Film School Rejects » Official Guide to The Hulk

Edward Norton Threatens to Curbstomp The Hulk

Brian C. Gibson — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:39:29 +0000

I really enjoy it when actors are humble enough to make jokes about their careers, and just show a lighter side. That is why I really loved seeing this trailer parody that aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live. While Ed Norton is trying to play Bruce Banner, Guillermo from the Jimmy Kimmel show jumps through the wall dressed as Hulk. My personal favorite part of this whole trailer parody – “Dude, The Hulk is like twenty feet tall. I mean…Wall*e could kick your ass.”

The Incredible Hulk is in theaters this Friday, June 13th. For more, click the button below to visit our Official Guide to The Hulk!

If you have any suggestions for our Officially Cool feature, please send an email over to Brian@filmschoolrejects.com.

Hulk Figures: The Best of the Best

Brian C. Gibson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:00:14 +0000

What is a week of The Incredible Hulk without some incredible collectibles? Look below, and you will find some of my favorite Hulk statues and figures. The Hulk is just ones of those characters that artists can take to different levels, allowing the look to be so different but yet the same. Usually you will see the most variance in the face. Most artists will stick to the trademark purple pants though, unless you are Zombie Hulk. Zombies don’t color coordinate.

Hulk getting ready to smash always makes for a good figure – Bowen: Edition of 2500

Hulk is badass in green or grey – Seth Vandable: Green edition of 1000

Seth Vandable: Edition of 50

I could not leave out Marvel Zombies Hulk

The Incredible Hulk is in theaters this Friday, June 13th. For more, click the button below to visit our Official Guide to The Hulk!

If you have any suggestions for our Officially Cool feature, please send an email over to Brian@filmschoolrejects.com.

Hulk’s Leterrier Talks Captain America & Blu-Ray

Brian C. Gibson — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:01:47 +0000

Director of The Incredible Hulk, Louis Leterrier, sat recently with Collider to talk about that big green machine. I’m sure that some of you heard that rumor that Leterrier indicated you can actually see Captain America in the film, an easter egg much like the placement of Captain America’s shield in Iron Man. Leterrier played coy by saying “It’s an Easter egg. It’s not like oh, it’s Captain America and it changes everything. It’s still a Hulk movie, but it’s really Captain America and it’s there, you’ll see. It’s the real deal. You have to look for it.”.

I was watching the screen with wide eyes, and could not find anything that appeared to actually be Captain America. You would have to assume that since the role of Cap has not been cast, that you might not see his face or anything. This assumption leads me to believe that you might see a cryogenic chamber with a name on it like S. Rogers. Now where would such a scene be? Well during

The Incredible Hulk, you see General Ross enter a cooled room to retrieve the blue super-soldier serum. Maybe something was missed by my watchful eyes. Or, much like with Iron Man, there is a scene after the credits. I wouldn’t know if there is one or not though, because just as with Iron Man, this post credit scene was not a part the press print that was shown prior to release. Only general audiences were lucky enough to catch the Nick Fury goodness. So if Cap is shown after the credits of The Incredible Hulk, it will be you guys who are the first to know.

So was Leterrier just pulling our chains or maybe just indicating that we will only get a small taste of what he intended to do with Hulk and Captain America? Most people already know that Edward Norton and Leterrier haven’t exactly been happy with Marvel’s cutting room floor tactics. Apparently Leterrier and Norton cut over 70 minutes of footage to appease Marvel. Don’t worry though, Leterrier promises that it will all be on Blu-Ray, including this little tidbit: ““There’s a point when Bruce Banner gives up on his quest for the cure and decide to kill himself. So he travels far North and reaches the Arctic Circle. You might have seen bits of it in some of the promos. The result was a very dark and strong scene, which Marvel, me and everyone else’s considered to be too hard to young audiences to take, so we’ve cut it. Having that said, when Bruce arrives at his destination he meets up with Captain America! At some point this week, we will make it available on the internet – but I cannot tell you where or when – and the material will definitely be on the DVD.”

So will we see Captain America in Hulk? Yes and no. Yes we will see him clearly once the film has hit Blu-Ray. No we will not directly see him in the theater. However, he is accounted for in the film, but you will have to look very closely to find the easter egg that Leterrier speaks of. I like the progress Marvel has made with all of their films lately, but this whole family friendly thing must go.

Hulk Smash studio executives!

If you missed Cap’s Shield in Iron Man, I found this awesome gif over at Geektyrant.

Sources: Collider, Cinemablend, Judao

Five Actors Who Could Have Been The Hulk

Brian C. Gibson — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:00:56 +0000

After seeing The Incredible Hulk, Edward Norton made quite an impression on me as Dr. Bruce Banner. His performance was everything I could have hoped for, and more. Norton, and this new Hulk film should successfully help eradicate any memory of Bruce Bana, Crazy ole’ Nick Nolte and Ang Lee’s gamma poodles. So I began to think to myself, ‘If not Edward Norton, who else could possibly fill Hulk’s huge purple pants?’ , and thus I came up with this fun list for Hulk couldabeens.

The problem with a list like this is that you need someone that has depth enough to look like a nerdy scientist with the power of a beast lurking within his subconscious. Basically, this is not an ordinary role. The reason that Eric Bana did not work and Ed Norton does, could possibly be because of their contrast of the appearance of strength versus their ability to project strength.

Eric Bana just looks like he could take you in a fight. If you give him glowing green eyes, I know I would not want to mess with him. Needless to say, I think it was hard to see him as the brainy scientist type. Edward Norton though, he has always looked like he would be paying for someone’s lunch in high school. However, Norton can and will kick some ass. He doesn’t need to be big and ominous, because he can make you think he is.

So what I tried to come up with was a list of actors that may actually be intimidating, but have played less than intimidating roles. Conversely, I also tried to pick some actors that appear to be mild mannered, but could have something dark and angry inside of them. Feel free to flame, I’m prepared.

Russell Crowe

Much like Bana, Crowe has played some hardcore badasses. Crowe though has played a schizophrenic bookworm. His role in A Beautiful Mind convinces me that Crowe could pull off the reserved intellectual type. I don’t think anyone will fight me on Crowe’s ability to Hulk out and break some faces. Hell, Crowe breaks faces even when he isn’t being paid.

Jonathon Rhys Meyers

Meyers resume is full of many different types of roles. From playing a king to playing The King, anyone that can play both Elvis and a murderer has got some talent. He may just look like a pretty boy but if you have ever seen Match Point, I wouldn’t exactly turn my back to him. Much like Norton, this is a guy who can project more strength than you would probably ever suspect him to have.

Leonardo DiCaprio

If there were one name on this list that I’d be unsure of, it would be Leo. I have always doubted Leo, always. I have never doubted his acting ability, just his ability to apply his skills to make himself appear to be right for a role I would have never expected him to play. So what could be more perfect? With roles that express inner turmoil, such as The Basketball Diaries and The Aviator, and roles that show inner strength, Gangs of New York and The Departed, DiCaprio could actually pull this off. He is the king of the world.

Cillian Murphy

Here is another one of those weak looking guys who just might hit you with a hook if you take your eyes off of him. Scrawny and harmless looking in 28 Days Later, he wiped out an entire platoon of horny soldiers. Believe you me, nothing is scarier than horny soldiers seeing women for the first time since the eve of an apocalyptic plague…long story. Murphy also appeared to be a powerless scientist in Sunshine, only to kick some ass in space. Did I mention he plays The Scarecrow?

Christian Bale

The only thing that would legitimately take Bale off this list, would be that fact that he is Batman. Everyone knows that you can’t portray two superheroes at once, it might cause Fran Drescher to become president or something and end the world. Performing in films like Newsies and Swing Kids, we know the guy can act…but we also know he can kick some ass as Batman and/or Bateman. The man is a chameleon, leading me to believe he can literally play any role. If he weren’t already portraying my favorite superhero, I’d love to see him as Bruce Banner.

Talking point: Who do you think would make the best Incredible Hulk besides Edward Norton?

The Hulk Obsession: 6 Incredible Collections

Jason Dorough — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:00:07 +0000

The Incredible Hulk is smashing his way into theaters this weekend, and I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the huge fandom that has built around Hulk collecting over the years. Most collectors have a variety of toys, statues, and characters, spotlighting various aspects of their fandoms. For some, though, it’s all about one favorite character, and they take their devotion to the extreme by assembling awesome collections around that single character. Here’s a look at some of the coolest and most extensive Hulk collections.

Hulk Gets Educated
At Wilcox Primary School in Twinsburg, Ohio, Mr. Tait’s art room likely is the most Hulked out classroom in the world. Sporting loads of collectibles, the room has a variety of comic book characters on display, but the Hulk really is the teacher’s pet. Here you’ll find Hulk action figures, busts, statues, a plushie Hulk dangling from the ceiling, and even a life-size She-Hulk guarding one corner.

Even the entrance to the classroom is decorated with Hulk stickers and danglers. This is one awesomely geeked out room, and I’d have loved to have had this guy’s class when I was little. You can take a virtual tour of the classroom with lots of photos on the Wilcox Primary website, here: Link

Gamma Rays Made Him Do It
Steven Moreau from Lake Charles, LA, goes by GammaPro in many online collecting communities, and he has a good excuse for being into the Hulk collecting hobby: He’s the head of radiation safety for a company and works with real gamma radiation every day. He’s built an amazing and comprehensive Hulk collection that fills a room in his house. His collection has everything from action figures to comics to even life-size busts of the green goliath. You can check out this forum thread for more photos of his collection: Link

MACATTACK’s Statue Collection
A collector with the screenname MACATTACK collects Hulk statues and has a really good breadth of pieces from all the big name manufacturers, as well as a few smaller company items. He keeps everything organized and displayed without the clutter you usually see in Hulk collections. Many Hulk collectors include the Grey Hulk and other variations of the character in their displays, but MACATTACK is all about the classic Green Hulk.

Ikea Loves the Hulk
Another big Hulk statue aficionado goes by the name JadeGiant, and he doesn’t limit his collection to just the green variety. JadeGiant’s Hulk collection sports all different looks for the character, from the green skinned and purple shorted version to the blue suited and grey skinned Mr. Fixit. There are even a couple of non-Hulked Bruce Banner pieces to be found here, as well as a bronze statue. JadeGiant shows off his Hulks in these Detolf display cases from Ikea. I use them as well for my own collection and highly recommend them.

Shelves Full O’ Toys
An online collector who goes by HULKSMASH666 on the StatueForum website has quite an impressive assortment of Hulk action figures. There are all sorts of officially released toys, as well as some that he customized himself. You can see more shots of his collection in his PhotoBucket: Link

Terry Rhymers’ $30,000 Collection
Somewhere in the Twin Cities lives a man named Terry Rhymers, and he has a Hulk addiction. A local newspaper, as well as a local TV affiliate, featured Rhymers and his Hulk collection just prior to the release of Ang Lee’s Hulk film, and their article and TV news feature definitely are worth checking out. Calling his collection “big” would be an understatement, as he appraises that he owns (at the time the news stories ran) over $30,000 in Hulk goodies.

Rhymers collects everything Hulk, from toys to statues to a pinball machine and beyond. He says his most significant piece is probably a sticker puzzle from the 60’s that came from a vending machine. You can see the article at his own website, and you’ll also be able to check out a video of the news story. The video has some cool shots of his collection and is capped at the end by a snarky comment from a newscaster who missed the memo that geekery is “in.”

Visit Terry Rhymers’ site here: Link

Many thanks to these guys for sharing their awesome collections with the internet. A few of them have agreed to do in-depth spotlights of their collections with me in the future, so keep an eye on my collecting blog at www.Mechazilla.com for those, and be sure to check back here next Wednesday for my next Collector’s Corner feature.

Amazing Hulk Fan Art

Brian C. Gibson — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:29:43 +0000

It is generally believed that all the Hollywood mucky-mucks are the most talented people in the business. For those of us who are not in the business, we have some pretty talented people too. Swedish artist Jonas Thornqvist created his own Hulk using 3ds max, Mental Ray, and Photoshop. Now is this The Incredible Hulk or what? I’m ready to print this out on fine paper and frame it. It is absolutely incredible that a fan could render a Hulk much better than the Hollywood version. To each his own, but I think this Hulk is incredible.

Source: /Film

The Incredible Hulk is in theaters this Friday, June 13th. For more, click the button below to visit our Official Guide to The Hulk!

If you have any suggestions for our Officially Cool feature, please send an email over to Brian@filmschoolrejects.com.

Hulk Classic Cartoons

Brian C. Gibson — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:10:44 +0000

I thought that we’d start out Officially Cool Hulk week out with some vintage awesomeness. What you see below are three classic cartoons animated for some of Marvel’s biggest heroes. We are obviously showing you three videos of this week’s star, The Incredible Hulk.

I have always loved the animated Marvel cartoons, maybe because you can do anything with animated characters. Maybe it is because I am still a big kid at heart. Nonetheless, here are three awesome classic Hulk cartoons for your viewing enjoyment.

The Incredible Hulk is in theaters this Friday, June 13th. For more, click the button below to visit our Official Guide to The Hulk!

If you have any suggestions for our Officially Cool feature, please send an email over to Brian@filmschoolrejects.com.

Building a New Hulk: Inside The Incredible Hulk

Kevin Carr — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:45:50 +0000

After being in comic books, on television and in a feature film in 2003, the Hulk franchise is getting rebooted. Like the television series, this film finds Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) on the run, trying to discover a cure for the gamma radiation that turns him into the Hulk when he gets angry.

Kevin Feige, the film’s producer and president of Marvel Studios, says, “The key phrase on this film is ‘Hulk is Hero.’ We’ve already explored some of the darker, angst-ridden sides of The Hulk. This time around, it’s about the wish fulfillment of being able to tap into strength within you, something stronger than yourself.”

Because the origin of the Hulk has already been told on screen, French-born director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter films, pictured right) wanted to jump into the action immediately. The film picks up five years after Banner first became the Hulk, and he is on the run, similar to the old television show but taking the characters across the globe.

Producer Gale Ann Hurd says, “Audiences these days are extremely discriminating. It’s no longer enough to have great CGI characters and really terrific visual effects. You have to have a story that’s powerful and characters that you care about and a journey that’s worth taking.” This caused the producers to search for actors to give depth to the non-Hulk side of things, and they chose Edward Norton.

Additionally, to give a proper villain, The Abomination has been created on screen, which is a breath of fresh air from mutant poodles and Nick Nolte on what could have been a drug binge. Tim Roth (pictured left) was brought on to play the Hulk’s nemesis Emil Blonsky, a special ops soldier who subjects himself to experiments to become a super soldier.

The new villain is more powerful than the Hulk and also suffers from the fact that he can’t revert to Blonsky. Producer Avi Arad says, “People who want to be villains are good villains. What happens to Blonsky is no accident; he brings it on himself. He sees the power The Hulk has; he wants it, and he takes it. He looks at The Hulk as a personal challenge. It’s like the fastest gun in the West—if you take this guy down, you are the ultimate bad ass.”

But let’s not forget the love story between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross. Liv Tyler was brought in to play Betty Ross, who is also at odds with her father General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by William Hurt (both pictured right). “Banner would not have fallen back in Ross’ claws if it wasn’t his love for Betty and the mistakes he makes because of her, and I loved that dynamic,” says Leterrier.

To bring the Hulk – and the Abomination – to life, the producers relied on the magic of CGI. Feige explains, “Louis’ vision for the film was that it had to be a visceral, fun-on-the-run action movie. The way you do that is not necessarily by lingering on visual effects sequences. You do that by adding the effects sequences into the mayhem and into the excitement of the scene you’re putting together—whether it’s a car chase, a foot chase, or whether there are helicopters and armies coming in. This movie is about adding all that action and chaos to the real world, with practical environments.”

After going through many test versions of the Hulk in the computer, Leterrier found the design he liked. “I wanted something überhuman,” he says. “I wanted to feel texture, skin, veins. It was really important for me to hone in on a great looking Hulk.”

To accomplish this look, the production hired visual effects supervisor Kurt Williams, who also worked on Fantastic Four and X-Men: The Last Stand. They went back to the drawing board: the original comic books.

“From a conceptual perspective,” Williams says, “it made sense to go back to the source material—the classic Hulk origin and all the things people love about the character, all the things that make The Hulk, well, The Hulk. We found artwork that fit into the way that we saw him—with longer hair and the classic Hulk sculptural positions he struck in those comic books. We started with that as a basis and worked outward. Then we began to translate it to the real world, which is always a challenge with comics.”

To build a character that was more “linebacker than bodybuilder,” according to Williams, they had to create a character of consistent size. “We didn’t want him to grow,” Williams said. “We didn’t want him to ebb or flow. We wanted him to be one size the whole time, so we picked 9’, because it would still allow him to relate to human beings and not be so big that he would be almost alien or unbelievable. It allows you to believe he’s really there, but you still have the ability for him to believably pick up a car and throw it and show other great feats of strength like slamming the ground and creating a giant chasm in the street.”

Arad offers, “The Abomination was even harder. The Hulk is very iconic, so you have a solid place to begin, but The Abomination doesn’t really have that. It was a real balance to keep him grounded, human, scary—one bump and you had Alien.”

The filmmakers settled on an 11-foot tall Abomination, making him two feet taller than the Hulk. “One stride by The Abomination is 5’ to 10’, depending on if he’s running or not,” Williams says. “He can move up to 30 miles an hour pretty easily. We worked from the fact that The Abomination needed to have an advantage, especially in the third act, because the character arc is about heart. At the end of the movie, The Hulk comes back because of his heart…he’s got to save Betty.”

In order to realistically animate the Hulk and The Abomination, the visual effects team relied on the computer generation and motion capture process used on Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Williams explains, “Motion capture is a way to capture body movement digitally, so it can be transferred to a digital character. What it gives you is human nuances you wouldn’t necessarily get from a drawn animated character. It is a key part of designing any action sequence.”

Movement coach Terry Notary – who worked on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Planet of the Apes and James Cameron’s Avatar – was brought in to provide the movements for the Hulk and the Abomination.

“It’s important to pay homage to the history of the characters,” Notary says. “The Hulk has a very human quality to him; he’s a heart-driven character. His movements are grounded and his physicality is very real. The Abomination, on the other hand, is a very mind-driven character. His mind is in charge, and the body just follows. He doesn’t feel everything like The Hulk. The head leads all of his movements, and his body follows.”

Producer Hurd says, “The great thing about where our story takes us is that there is a clash of two titanic forces. You have The Hulk, who is our hero. He is encountering a foe much bigger, much more powerful and more dangerous than he is. And this climactic clash happens in the streets of New York City. How much fun is that?”

The Incredible Hulk is in theaters this Friday, June 13th. For more, click the button below to visit our Official Guide to The Hulk!

A Look Back: The Incredible Hulk on TV

Kevin Carr — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:45:33 +0000

Origins

The CBS television series “The Incredible Hulk” launched the coveted Friday night time slot on CBS, followed by “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Dallas” (which starred Larry Hagman, who was the studio’s original choice for David Banner). It was one of the most successful and longest-running superhero shows on television during that era.

The show was born in 1977 when Universal Television approached Kenneth Johnson, who would eventually go on to create hit sci-fi properties like “V” and “Alien Nation,” to develop a show based on some characters from the Marvel universe. Inspired by the book Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Johnson came up with his own version of the popular comic book “The Incredible Hulk.”

Two Bs or Not 2 Bs

In the television series, the Hulk’s alter-ego is named David Banner rather than Bruce Banner. Several reasons have been given for this, from both sides of the argument. The most popular among comic book fans is that Kenneth Johnson and TV executives felt that the name Bruce wasn’t very manly.

However, Johnson has gone on record to say that he used the name David to honor his late son and to give a nod to the fact that the show would not be entirely like the comic book. It has also been noted that Johnson didn’t like the comic book tradition of having characters with alliterated named (e.g., Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Clark Kent, etc.). The show did, however, allow Banner to keep Bruce as a middle name, as seen on the tombstone in the opening credits.

Other Differences from the Comic Book

Instead of drawing completely from the original source material, Johnson fashioned a show that reduced much of the science fiction and comic book elements. He stripped the property of many recurring characters to go with a series similar to “The Fugitive” in which the protagonist was on the run with a relentless character tracking him throughout the series.

Jack McGee, played by Jack Colvin, was a reporter that relentlessly pursued the Hulk, thinking he was responsible for the death of David Banner. Johnson was inspired by Javert from Les Miserables when he created the character of McGee.

David Banner also came from the medical field rather than nuclear physics. He was also not bombarded by radiation as a result of an explosion, but rather during a laboratory accident during which he was researching how normal people show feats of superhuman strength.

Rather than making a science fiction television show, Johnson developed a series that focused on the social issues of the day. This human-based approach is what initially drew Bill Bixby to the project. Throughout the show’s five-year run, the Hulk was simply dropped into issue-driven stories, while the show’s topics featured everything from child abuse to suicide.

Finding the Right Hulk

Before the days of computer animation, it was necessary to have a person play the Hulk. Bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned for the role, but his 6’ 2” frame was deemed to be too small for the imposing character.

The 7’ 2” Richard Kiel, best known for his character of Jaws in the James Bond series, was given a shot. Some scenes were shot of Kiel as the Hulk (and according to Johnson, one shot still appears in the pilot), but the lack of massive muscle and the appearance of body fat caused producers to drop him from the show.

Eventually bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno, who stood 6’ 4”, was given the part. Johnson originally wanted to paint him red rather than green to reflect his rage, but Stan Lee rejected the idea. (Ironically, just this year, a new Hulk appeared in the comic books – this one colored red.)

Because the production was using a real person to represent the Hulk, he couldn’t grow larger or physically change once he “hulked out.” The television Hulk was not bullet proof, but still had extraordinary healing powers. He also didn’t talk, but rather growled and roared like an animal. Ted Cassidy, best known as Lurch from “The Addams Family,” did much of the growling until his death. Then Charles Napier stepped in to voice the Hulk. While Ferrigno didn’t use his voice for his role, he provide the voice of the Hulk in the upcoming film.

Hulking Out

The format of the show would include David Banner drifting into a new town under a new name (always using the first name David and a last name that began with a B). About half-way through the show, he would experience a “hulk out,” in which he would transform. Full transformation sequences can be seen in the first two seasons. Later seasons usually featured close-up shots of Banner’s shirts ripping and shoes popping off the Hulk’s feet. This apparently accounts for the reason that David Banner always chose to wear button-down shirts rather than stretchable tee-shirts and biker shorts.

Later in the show, as a climax, he would hulk out again, giving the audiences two chances to see the title character. During the production, when the studio was trying to cut costs, they requested only one hulk out per episode. Fortunately, Johnson and the production crew pushed back, saving the 2:1 hulk outs ratio.

Legacy of The Incredible Hulk

“The Incredible Hulk” ran for four complete seasons, with the fifth partial season dropped on a new night in the middle of an industry strike. Johnson had planned to cure David Banner of his condition in the series finale, if the truncated fifth season were to have a complete run. The first four seasons are now available on DVD from Universal Home Video.

After the series was cancelled, several television movies were made: 1988’s The Incredible Hulk Returns, 1989’s The Trial of the Incredible Hulk and 1990’s The Death of the Incredible Hulk. These made-for-TV movies gave the characters a chance to cross over other characters from the Marvel universe. The Incredible Hulk Returns featured Thor (Eric Allan Kramer), and The Trial of the Incredible Hulk featured Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Rex Smith) and the Kingpin (John Rhys-Davies).

Additional movies were planned – one featuring She-Hulk, another introducing a spin-off of an “Iron Man” series and another featuring the cast of the 70s-era “Spider-Man” series – but they were all put to rest when Bill Bixby died of cancer in 1993.

Point / Counterpoint: Ang Lee’s ‘Hulk’

FSR Staff — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:45:33 +0000

In honor of the release of The Incredible Hulk this Friday, we have decided to take a look back at the history of The Hulk, both on and off of the big screen. In that look back, it is impossible to avoid talking about the 2003 adaptation Hulk, from director Ang Lee. Regarded by many as one of the worst comic book films ever made (though it did receive a 61% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes), Hulk has certainly become one of the most polarizing comic book films in history. With that in mind, we decided to lock Cole Abaius and Rob Hunter, two of our most polarizing staff writers, in a room together and make them battle it out: one on the side of Ang Lee’s film being great, and the other on the side of it being a huge turd.

As you will see from the transcript below, what started as any idea for a civil debate on the merits of one film devolved into something more childish, more ridiculous and more entertaining than we could have ever thought possible…

Rob Hunter: Ang Lee’s Hulk is not nearly as bad as you remember. Not exactly an endorsement of awesome proportions, I know, but with all the negative baggage this film carries it’s enough to get started. There are any number of better comic book movies, but there are an equal number of worse ones, leaving Hulk sitting somewhere in the middle as an odd, dark, psychologically themed, multi-million dollar, comic book art house film.

Cole Abaius: Alright. First of all, “multi-million dollar” and “art house” should never be in the same sentence together. Hulk should have been multi-million dollar, summer blockbuster explosion brilliance from the start.

Rob Hunter: Which is exactly what makes it interesting and admirable in the first place. They gave Ang Lee $150 million to make a comic book movie!?! The man made The Wedding Banquet and The Ice Storm for chrissakes… he wasn’t going to churn out a copy of X2 or Batman… he was going to make his audience think and reflect in between their oohs and ahhs.

Cole Abaius: Exactly – whose bright idea was it to have the guy that did Eat Drink Man Woman and Sense and Freaking Sensibility do a film that’s tagline could have been “Hulk Smash!”? Great director…for any other movie but this one.

Rob Hunter: Good director… for any movie. Period. Great director is a little much though…

Cole Abaius: Look, I didn’t want the “David Copperfield” version of The Hulk. Having the psychological implications of his character is great, but did we really need four hours of exposition before we got to see the big green menace?

Rob Hunter: The ladies must love you, Cole… do you tell them the same thing at the end of the night?

Cole Abaius: No, if there are two or more with me, I tell them each something different. My point: how can you consider something dark and brooding if Banner doesn’t even deal with The Hulk side until way late in the game? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde if Hyde doesn’t show up until the end of the book and doesn’t kill anyone. And jumps to San Francisco.

Rob Hunter: Because Hulk, like Hyde, is just the physical manifestation of Banner’s id and repressed rage. We first have to see what caused it and how he controls it. Once we understand that, we’re ready to see it come to life on screen.

Cole Abaius: I was ready to see it on screen by minute one.

Rob Hunter: Well that’s the core of the problem I think. ADD is rampant in America, especially in the fanboy community.

Cole Abaius: Repressed rage isn’t as fun to watch as expressed rage – and film is a visual medium as you’ll remember. And I don’t have ADD – I just process information faster than most.

Rob Hunter: But rage without reason is just directionless, frenetic energy. Lee was interested in both cause and effect, not just “Hulk smash!”

Cole Abaius: I’ll give you that. It’s nice to see, “Hulk cry!” every once in a while. I’m just saying there was a bit too much of that in Lee’s version.

Rob Hunter: Well I’ll grant you the movie was too long, but again, they hired the wrong guy for a summer blockbuster. They got the only film the man could deliver. If you can separate your idea of what a summer blockbuster, comic-based movie should be, and take Hulk as its own film, the movie works as modern mythology meets brooding psychology meets CGI. You just have to work a little harder as a viewer than you’re probably used to with the cartoons, sitcoms and porn you usually watch.

Cole Abaius: Hey, now. The porn I watch is trenchant and thought-provoking. You’re right though. The Hulk should be taken on its own merits. Speaking of CGI… You want me to work harder than when I watch cartoons, and yet Lee gives us that awful, cartoonish CGI to work with?

Rob Hunter: You’re towing a tired line here, the CGI didn’t really look that bad in the finished film. Maybe some of the running scenes could have been cleaned up, but overall the Hulk was fairly impressive. Compare it to the brand new Hulk trailers… five years later and the CGI looks pretty much the same.

Cole Abaius: Pretty much the same, except it’s even darker. And the muscles don’t look like they’re made from Play-Doh. I don’t even need to harp on the CGI much, anyway. Three words: Giant Mutant Poodles. That’s right. I went there.

Rob Hunter: Well, to be fair, it was one giant poodle and two giant mutts…

Cole Abaius: I don’t care how many there were. What was the deeper, allegorical meaning to those, eh college boy?

Rob Hunter: They were there to continue the thematic bond with King Kong… as in Kong’s fight with the dinosaurs while defending his love… along with the big battle with buzzing planes and jets, and the giant “monster” who can only be calmed by the pretty white girl. Hulk, like Kong, is a monster out of his element. Kong’s element is that island, and Hulk’s is inside Banner’s mind.

Cole Abaius: Oh, Rob, you poor soul. A Giant Poodle does not come close to being as awesome as a Giant Dinosaur. Jurassic Park would not have been scarier as Papillion Park. My question was rhetorical anyway. And don’t ask how I know what a Papillion is. Speaking of Banner’s mind, though, I’ll admit that it was good to see Ang Lee bring in elements from the comic series into the fold. Banner’s child abuse storyline from the 1980s and his split personalities.

Rob Hunter: Big of ya.

Cole Abaius: Thanks. But I also think it’s the main problem.

Rob Hunter: That’s what I was saying earlier, if you haven’t already forgotten… showing the audience where the rage and repression comes from before exploding it all over the screen. Why was it the problem? Because there’s too much of it?

Cole Abaius: Because you can’t have it both ways. The audience can’t get sucked in emotionally to a drama and then have Giant Mutant Poodles show up.

Rob Hunter: Again, Giant Poodle, singular.

Cole Abaius: It’s like if Ed Norton (great reference timing, I know) in The Painted Veil suddenly grew a giant arm and crushed a huge, anthropomorphic strain of cholera with his enormous, mutated fist. Don’t sell me on love and drama, and then give me giant monster.

Rob Hunter: One, that would have been a better movie. Two, it was an experiment where Lee took Hulk’s smash mantra to heart and mashed up two distinctly different types of film. Three, knowing where the pain and darkness comes from makes some of Hulk’s little actions more bittersweet and powerful alter on. Pausing to look at the moss in the desert, staring at his reflection in the water, opening his eyes wide to take in the beauty of the stars as he rides the jet above the clouds…

Cole Abaius: Zen Hulk? No, thank you. He also throws a tank halfway across the desert. And, I’ll mention, the guy in the tank doesn’t die. Somehow. That’s as implausible as if a man got into a refrigerator to survive an atomic blast.

Rob Hunter: That’s a separate issue… A-Team syndrome, and yes that annoyed the hell out of me too.

Cole Abaius: I think we agree to disagree on the emotional merit of the movie, so moving on to the style – explain to me why the visual gimmick worked again?

Rob Hunter: Aside from Sin City and 300 which used virtual studios to create their worlds, Hulk’s cinematography and editing bring it closer to a comic book look than any other comic movie. Lee’s use of split screen to represent panels on the page is beautifully done. His fades from scene to scene are more than just scene changes, the images morph with purpose. It had that ‘Zap! Pow!’ feel about it without being cheesy. That may have worked better in a movie with a lighter tone, but I appreciate Lee’s effort.

Cole Abaius: Yet again the main issue – Ang has good ideas, but they come into conflict with one another. And the visual style seemed too gimmicky to me and got really repetitive when dragged out that long.

Rob Hunter: Much like Banner and the Hulk…

Cole Abaius: Wow. So you’re going to say a mess of a movie is a representation in itself of its own subject matter?

Rob Hunter: …coming into conflict with one another…

Cole Abaius: Way too meta for me, my friend. Although, that is one way to think deeper about a plain old, bad mess of a film.

Rob Hunter: Well you were the mistaken target audience, not the real target audience.

Cole Abaius: The real target audience buys a lot of Kleenex and Kotex, I’m assuming. Because it makes a lot of sense (and sensibility) to aim a comic book movie at the more subtle, art-loving crowd. And making Banner so emo he should have auditioned for a keyboardist spot in Dashboard Confessional.

Rob Hunter: Now you’re just showing your ignorance in matters outside of film… Dashboard Confessional is as far from Emo as Michael Bay is from true talent.

Cole Abaius: Should I have said Sunnyday Real Estate? or Texas is the Reason? Although, the emo angle does explain why Bruce Banner turned into Shrek when he was angry.

Rob Hunter: Stop browsing iTunes Abaius. Yes it does, again, meant to show the contrast and conflict between two extremes. Maybe Lee overdid it a little… the movie could have trimmed 10-20 minutes from that first hour.

Cole Abaius: Try 40. He could have trimmed the last 10 minutes, too. Please, please explain to me that last battle and the ending. Because I’m genuinely at a loss.

Rob Hunter: Here you’ll find no disagreement from me… the end “battle” was a mess. That’s when I truly wanted to see the Hulk smashing and bashing but instead got a rain cloud. Lee’s biggest misstep I think.

Cole Abaius: I thought you loved it when sweet imagery was used instead of violence. Had you run out of tissues at that point?

Rob Hunter: No, I love sweet imagery building up to sweeter violence, but not as a substitute. And I just used your mom’s sleeve when I ran out of Kleenex… her hand was already in my lap at that point anyway.

Cole Abaius: So we’re hitting below the belt now, I see. And yeah, don’t say “your mom was hitting below my belt.” I got it.

Rob Hunter: Damn… Bottom line, Ang Lee’s Hulk is a good movie… if you can pull your head out of your fanboy ass and separate the movie from the preconceived notion of what a summer comic book movie should be. And I don’t mean “your” as in you specifically, I speak in general terms. By that notion, yes, Hulk was a failure. But on its own, it’s an interesting mash-up of myth, pop psychology, pop culture, and giant CGI poodles.

Cole Abaius: Ang Lee’s Hulk is not a good movie even if you don’t go into it with comic book expectations. It’s too long, too cheesy at times, and tries to marry a saccharine love story to a mindless action flick. That mash-up ends up being more confusing than interesting, and the last battle scene is the perfect embodiment of that confusion. If nothing else, it’s a decent movie that derails at the end. And fuck that CGI Poodle.

Rob Hunter: Too tired from fucking your m… never mind. I can accept decent movie that derails at the end. Although the very very end was a nice nod to the Bill Bixby series… “You won’t like me when I’m angry…”

Cole Abaius: Too little, too late, my friend. A nice nod to the series would have been to make the movie good. I still contend that hiring Ang Lee for Hulk would be like hiring Wes Anderson to direct Thundercats. A lot of daddy issues, and not enough explosions.

Rob Hunter: Good and decent are pretty synonymous… and tell me honestly you wouldn’t love to see Wes Anderson’s Thundercats…

Cole Abaius: Honestly, I wouldn’t love to see Wes Anderson’s Thundercats.

Rob Hunter: And thanks to the wonders of Hollywood, you’ll get to see less daddy issues and more explosions when The Incredible Hulk opens on Friday. And you’re a liar.

Cole Abaius: Thank you, wonders of Hollywood! And thank you Ed Norton!

Rob Hunter: If only he had written the new Hulk too…

Cole Abaius: And thank you, Rob Hunter, for a solid debate.

Rob Hunter: And thank you, Cole Abaius, for your mom’s phone number.

Cole Abaius: You treat her right. She’s a catch.

Incredible Marketing: Selling the New Hulk!

Robin Ruinsky — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:45:24 +0000

Movie marketing! You can’t live without it. Trailers, tie ins, internet promotions, action figures, lunch boxes. They’re part of what drives the movie business especially when it comes to big budget action films like the new The Incredible Hulk.

First a little Hulk History.

He’s big, he’s green, and he’s been around since Marvel Comics released “The Incredible Hulk” Issue number 1 in May of 1962. The Hulk was the brainchild of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who that same year debuted “Spider Man” and just a year before released “The Fantastic Four”.

A very quick reminder of the Hulk’s story. Bruce Banner is poisoned by radiation when he’s caught in the blast of the gamma bomb he created. Of course he doesn’t die but when he gets angry he turns into a huge green monster guy who is a bit of a bull in a china shop, causing massive destruction in his big green wake.

Here’s some Hulk trivia, the big green guy wasn’t always green. The Hulk started out gray. Yes, the Hulk wasn’t green in the first issue. The gray, however didn’t work out, so colorist Stan Goldberg was told by Stan Lee to go green.

The Incredible Hulk went green in more ways than one. He has been a consistent money maker and is sure to continue to bring in the green with the new The Incredible Hulk film coming from Universal and Marvel.

On to Hulk marketing.

Let’s start with the action packed trailers.The Incredible Hulk trailers shows off an A list cast, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Liv Tyler and as Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk, Edward Norton.

It’s got the usual, mild mannered guy with a seriously demented secret. Then the predictable happens and he goes Hulk on us. Then Tom Roth, after getting his ass kicked by the Hulk volunteers for some genetic engineering and comes out as The Abomination. Nothing like two hulking action figures for the price of one.

The trailers are well cut, with the emphasis on action, of course, and I think they’ll convince Hulk and action fans to pay for a ticket to the film. The trailers are running on a variety of Internet movie sites. But if you want to really immerse yourself in Hulk go to IncredibleHulk.Marvel.com and there he is in all his glory, complete with a countdown to the opening on June 13. It’s a cool website, complete with a lot of video and interactive features to get you interested in the film.

In the interest of researching this article I played the website’s Hulk Smash game where as the Hulk you get to smash assorted tanks, armored trucks and helicopters. Simple, though not bad and I was getting a bit addicted. I also discovered that as the Hulk you can smash up and knock down buildings. You can alter the urban landscape.

Moving on there is the download section complete with wallpapers and AIM icons. Enough to wet the appetite of budding Hulkaholics. The video section has three trailers, a behind the scenes look, tv spots and scenes from the film.

The Incredible Hulk has no shortage of merchandising. There is of course an Incredible Hulk video game from SEGA. Players get to smash, bash, throw stuff and in general recreate some Hulk mayhem.

There’s a new Hulk tie in novel published by Del Rey based on the screenplay by Edward Norton and Zak Penn.

As for posters I located at least three different designs. One features a half face close up of the Hulk, a background of tanks and a full figure Hulk silhouette. Another has the Hulk in the center. Both of those are drawn as opposed to being a photo of the movie Hulk. The third has Edward Norton walking away from a back view of the Hulk, Banner emerging from inside his violent alter ego.

For the real Hulkophile, eBay sellers have a 45×59 vinyl Hulk banner that can turn any room into a Hulk shrine.

Action figures are a given in the world of the action movie and The Incredible Hulk is no exception. There’s a Hulk holding a steel beam, presumably useful to bash things with. The 2008 Mega Clap Hulk action figure can, with the push of a button on the Hulk’s back, smash his mighty little Hulk action figure fists together. And of course there’s the Hulk power punch action figure which is self explanatory.

If you want to set up your own grudge match between the Hulk and the Abomination there is a two pack of these fierce adversaries complete with a NYC back drop.

Speaking of fists, you can own those giant green fists known as Hulk Smash fists made by Hasbro. Go to battle with your opponents preferably those who also have a set of giant green Hulk fists. You can find all of the officially licensed figures over on Hasbro’s Website.

Burger King has Hulk toys which means you can have your Hulk and eat your burger too.

Craig Armstrong’s The Incredible Hulk movie score will be released in CD if you want to listen to some musical Hulk.

You can wear the Hulk on a variety of t-shirts tied into to the film. And there is that absolute essential, the Incredible Hulk lunchbox.

There are also a wide variety of Hulk Halloween costumes ranging in price from what appears to be a claustrophobia inducing Hulk latex mask for 24.99 to the deluxe licensed Hulk costume complete with tattered white shirt for $999.99.

I’m sure there will be a lot more merchandise coming out when the film opens. Expect pretty much everything. Personally I’m waiting for that special edition Hulk Green Jeep Wrangler.

It remains to be seen if the opening of the film on June 13 sweeps the country into a fever of Hulkomania. But if you’re already a Hulk fan you’re sure to find enough Hulk Merchandise and online experiences to whet your appetite and make you jump at the chance to see The Incredible Hulk’s return to the big screen.

Comic Origins: The Incredible Hulk

Robert Fure — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:45:07 +0000

With the Incredible Hulk about to smash his way through theaters, it’s time to take a minute and look back on the amazing origins of this big green bruiser. It was more than 45 years ago that saw the first appearance of a character who would go on to become one of the most recognizable figures in comic history, the kind of character that went head to head against Superman, both in marketing strength and in actual fisticuffs on the page. To this day, the Hulk still moves comics into the hands of fans and puts giant novelty boxing gloves on our youngsters, encouraging them to pummel the heck out of each other.

First Appearance and Origins

In May of 1962, the Stan Lee scripted and Steve Ditko Jack Kirby (error corrected…) penciled The Incredible Hulk #1 hit the stands, featuring a brilliant scientist with an alliterative name being turned into a quasi 1960s nuclear Frankenstein’s monster. Bruce Banner was working with the US Government on developing a powerful new bomb utilizing Gamma Rays, some of the most damaging substances in the universe. When a young teen by the name of Rick Jones mistakingly ventures onto the testing site, Banner rushes to his aide, pushing him into a ditch in the nick of time. Unfortunately, Banner received a large dose of Gamma Rays that, after the sun went down, transformed him into a giant, hulking grey beast that smashed his way out of the hospital. A witnessing soldier described him as a “hulk” and the name stuck.

In that first issue, the Hulk appeared grey to maintain a neutral color profile, but problems with the printing press resulted in many shades appearing throughout the book with some panels featuring a green tint. To solve the problem of the printing discolorations, a decision was made to move away from grey and the choice from Stan Lee was “Go Green,” 40 years before that was a popular idea.

That initial run lasted a mere six issues, after which the Hulk guest spotted in various other comic books and side stories before finally taking center stage in “Tales to Astonish” which was later retitled “The Incredible Hulk” which ran continually until 1999, when the title was restarted with Issue #1.

The Green Meanie

Everyone knows that you won’t like Bruce Banner when he’s angry. However, it wasn’t, and isn’t, always that way. The transformation from “puny Banner” to “Hulk smash” has changed at various times over the years. Initially, the change happened only at night before being cued on by emotional reactions. As an aside, during a period of time in the late 1980s, the grey-skinned Hulk returned, as did his day and night transformations during the “Joe Fix-It” days (a pseudonym).

The Hulk is most well known for and most frequently portrayed as a beast fueled by rage. When his alter-ego Bruce Banner is faced with danger, fear, or anger, he loses control and the primitive beast is unleashed. When transformed into the Hulk, the muscled titan possess potentially limitless strength, bound only by the intensity of his emotions. He can withstand nearly all weaponry including machine guns, nuclear bombs, and the intense heat generated by the Human Torch going Nova. Beyond this his jumping abilities allow him to leap hundreds of miles and at times, even into low Earth orbit, and should he ever be injured, a healing factor quickly returns him to health. In the comics, Hulk has overpowered nearly everyone he’s come across, destroyed planet sized asteroids with a single punch, and supported a 150 billion ton mountain on his back. Suffice to say, the madder Hulk gets, the stronger he gets – and he is capable of intense rage. The only weapons that have reliably been able to hurt the hulk are those made of the unbreakable adamantium, which penetrate his hide, though rarely do enough serious damage to slow him down.

At times, the Hulk has taken various alternate forms, including The Savage Hulk, who was a nearly mindless destructive force, The Professor, who was a combination of the Hulk’s strength with Banner’s intelligence, Maestro, an Evil Hulk, as well as Grey Hulk and the “normal” Hulk. Recent incarnations of the Hulk have often switched between a Hulk that was either fairly Savage or had a personality that was almost completely different from Banner, often regarding him as weak.

The Battle Within

As every coin has two sides, there is a reverse to the sometimes uncontrollable force that is The Hulk, that being scientist Bruce Banner. One of the most intriguing aspects of the Hulk has always been the guilt and fear contained in Banner. When you or I get mad, we may put a hole in the wall. When Banner gets mad, he can put a hole through the Earth. Much of Banner’s early years after the accident were spent trying to avoid the Government, spearheaded by General “Thunderbolt” Ross, and on the run. At various times Banner has been accepted by his peers and worked again within the scientific community, though often he’s treated as a dangerous potential weapon of mass destruction.

Banner himself also often feels regret for the creation of She-Hulk, who as Jennifer Waters was a cousin to Bruce. She became affected by the Gamma Rays after a blood transfusion, which resulted in her transformation, though she retained her personality and intelligence at the expense of being significantly less powerful than the Hulk. Also worth noting is She-Hulk is a total babe.

In less sexy history, Banner’s past has been said to include abusive relationships with his father and a more troubled childhood, though various writers choose to embrace or ignore this particular aspect, though he is almost always written to be reclusive and withdrawn, accept when around his love interest – Betty Ross.

Friends are Foes, and so are Foes

The Hulk is somewhat unique in that he has done battle with just about everyone from the X-Men to the Avengers to the Abomination, despite at times fighting along side them. Wolverine notably first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180 / #181 and the Hulk gave him a knock-out punch right to the top of the head.

The regular gallery or rogues that attempt to match strength or wits with the Hulk include the Abomination, another gamma ray beast and The Leader, a green skinned super-intelligent villain who obsessively tries to destroy the Hulk. As the Hulk himself was a creation of the Cold War fear of nuclear weapons and radiation, often his villains shared his origins or at least somewhat similar origins revolving around the splitting of the atom.

He has also gone up against the other strong-men of Marvel, including Juggernaut, Absorbing Man, The Sentry, and the Thing. Depending on his level of anger, the Hulk is often able to handle any challenger, many times with relative ease. On the side of “right” the US Government has often lead attacks against the Hulk and is routinely beaten back. Iron Man developed special suits of armor, dubbed Hulk-Busters, that are scaled up and strengthened to try to combat the green beast, with limited success. SHIELD has also employed Hulk Buster units that are often tossed aside by the Hulk, but hey, they get points for trying.

Where Is He Now?

The last two years have been good to the Hulk, with his comic title selling extremely well and being critically acclaimed. On a personal note though, the Hulk would probably feel that 2007 sucked. The Illuminati, a group of Super Humans consisting of Charles Xavier, Iron Man, Black Bolt, Namor, Doctor Strange, and Reed Richards, came to a group consensus (with one no-vote and one non-vote) that the Hulk was too dangerous to be left on Earth after he destroyed Las Vegas. The meeting resulted in the Hulk being tricked and shot off into space towards an uninhabited planet where he would be left alone and not a danger to anyone else.

Instead, Hulk ends up on the gladiatorial planet of Sakaar, where he becomes King and takes a wife. Tragically for the entire Universe, basically, the ship the Hulk arrived in explodes violently, destroying the entire planet and nearly every being on it. The Hulk reaches levels of rage that knows no bounds and he sets his sights on those responsible – The Illuminati, with Earth in the cross-hairs.

Arriving back on Earth, the Hulk turns New York into his new gladiator ring and calls out and beats up dozens of heroes, including most of those responsible for his exile. In this comic span, the Hulk defeats Black Bolt, Iron Man, the X-Men, many of the Avengers, and forces the evacuation of New York City. The Hulk is finally fought to a standstill by The Sentry, perhaps the only being on Earth that ever had a chance of combating an enraged Hulk. The brawl ends with both of them on the verge of collapse and Hulk reverting to his human form. Iron Man then orders an attack on Bruce Banner, which leaves him unconscious and allowing the forces of SHIELD to imprison him underground.

What Does the Future Hold?

The future of the Incredible Hulk is both bright and bleak. On the real world side of things, his popularity continues to grow with a possible film franchise kicking into gear and strong sales of comics. In the fictional world, the conflicted battle within Banner and the prejudice against the Hulk will continue. In several future time lines, the Hulk is either a sad or deranged character. Sometimes both. One possible future features Maestro, an aged, bearded embittered Hulk who rules the world with a powerful, green fist that loves to smash. Another possibility sees Hulk as the lone survivor of a nuclear holocaust who finally gets his wish of being alone. Recently, a Red Hulk variant has appeared, featuring the strength of an ultra-enraged Hulk with significant intelligence.

On the Ultimate side of things (Marvel’s alternate continuity) the Hulk is shown to be a rampaging beast with a sense of pride in himself used as a weapon of mass destruction when its convenient, but sentenced to death for his actions.

Hulking Up

So there you have it, a quick (sort of) little look back at the 45 years of history behind the Hulk. If you find any of this interesting, be sure to check out the upcoming Marvel film and hey, read a book. There are a lot of Trade Paperbacks available that chronicle the Hulk and what’s not to love about seeing a big bruiser pound puny punks to dust?

For the foreseeable future, at least in the world of comics, this green smash-a-holic will have a prominent place in the pantheon of comic characters, rampaging and smashing his way across villains and heroes (occasionally) alike. So do yourself a favor and take the time to get to know the surprisingly complex and incredible character that is The Hulk.

Sound Off: Are you excited for The Incredible Hulk? Fan of the comic? List your favorite Hulk moment below!

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