Before this era of comic euphoria, McFarlane left his indelible mark in The Incredible Hulk between 1987 and 1988. His time at Marvel saw him birth the ominous Spider-Man villain, Venom, and sketch the legendary cover of Amazing Spider-Man #300. However, his crowning glory came in 1987 with Incredible Hulk #340. This iconic cover features the grey-hued Hulk being mirrored in Wolverine’s unbreakable adamantium claws; a defining image for both characters.

Tickling Nostalgia with a Billion-Dollar Tribute

A nod to this iconic image unfurled in the billion-dollar blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine, recreating cinephile nostalgia turned up to eleven. As the story goes, our favorite anti-hero Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Ryan Reynolds) embarks on a multiverse scour for Logan variants. Just as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) readies his claws to grapple Mark Ruffalo’s green titan, we see an unmistakable replay of McFarlane’s masterpiece.

Balancing Fame and Action Figures

As ComicBook.com dropped the news on McFarlane during San Diego Comic-Con, the creator seemed nonchalant. The comic maestro traded insights on the new line-up of McFarlane Toys figures, the future Spawn movie reboot at Blumhouse, and his collection of posed figures channeling iconic Marvel Comic covers.

His fame and references in pop culture often take McFarlane by surprise. “Every now and then people will tell me that there’s something in a TV show or a movie – even sometimes I’m a Jeopardy! question,” McFarlane chuckled, revealing his fame is sometimes more thrilling to his neighbors than to him.

An Ode to The Old, The Bold, and The Recreated

Acknowledging the frequent reincarnation of his iconic cover on characters from Deadpool, Marvel Zombies, and Darkhawk to non-Marvel acts like Rick & Morty, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers, McFarlane shared a tongue-in-cheek sentiment. After all, the cover even sprung up on issue #226 of his own long-running comic, Spawn.

“We’ve seen it a million times over the past 37 years, and God bless Marvel. They want to stoke the McFarlane fires, keep on going. I find my relevance 30 years later as odd, but hey, thanks Marvel,” McFarlane quipped, a wry smile likely playing on his lips.