The Incredible Hulk

Baby Rowlf meets The Incredible Hulk in the Muppet Babies episode "Comic Capers" (1989).

Aveggies: Age of Bon Bon

1978 fashion.

The Incredible Hulk is a Marvel Comics superhero and comic book title. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962, the comic focused on Dr. Bruce Banner who becomes a musclebound behemoth from a gamma radiation accident. The transformation was originally triggered by sundown, but later was directly tied to Banner's emotions, especially anger.

The character's popularity led to several TV series, including a successful live action TV series in 1978, starring Bill Bixby as Banner (renamed David) and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. The franchise continued in theatrical movies with Hulk (2003), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and The Avengers (2012).

References

• When Mr. Snuffleupagus visits Oscar the Grouch in Sesame Street Episode 0585, an annoyed Oscar says "Listen, you Incredible Hulk" before asking him to get out of his trash can.

• A kid in Sesame Street Episodes 1138 and 1177 wears an Incredible Hulk t-shirt.

• In the 1989 Muppet Babies episode "Comic Capers," the Incredible Hulk appears, in stock footage from Marvel Productions' 1982 animated series, in the song "The Sunday Funnies." He makes another cameo when Baby Rowlf (as Peter Barker) opens an elevator door (with the growls supplied by Frank Welker.)

• A "Global Grover" segment on Sesame Street about Angola includes a shot of a child wearing an Incredible Hulk sweatshirt.

• In the Farscape comic book issue "Together Again for the First Time," John Crichton tells Grunchlk and Sikozu, "Well, you've both met Aeryn. You wouldn't like her when she's angry."

• When Crichton confronts Grayza after she mutinied against Aeryn in the Farscape issue "Death is Taxing," Crichton warns Grayza, "Commandant Cleavage, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

• In a web video for Entertainment Weekly, Kermit tells the publishers that they wouldn't like Miss Piggy when she's angry. Walter chuckles and points out the Hulk reference.

• In Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet: Clash of the Class Clowns, Danvers reveals to the reader, "In case you haven't heard, I have to share bunk beds with my sister, which is only slightly less embarrassing than having your mom walk in on you when you're covered in green Magic Marker and reciting lines out loud from The Incredible Hulk (don't ask me how I know this)."

• In Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet: The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy, Danvers mentions to the reader that his arch-nemesis Beebus Spracklin had been known as the Incredible Hulk of their elementary school.

• At the London press conference for The Muppets, Kermit is asked if he minds getting typecast playing himself in movies all the time. He reveals that he has actually been looked over for some roles in the past, including the Incredible Hulk. "Right color, wrong body type."

• In an October 2012 Entertainment Weekly video, Cookie Monster plays the Edible Hulk in a parody of The Avengers.

• Cookie Monster later portrayed the Hulk (and his alter-ego, Dr. Brownie) in the "Cookie's Crumby Pictures" segment, "Aveggies: Age of Bon Bon."

• On October 8, 2015, Gonzo was asked which actor would he want to be a stunt double for. Gonzo replied, "The Incredible Hulk! After years of working blue, I'd love to work green!" [1]

• Uncle Deadly Tweeted, "Summer convention season is upon us. Need a last minute cosplay? With enough green fabric you can be @KermitTheFrog or The Incredible Hulk." on July 9, 2017. [2]

• A reader asked Kermit in a December 2022 interview for The Guardian if he ever auditioned for the role of Yoda or the Hulk. Kermit replied, "Yoda and Hulk are both good friends, and I am frequently mistaken for them, despite my lack of ears and pectorals. I think that they are both perfectly cast."

Muppet Mentions

Marvel Premiere #50 (Oct 1979)

The Hulk passes a prominent Herry Monster toy on the Incredible Hulk episode "Captive Night" (1979).

From the same episode, in the lower left corner, Mr. Snuffleupagus is seen in a toy display.

Bruce meets an ersatz Oscar the Grouch in the comic book.

Bruce watches Grover in the 2008 movie.

• Marvel Premiere #50 (Oct 1979) features a panel of the Hulk clutching Kermit the Frog, who laments, "It's not easy being green, right?"

• "Captive Night," a 1979 episode of The Incredible Hulk, features background appearances by Sesame Street plush toys. The episode is set in a department store, and during a lengthy sequence, the Hulk roams around the toy department, curiously gazing at the strange faces on the various toys and dolls. Several shots feature a stuffed Herry Monster atop a mushroom, the longest being a tracking shot. A Mr. Snuffleupagus is also briefly glimpsed near a large stuffed dog.

• In The Incredible Hulk issue #474 (1999), a journey into Bruce Banner's mind includes a symbol of anger from his childhood: "Edgar the Grump", who lives in a dumpster on "Sassafras Street". The character is a parody of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street.

• The 2008 feature film The Incredible Hulk begins with Bruce Banner living in Brazil while hiding from the military. To learn the local language, he reads a translation dictionary and watches Sesame Street. Footage of Grover performing "Over, Under, Around and Through" is used, and Joe Raposo receives acknowledgement for the song in the film's credits.

• In Maestro #2 (2020), a story involving the Hulk of an alternate future, when Janis Jones informs her grandfather Rick that "the green guy you used to love" has returned, he guesses Oscar the Grouch.

Connections

• Loni Anderson played Sheila Cantrell in The Incredible Hulk episode "Of Guilt, Models and Murder" (1978)
• Ty Burrell played Leonard Samson in The Incredible Hulk (2008 film)
• Bill Capizzi played Ben in The Incredible Hulk episode "My Favorite Magician" (1979)
• Rosalind Chao played a receptionist in The Incredible Hulk episode "Married" (1978)
• Jennifer Connelly played Betty Ross in Hulk (2003 film)
• Jesse Corti played a colonel in Hulk (2003 film)
• Robert Downey, Jr. played Tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk (2008 film).
• Matt Frewer played the Leader on The Incredible Hulk (1996-1998).
• Seth Green played Rick Jones/A-Bomb on Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (2013-2015)
• H. B. Haggerty played Gregor in The Incredible Hulk episode "Half Nelson" (1981)
• Mark Hamill played Gargoyle on The Incredible Hulk (1996-1998)
• Mariette Hartley played Dr. Caroline Fields in The Incredible Hulk episode "Married" (1978)
• Sherman Hemsley played Robert in The Incredible Hulk episode "No Escape" (1979)
• William Hurt played General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in The Incredible Hulk (2008 film)
• Kathy Ireland played Ogress on The Incredible Hulk (1996-1998)
• Stan Lee co-created the character and made cameos in several Hulk-related projects.
• Tommy Madden played Buster Caldwell in The Incredible Hulk episode "Half Nelson" (1981)
• Richard Moll played the Abomination and a homeless man on The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997)
• Pat Morita played Fred in The Incredible Hulk episode "Stop the Presses" (1979)
• Mark Ruffalo played Bruce Banner/The Hulk in various Marvel projects including The Avengers movies, Thor: Ragnarok (2017 film), and others
• John Stephenson supplied additional voices on the 1982 animated series
• Cree Summer played Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk on the second season of The Incredible Hulk (1997-1998)
• John Vernon played Major Glenn Talbot on The Marvel Superheroes (1966) and General "Thunderbolt" Ross on The Incredible Hulk (1996-1998)

See also

• She-Hulk
• Hulk