Hulk wasn’t always green: All you didn’t know about your favourite Marvel character
The Hulk is one of your most-loved superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe (MCU). He is neither a blatant moralist like Superman or Captain America, nor does he have vendetta like Batman. He is less of an idealist and more of an anti-hero. But when did The Hulk first appear? This anti-hero with green skin and incredible strength first appeared in the Marvel Comics bimonthly series called ’The Incredible Hulk’ in May 1962. Authored and edited by Stan Lee, it was co-plotted by Jack Kirby, and inked by American comic book artist Paul Reinman.
The comic and character both rose to global fame by the nickname ‘Hulk,’ symbolizing rage, and inexhaustible physical power. Hulk is an alter persona of real-life physicist, Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, who is physically frail, reclusive, and emotionally repressed. The two are resentful of each other and exist as separate dissociated identities in the same body. As the plot moves, Dr. Banner develops a gamma bomb for the military, a weapon with enormous destructive potential. When he spots a young teen entering the bomb’s test site, he accidentally exposes himself to the gamma rays while pushing the boy aside into a trench, in his haste to help him. As a result of this exposure, the timid Bruce Banner is transformed into the Hulk, a terrible monster with incomparable strength who can smash through literally everything! Well, if you are a Hulk fan, here are some fascinating facts about this monster that you didn’t know about.
Hulk was originally grey, not green
On hearing the word Hulk, most of us imagine a big green guy with ripped muscles, right? But you will be surprised to know that Hulk was grey initially! Yes, he underwent countless transformations before looking the way we know him today. He had grey skin in the original 1962 comic. However, grey wasn't giving off the appropriate vibe. So, colourist Stan Goldberg employed other colours to highlight Hulk's characteristics. As a result, a touch of green was used amidst the grey hues. However, Marvel's printer could not appropriately reproduce the hue. So the authors changed him to the present day iconic green figure from the second issue onwards!
Venom and Hulk joined hands, twice!
The Hulk and the evil version of Spider-Man, Venom, two of Marvel's most formidable characters we all love, joined forces to battle one of the lamest villains.
This first happened in the The Venom: Lethal Protector, a six-issue comic book published by Marvel Comics from February 1993 to July 1993. In this comic series, the two characters join hands when Venom was trying to shield humanity from an earthquake. Despite their battle, Venom persuades Hulk that he has changed for good. This odd friendship was meant to help Venom transform into a professional wrestler. Weird, but cool! In yet another series, Incredible Hulk Vs. Venom #1, published on 1st April, 1994, written by Peter David and Jim Craig, Venom and Hulk battle against a villain who ironically refers to himself as Doctor Bad Vibes.
Initially, Hulk used to appear only at night
If you are used to older Hulk comics and films, you may find it strange that Bruce Banner turned into the Hulk at night in the first issue of The Incredible Hulk comic. In the initial issues of the comic, after the exposure to gamma radiation, Dr. Banner started to transform at night into a giant, gray-skinned monster with infinite strength and destructive potential. Uncertain of the cause, Banner was still adjusting to his new appearance as the Hulk. At first, it was thought that he could only morph at dusk. When the sun rose, he returned to his normal form. This all changed when General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross (also known as the Red Hulk) attempted to shoot Banner into outer space forcefully. Even though this occurred during the day, Banner changed into the Hulk. This led to the inference that Banner would become the Hulk in anger. His transformation had nothing to do with day or night!