For fans of the ever-expanding Marvel universe, one thing is clear: we DO like Bruce Banner very much when he gets angry. And that is precisely why we wanted to create a single location where fans can locate all the Hulk shows that are available to watch online:
TV Animation:
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962, The Incredible Hulk first smashed his way out of comic books and onto television screens in 1966 as part of The Marvel Super Heroes. The show featured The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner in different animated adventures. Sadly, his oldest hit is not available to watch online, as this blurry still photograph attests:
1966: The Marvel Super Heroes
Thankfully, the Hulk has had several notable animated appearances since, most of which are surprisingly prevalent. The animated Hulk returned to the screen in 1982 for a show simply titled The Incredible Hulk and came back again for a 1996 animated show called (you guessed it) The Incredible Hulk.
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1996: The Incredible Hulk |
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*every episode of the 1996 animated series is currently online and available to watch for free!
Currently, Hulk is appearing on The Super Hero Squad Show albeit in a tamer, more kid-friendly environment.
Today: Super Hero Squad Show
Live Action TV:
Perhaps the most well known incarnation of the Incredible Hulk is the 1970s live-action television series (also called The Incredible Hulk) starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Incredible Hulk.
1978: The Incredible Hulk
The show’s producers changed Bruce Banner’s name to David Banner in order to distance itself from the comic books. This would be unheard of today as anything comic book related is considered box office gold. The show also changed the setting of the Hulk as he was no longer battling beefed-up baddies, as the show featured no comic book characters other than Hulk himself. Banner is presumed dead, wanted for a murder he didn’t commit, and forced to wander from town to town, unable to let himself grow close to anyone he encounters along his trek. The show continues to have a cult fan-base and is still spoken about to this day.
Movies:
In 1988 Ferrigno brought the Hulk to the big screen for The Incredible Hulk Returns.
1988: The Incredible Hulk Returns
In 2002, just before the Hulk’s huge re-emergence into feature-length movies, filmmaker Kevin Smith produced a documentary that featured the Hulk in reference to his creator, Stan Lee, which currently free to watch online:
2002: Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters & Marvel
Since 2006, Marvel has been releasing direct-to-DVD animated films that feature the Hulk, including Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Hulk Vs., and Planet Hulk.
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In 2003, the comic book movie boom was in full-force and Hulk had to get in on the movie treatment. Eric Bana starred as Bruce (not David) Banner and the film co-starred Jennifer Connelly, and Nick Nolte in Hulk. The film (directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee) received mixed reviews and fared well at the box office, but the decision was made to reboot the film just five years later. Edward Norton portrayed Bruce Banner in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk which co-starred Liv Tyler and Tim Roth. Unfortunately, the second Hulk feature film performed pretty much the same as the first film and was considered a missed opportunity by many fans. Hulk will return to film soon, however, in the upcoming 2012 film, The Avengers, this time played by Mark Ruffalo.
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There is no question that the Incredible Hulk is one of the most interesting characters in the history of comic books. Fans will constantly debate about which incarnation is the truest version of the purple-panted powerhouse, but the one fact that will always stand true is this: it is really cool to see Hulk smash.
