Marvel’s Green Goliath, Hulk, commands the kind of strength that puts all other heroes and villains to shame — including the few who wield the mighty power of a god. A character famously known for his emerald-hued skin and ripped purple pants, Hulk’s co-creator, Stan Lee, once gave a reason as to why he made Hulk a shade of green, but also why he never wanted to put him in a traditional superhero suit from the start.

Debuting in 1962’s The Incredible Hulk #1, Bruce Banner was accidentally exposed to gamma rays that turned him into a Jekyll and Hyde-esque monster who becomes exponentially more powerful the angrier he gets.

Introduced with grey skin rather than green, a 2006 interview with Stan Lee — part of the Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People documentary series available on YouTube — sees him explain that the Hulk’s signature color came about thanks to a printing problem, with Hulk not getting a set of spandex because Stan couldn’t think of an “excuse” to put him in one at all.

Stan Lee Thought Hulk Wearing a Costume Wouldn’t Work for the Character

Stan Lee: Creating 'The Hulk', 'Spider-Man' and 'Daredevil' - 2006 (Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People)

Speaking on his long and storied history as the co-creator of virtually all of Marvel Comics’ best and most popular characters, this specific Web of Stories clip sees Stan describing how, after artist and Hulk co-creator Jack Kirby honed in on the character’s instantly recognizable design, Hulk’s skin became green. itting that he didn’t initially have the color in mind for Hulk at first, Stan reveals that he chose grey because it was “scary-looking, a guy with grey skin,” further adding to the monstrous aspect of the character while bringing an even more horror-like vibe to his transformed state.

Now since the kids seemed to like costumes, I couldn't think of an excuse to put a monster in a costume so I figured I'd do the next best thing. I'll make his skin a different color. I did not think of green originally, I made it grey in the first issue. I thought, that will be scary-looking, a guy with grey skin. But unfortunately when the book came out the grey was a different shade on every page. One page was light grey, one page it was dark grey, one page he looked black, one page it was white. And I realized the printer was having trouble with the grey color. So when you're a cartoon editor and writer you're like God, you can do anything. I said: ’I'll change his skin color’. So in the next issue I made him green.

Noting that “…when the book came out the grey was a different shade on every page,” Stan soon realized that his printer at the time, Zenith Publishing Corp, was having trouble replicating a consistent grey tone, forcing him to come up with a new solution to Hulk’s hue problem. Taking advantage of his power as a “cartoon editor and writer,” Stan decided that in the second issue of the series, he was going to make Hulk’s skin a vibrant shade of green — continuity be damned — and after seeing the freshly printed color pages, realized his decision was a good one.

A Printer Error Forced Stan Lee To Change Hulk’s Color Scheme From Grey to Green

The Color Grey Was Hard to Reliably Replicate on the Page

With Hulk’s design now solidified, Stan was able to give the character fun emerald-related nicknames, like the Jade Giant, the Green Goliath, and “Old Greenskin,” while simultaneously making Hulk’s green-ness a costume unto itself, negating the need for a traditional set of spandex à la The Fantastic Four or Spider-Man. Understanding that “the kids seemed to like costumes,” Stan its that he had no clue how to “put a monster in a costume” to begin with, so with that in mind, Stan did what he thought was “the next best thing” and changed Hulk’s skin to a different color.

Turned out wonderful, the printer was able to do a good job with green but more than that, it gave me a chance to come up with little cute sayings like… I called him the Green Goliath, the Jolly Green Giant, and Old Greenskin — I love using expressions. So that's how The Hulk was born.

A decision that ended up working for Hulk in the long run, Stan not giving the character a traditional superhero costume allowed him to stand out against the dozens upon dozens of gaudy, uninspired, under-designed, and over-designed superheroes that flooded the industry in the years following Hulk’s successful debut. While it’s true that Hulk’s shredded pants could be seen as a kind of costume, the alternative would be dressing him from head-to-toe in a form-fitting outfit that would lessen his imposing frame and distract from the color swap part of his history that helped make this hulking character so iconic.

Hulk Now Has Multiple Multi-Colored Versions of Himself in Marvel Comics Continuity

There Have Been Over Ten Different Colored Hulks in Comics

Since his inception, Bruce Banner and his rotating crew of ing characters have encountered multiple non-green-skinned versions of the Hulk on Earth-616 and beyond, with some of the most recognizable ones being shaded a totally different color. Introducing multiple different Red Hulks into continuity — revealed to be General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and then his daughter, Betty Ross — Marvel has also created a yellow, orange, blue, black, brown, and even purple Hulk, gifting each new colored iteration a unique set of powers that range from harnessing the Uni-Power to having solar radiation abilities to utilizing heat-based rage skills, and more.

In the past, Hulk has reverted to his grey form as the conniving Las Vegas enforcer, Mr. Joe Fixit, to say nothing about his other green-skinned personas, like Devil Hulk, Professor Hulk, and even the more recent Immortal Hulk, proving that there’s far more to this character than his “Hulk Smash” motto and the color swaps of his peers. If not for an unintended printer mishap and Stan Lee thinking about how weird it would be to put a monster in a full-blown superhero costume, fans wouldn’t have Hulk or his differently shaded variations as we know them today.

Source: YouTube