Last updated: 08/13/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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