Almost every major Hulk, very successfully. The Hulk in many ways represents the first live-action Marvel success.

Not all the early Marvel comic screen adaptations proved successful but The Incredible Hulk, which debuted in 1978 on CBS, provided a unique showcase for the character and a framework for how to approach comic characters in a serial format.

Updated September 2nd, 2022 by Darby Harn: She-Hulk: Attorney At Law brings the Hulk to the small screen, but it's not the first time the iconic Marvel Comics character appeared on television. The Hulk spearheaded Marvel Comics' foray into live-action in many ways with the 1978 CBS series and carved out a path for many shows and movies to follow in the decades after. Hulk's appearance in the new MCU streaming series also links back to a key thing fans may not know about the 1978 Hulk series starring Lou Ferrigno. The TV show actually prompted Marvel Comics to create She-Hulk, leading to her debut on the printed page in The Savage She-Hulk #1 in 1980.

The Savage She-Hulk

Comic book fans know She-Hulk owes her existence in large measure to the 1978 Hulk series. Stan Lee, responsible for many iconic Marvel Comics superheroes, co-created She-Hulk for the comics along with artist John Buscema in 1980 because he feared that the CBS series was about to beat him to it. He had reason to think so based on the circumstances.

The Incredible Hulk producer Kenneth Johnson had already spun The Bionic Woman from the successful Six Million Dollar Man series. Knowing that CBS would own the copyright on any original characters created for the series and not Marvel, Lee introduced Jennifer Walters into the comics first. She ultimately never appeared in the TV show.

The First Marvel Movie

The Incredible Hulk not only charted new territory as a TV series, it in some ways counts as Marvel's first movie. The original 1977 pilot played in theaters in Europe as a standalone movie. The character's second appearance, The Return of the Incredible Hulk, also received theatrical distribution in some foreign countries.

The movie did appear at the same time as a pilot for The Amazing Spider-Man, similarly receiving distribution in theaters outside the United States, though it likely doesn't rank high among Captain America serial movie from Republic Pictures premiered in 1944, but this predated the actual Marvel Universe and emerged when the company was still called Timely Comics.

David, Not Bruce, Bruce Banner

A lot of things changed between the comic book and the television series, but one of the strangest and most obvious ones is that it wasn't Bruce Banner as the main character, but David Banner. While the origin of the character is somewhat similar in the show, the name change mystified fans at the time.

Many reasons factored into the change, but the main reason seems to be that producer Kenneth Johnson, also responsible for the Alien Nation TV series, simply wanted to name the character after his son. The show also changed some biographical details about Banner, including making him a widower.

Journeyman

The part of David Banner went to veteran actor Bill Bixby, who brought a quiet intensity to the role that helped sell the idea that a raging green monster was hiding inside him. The green lenses helped a lot, too. Bixby started acting in the early 1960s and achieved success and acclaim in a series of roles, including reporter Tim O'Hara in My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and The Magician.

Bixby went on to direct the last two Incredible Hulk TV movies, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and The Death of the Incredible Hulk. He also directed numerous episodes of the sitcom Blossom.

Hulked Out

While Bill Bixby played David Banner, the part of the Incredible Hulk went to another actor, Lou Ferrigno. In the days before CGI, realizing a gigantic green Hulk on screen proved a challenge, but Ferrigno absolutely met it and then some. A world-class bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and IFBB Mr. Universe titles two years running.

He also appeared in the documentary Pumping Iron, which focused on bodybuilding and featured his rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger. His association with the character continues into recent screen versions. He made cameo appearances in both the 2003 and 2008 Hulk movies.

Makeup Changes

Lou Ferrigno possessed the size for the Hulk no problem, but portraying a convincing green goliath took some doing. Playing the iconic role required the actor to get covered head to toe in green makeup, which took three hours to apply.

In the early episodes of the series, Ferrigno wore monstrous facial makeup to help convey how much more of a creature the Hulk was, but this was considered too much and ultimately toned down to green lenses and a wig made out of dyed yak hair.

Hulk Sandals

Comic book fans know the Hulk goes barefoot thanks to his shoes shredding when he transforms. He does in the 1978 TV series too, but behind the scenes, Ferrigno wore sandals. In shots where his feet remained out of frame, Ferrigno wore green-colored sandals to protect his feet while running and jumping in action scenes.

Hulk routinely ran down city streets, particularly in the episode where he goes on a rampage in Times Square. The sandals appear in numerous pictures taken from the production and appear almost like ballerina slippers given how thin and form-fitting they are.

Two Different Pilots

The show didn't immediately become a series, as is usually the case with successful pilots. After the initial success of the first pilot in November 1977, CBS produced another special called The Return of the Incredible Hulk. This episode eventually became known as Death In The Family in syndication, not to be confused with one of the best Batman comic book storylines ever.

With the success of the show proven in the back-to-back pilots, The Incredible Hulk officially kicked off in 1978 on CBS and ran through 1982, though production stopped in early 1981.

One Of Three Superhero Shows On The Air

MCU fans might consider the modern-day the Golden Age for superheroes in live-action and for good reason, but The Incredible Hulk heralded an unusual moment for the genre. The 1978 Hulk series counted among three different superhero TV shows on the air at the time, including the classic Lynda Carter Wonder Woman series.

In addition, Hulk established an embryonic MCU of sorts by appearing at the same time as The Amazing Spider-Man, a mostly forgotten show that also aired on CBS from 1977 to 1979, airing only thirteen episodes before it was canceled.

The Hulk Almost Teamed Up With Spider-Man

Though the Spider-Man series didn't enjoy the same success the 1978 Hulk show did, the two nearly crossed over. This occurred many years later after both shows ceased production. Universal pursued what would ultimately become a series of TV movies featuring the Hulk and Bill Bixby sought Spider-Man actor Nicholas Hammond to come back to the role.

Sadly, the two characters never met. Though with many Spider-Man variants appearing in live-action and animation at the moment, it's not out of the question for the 1977 version to pop up somewhere in the near future.