In this article, we’ll cover the history of one of the most game-changing comics and characters in history: The Incredible Hulk.
The Incredible Hulk was another Marvel creation from the genius mind of Stan Lee. The character debuted in 1962 and thus began a strange evolution of a character who was probably the most tormented in comic book history.
The Incredible Hulk was Dr. Bruce Banner. He was a scientist experimenting with gamma rays. Well, one of these experiments went wrong and Banner was exposed to gamma rays. He came close to death and miraculously survived, but not without paying a heavy price. It seems that whenever Banner got angry, he would transform into this hideous green creature that became known as the Hulk.
Unlike most other superheroes, the Hulk was no good. He wasn’t all bad either. He would come to the aid of the helpless and saved many innocent people in his day. But he had very little affection for law and order. Maybe he had something to do with the fact that they were trying to kill him all the time. Consequently, the Hulk inflicted as much damage on defenders of justice as he did on criminals. He was a strange bird all right.
Interestingly, the first comic featuring the Green Hulk lasted only 6 issues when the Gray Hulk appearance hit the stands. In this incarnation, Banner would transform into the Gray Hulk at night, then revert to himself when dawn came. The reason for this was that Banner couldn’t live with what he had become. So he transformed into the darker side of him at night to let out the ugly side of him, since Banner was afraid of the dark. This was done without his knowledge. However, in later issues, he was consciously done.
In 1964, two years after the Hulk’s first appearance, there was an issue of Tales To Astonish with Giant Man where he ended up meeting and fighting the Hulk. In the next issue of that book it would be divided into two sections. The first section would feature Giant Man and the second section would feature the Hulk. Finally, in issue #70, The Sub-Mariner took Giant-Man’s place in the book.
It wasn’t until 1968 that the Hulk took over the entire book. It was at this time that Tales to Astonish was dropped and the book’s new title was The Incredible Hulk. This is why you never find Incredible Hulk issues 7 through 101, the only comic book hero to suffer this fate of comic book numbering.
The Hulk basically worked this way until 1998 when a book called “The Rampaging Hulk” came out that tells the early history of The Hulk before anyone even knew that Bruce Banner was The Hulk. It lasted six issues.
Finally, in 1999, The Incredible Hulk ended its run with issue #474. But it didn’t stay dead. After the new comic simply titled “The Hulk” hit the stands, issue 12, the word Incredible was added back to the title. The Incredible Hulk had returned.
The Hulk was such a popular character that he found his way into cartoons and a movie, which unfortunately wasn’t faithful to the comic and was pretty hideous according to critics.