The 1970s Hulk moments. Although beloved for its pathos, it also regularly dipped into territory that was anything but serious. These sequences reveal just how strange and ambitious (or confused) network superhero TV could be back then.
The Incredible Hulk was a rare Marvel hit on television during a time when superheroes were mostly relegated to cartoons or failed pilots. The show centered on David Banner (not Bruce), and often tackled serious issues. The series was limited by its low budget, 1970s sensibilities, and a need to stretch the format. These limitations birthed unintentionally comical scenes that defy logic or coherence. Ferrigno’s growling green giant may have been meant to terrify, but many scenes have lived on as oddities too weird to forget.
10 Hulk Fights A Bear
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One of the most infamous moments in The Incredible Hulk comes in the second TV movie, when Banner transforms in the woods and ends up wrestling a grizzly bear in a lake. At first, the bear is very clearly real – a trained animal actually fighting with someone dressed as the Hulk. It is pretty shocking by today's standards, on both safety and animal cruelty levels. However, the climax quickly undercuts these concerns, when the bear is suddenly replaced with an extremely fake, floppy stuffed toy that Hulk hurls across the lake.
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The switch from real bear to fake bear is so jarring that it lends a slapstick quality to the scene. Yet it is presented with full dramatic conviction, which only makes it funnier. It’s supposed to be thrilling, but it’s pure camp and one of the show’s most delightfully ridiculous highlights. It stands as one of the greatest and most iconic Hulk scenes ever depicted.
9 Hulk Gets Annoyed With A Phone
Season 3, Episode 16, "Falling Angels"
In one unintentionally funny The Incredible Hulk scene, Hulk stumbles across a ringing public phone. He answers it, because apparently the Hulk has phone etiquette. However, on the other end, a woman immediately starts yelling, mistaking him for her no-good husband. Hulk just stands there confused as the woman continues ranting, until he finally smashes the entire phone in frustration.
It’s an utterly bizarre scene that plays out like a bit from a comedy sketch. Why does Hulk answer the phone? Why is the woman so sure she’s yelling at her spouse? None of it makes sense, but the sheer randomness and the Hulk’s genuine exasperation make this scene a standout example of The Incredible Hulk depicting Hulk’s confusion and frustration with the everyday world.
8 Hulk Pilots An Airplane
Season 1, Episode 5 “747”
The Incredible Hulk wasn’t known for logic, and “747” is a prime example. After a midair, in-flight robbery, David finds himself piloting a commercial jet. While being guided into landing the plane, he succumbs to the stress and transforms into the Hulk. What follows is pure 1970s TV madness: Hulk briefly controls the aircraft and actually manages to land it safely.
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Hulk even finds the time to cheekily flex his biceps mid-maneuver as per Hulk-out tradition. Watching Ferrigno’s green brute trying to figure out the controls like a confused toddler is both hilarious and absurd. Instead of simply letting Banner land the plane beforehand or skipping the transformation altogether, The Incredible Hulk writers decided to go full tilt into madness – and the result is unforgettable nonsense.
7 Hulk Is Trapped Under A Giant Red Dome
Season 4, Episode 1 "Prometheus Part 1"
In one of the strangest visual choices ever in The Incredible Hulk, the military traps the Green Goliath under a massive red dome. The scene is meant to feel ominous and claustrophobic, but it ends up looking like someone trapped a spider under a drinking glass – except the spider is Lou Ferrigno, painted green. The dome’s unpleasant red hue contrasts against the natural setting, creating a surreal tone that highlights the absurdity.
The whole concept is laughably impractical and visually ridiculous. It seems like the kind of thing a child would invent with a toy set, not a government anti-Hulk strategy. Watching Hulk scamper around under a giant sci-fi lampshade is one of the most accidentally comic visuals in the series.
6 Hulk Climbs Out Of A Giant Cake
Season 3, Episode 10 “Babalao”
The Incredible Hulk has some dramatic entrances, but none quite as eyebrow-raising as when he burst out of a giant novelty cake during a Mardi Gras parade. In “Babalao,” David Banner is kicked to the ground beneath a parade float and emerges from within an oversized wedding cake like an exotic dancer at a bachelor party. It’s played completely straight, but the sheer absurdity of the moment makes it unforgettable.
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The camera lingers on the entrance, seemingly celebrating the absurdity for as long as possible before Hulk goes into his usual roaring rampage. There’s no narrative reason for the cake to exist, except maybe to provide one of the most bizarre images in The Incredible Hulk. It’s moments like these that turn a cult superhero drama into retro television gold.
5 Hulk Seduces A Green Mannequin
Season 3, Episode 21 “Equinox”
In an especially surprising Incredible Hulk scene, the Hulk has a genuinely odd romantic moment – with a mannequin. While storming through a shopping mall, the green brute stumbles upon a group of shop mannequins, one of which is green. With soft romantic music swelling in the background, Hulk stares longingly at the dummy, even taking off his shredded shirt in what can only be described as a seductive gesture.
There’s a strange tenderness to the moment, made all the weirder by Hulk’s clear confusion about what the mannequin actually is. When he accidentally knocks it over, the spell is broken and his usual rage returns. It’s the kind of scene that makes you wonder what The Incredible Hulk writers were thinking – and if the Hulk’s loneliness was maybe taken one step too far.
4 David Banner Struggles To Make A Phone Work
Season 1, Episode 7 "Don't Give A Trucker An Even Break"
An early episode of The Incredible Hulk delivers a beautifully melodramatic moment where David Banner Hulks-out because he can’t work a payphone. Desperate to the authorities, David is thwarted by both the technology and an unhelpful operator. The scene goes on for far longer than it should, with David fumbling with the receiver, failing to understand prompts, and growing increasingly flustered with the maddeningly unhelpful operator.
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It reaches a level of absurdity that feels almost like a parody. Eventually, the combination of frustration and poor customer service pushes him over the edge and Hulk smashes the booth to bits. The whole premise is so flimsy it borders on farce. Forget gamma radiation – David’s real nemesis might just be telecom bureaucracy and early phone systems.
3 David Hulks-Out Over Traffic
Season 1, Episode 4 "Terror In Times Square"
In one of the most unnecessary Hulk transformations in The Incredible Hulk, David Banner finds himself stuck in a traffic jam in Times Square. Running late and frustrated by the honking horns and creeping gridlock, David reaches his breaking point. Without much buildup, he Hulks-out right there in the back of a taxi. What follows is a gloriously unnecessary display of brute strength as the Hulk bursts through the car door and storms into traffic.
It’s hard not to laugh at how disproportionate the response is. A road rage-induced Hulk-out is somewhat logical, but it mostly feels like a poorly thought-out necessity to have Hulk ready for the next scene. It’s a hilarious reminder of how low the threshold could be for unleashing the beast whenever The Incredible Hulk needed it for the plot.
2 Hulk Tries Soda
Season 2, Episode 3 "Ricky"
In The Incredible Hulk episode “Ricky,” audiences get a rare glimpse of the gentle giant engaging in a mundane human activity – trying soda. After befriending a mentally disabled man named Ricky, Hulk is introduced to the joys of carbonated refreshment. The scene is oddly wholesome, as Ricky offers the soda and the green beast curiously attempts to crush the can before learning how to open it.
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There’s something surreal about watching this towering symbol of rage pausing to enjoy a sugary beverage. It’s a sweet moment, but it also veers straight into ridiculous The Incredible Hulk territory. The Hulk, who can smash tanks and leap entire buildings, is momentarily tamed by a can of pop. It’s like watching King Kong discover cupcakes: strange yet endearing.
1 David Banner Hallucinates The Hulk
Season 3, Episode 1 “Metamorphosis”
Things get very ‘70s in The Incredible Hulk’s season three opener, where David Banner unknowingly consumes a drink spiked with LSD. What follows is a psychedelic fever dream as he hallucinates the Hulk in increasingly intense ways. The scene is drenched in colorful lights, swirling effects, and echoing sound design that feels more like Yellow Submarine than a superhero show.
The Hulk appears distorted, sometimes reaching out menacingly as David stumbles through a nightmarish version of his transformation. It's both trippy and oddly artsy – an experimental departure from the show’s typical formula. While the writers were likely trying to depict David’s fear of losing control, the result is so stylized and surreal that it ends up feeling more like an anti-drug PSA than a plot-driving moment. Either way, it’s an unforgettable The Incredible Hulk scene.
The Incredible Hulk
- Release Date
- 1977 - 1982-00-00
- Network
- CBS
- Directors
- Frank Orsatti, Reza Badiyi, Sigmund Neufeld Jr., Jeffrey Hayden, Barry Crane, Kenneth Johnson, Larry Stewart, Kenneth Gilbert, Jack Colvin, Ray Danton, Michael Preece, Alan J. Levi, L.Q. Jones, John Mherson, Bill Bixby, Bernard McEveety
Cast
Bill BixbyDavid Banner-
Lou FerrignoHulk
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Tom Szollosi, Richard Christian Matheson, Karen Harris, Andrew Schneider, Rick Rosenthal, Robert Wolterstorff, Todd Susman, Jill Donner, William Schwartz, Paul M. Belous
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