Wolverine first shows up in the last panel of Incredible Hulk #180. #181 is the full appearance everybody knows, and he's back briefly in #182. So when people bring up #180 vers…

Wolverine first shows up in the last panel of Incredible Hulk #180. #181 is the full appearance everybody knows, and he's back briefly in #182. So when people bring up #180 versus #181, that's the difference. One introduces him at the end; the next actually gives you the fight. He's working for Canada and gets sent into a situation involving Hulk and Wendigo. And he goes right at them. He's much smaller, but he has the claws, he's fast, and he doesn't seem particularly interested in being intimidated by either one. That doesn't put his strength anywhere near Hulk's. He's having to move around, get close enough to use his weapons and deal with opponents who can hit a lot harder than he can. You can already recognize the attitude. The guy is willing to start a fight that looks completely ridiculous from the outside. But the reader doesn't know much about him yet. Most of what people associate with Wolverine's personal life hasn't been introduced.