Hulk Cartoons: A retrospective review

d_Galloway · May 16, 2008, 11:11pm

This is something I have no business doing, but whatever.

Well, the summer movie season is upon us, which means one thing: superhero flicks. We’ve already had the great Iron Man movie, and The Dark Knight will sweep into theaters in July, but what about the <i>other</i> superhero movie? You know, the one with Marvel’s poster boy for green guys with anger management issues? Yeah, The Incredible Hulk slips out in mid-June, sandwiched between two much larger franchises.

Still, I’m enough of a Hulk fan that I’m actually psyched about the movie. Heck, it can’t be anywhere NEAR as bad as the 2003 mess. (At least Hulk’s fighting an <i>actual Hulk villain</i> this time around.) So, in order to celebrate, and because I’m busting my ass off looking for work at the same time, I went onto the interwebs and watched ALL THREE Incredible Hulk cartoons. Don’t ask me why, but I did.

Anyway, I’ve noticed several differences in tone, quality, and general faithfulness to the source material in each of them, so much so that I wanted to report my findings to this disinterested group. So, here goes.

First series: Marvel Super Heroes: Hulk cartoons
First aired: 1966

The original Hulk cartoon was part of the Marvel Super Heroes block of toons. Basically, they slapped together five different shows a week, each one focusing on a different hero (Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and the Sub-Mariner). This iteration was, out of sheer necessity, slavishly loyal to the original comics (which makes sense considering the Hulk was probably the newest character to appear in the series.)

Unfortunately, the reason WHY there was so much loyalty to the material was…it WAS the comics! Rather than spend time and money animating an entire show, Marvel chose to simply use still panels and images from the actual comics. Animation was limited to overlaying lip movement and still images wobbling back and forth like broken jpegs. To further save money, each episode was only seven or eight minutes, including the ridiculous opening and closing theme song.

In fact, the excellent art style and theme song are the only reasons to really bother with this show. Since the artwork was ripped from the comics with only minor alterations (such as making the Hulk green instead of grey during the first issue story arc) made for the sake of continuity, it already looks great…for a bunch of still images. The story arcs (composed of three episodes each) also practically follow the comics word-by-word, so if you missed one of the Hulk’s early appearances, you might be able to catch it in this show.

Sadly, I can’t really offer that much more praise. The voice acting is pretty bad, even by 1960s cartoon standards. The worst voice, ironically enough, is the Hulk himself; he sounds more like he’s constipated and colicky than a raw visage of anger and destruction. The writing can be a lot of fun at times (at least for its corniness), but you wouldn’t tell that from the lifeless droning of the narrator.

And finally, it’s little more than a bunch of still images. As far as I can tell, there’s no plans to bring the series to DVD, and for good reason. Would you pay $40 to see a bunch of still images ripped from comic books with awful music and voice acting, or just pay about $20 at a swap meet and get ever one of the issues the show covers?

By the way, here’s the theme song, easily the best out of all five shows on this block:

Next time: The 1982 series, sixteen years and one live-action show later.

GG_Crono · May 16, 2008, 11:20pm

That was an awesome theme song.

Good post, in any case. Very interesting.

Wilfredo_Martinez · May 17, 2008, 5:59am

As you can imagine, I saw the Marvel Super Heroes show when I was a kid- in Spanish! And yes, the voices were much better in my home language. The theme songs remained in English, which back then, I didn’t understand enough of to realize how silly they were. I guess it was for the better.

Also, for some reason I still do not know, there were no Marvel Comics translations in Puerto Rico- we had DC, Archie, Disney etc. but no Marvels, so this was my first exposure to the Marvel Universe (along with the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four cartoons.) I actually preferred them, but I wouldn’t discover Marvel Comics until the late 70’s when I found (untranslated) comics at a local drugstore. I bought them with my milk money and actually spent hours translating them with a dictionary! (first DC comic: Super Friends; my first Marvel was, coincidentally, a Hulk issue, though it guest-starred Doctor Samson instead.)

MSH was also one of the few cartoons my sister watched with me. She loved the manly (or in Hulk’s case, tragic) heroes, and their romantic relationships with their girls. I must admit I did, too. I think my favorite episode was the Thor one where Thor’s father, Odin, tried to force Thor to break up with his mortal lover, Jane. He failed, and in the end mused “Perhaps even the power of Migthy Odin is no match for the power- of love!”

Gotta love that Stan Lee dialogue.

d_Galloway · May 19, 2008, 9:37pm

Okay, a few days late, but still ready to go.

Second series: The Incredible Hulk (1982)
First aired: 1982

In between the time Marvel Super Heroes premiered and this new series showed up, a lot of changes had happened to the Hulk. His popularity continued to wax and wane, with occasional spikes thanks to guest appearances and such. His character changed from a marginally intelligent brute to a green monster with seemingly no speaking ability whatsoever. And finally, in 1977, he exploded into the mainstream with The Incredible Hulk, a live-action TV series staring Bill Bixby as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk itself.

The live-action series is not really going to be discussed in-depth here, as it completely (and willingly) cut itself off from anything relating to the comics. The Hulk was much weaker (albeit still incredibly powerful), the storyline was totally offered to fit an episodic TV drama format, and the more juvenile aspects of the character were dispensed in favor of focusing on the inherent drama of a brilliant and well-meaning scientist randomly turning into a mindless, destructive monster. Needless to say, the show was a hit, and ran for four successful seasons and a maligned, abused fifth and final season.

The thing is, the show got the drama down, but what about the action? The Hulk wasn’t just about the philosophical implications of nuclear warfare in the modern age; it was also about a big green guy beating the crap out of everything that got in his way. Hence, the Saturday Morning cartoon series was born, premiering on NBC alongside another Marvel show, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

I could explain the ins-and-outs of this show in meticulous detail…or I can just show you the opening:

This one minute of animation sums up exactly what this show was going for. It wasn’t going to be a sappy drama; no, this was the Hulk fighting aliens, monsters, robots, etc. He was smashing his way out of buildings, destroying deathtraps, and creating earthquakes. And best of all, he LIFTS A STEEL BOX ABOUT FIFTEEN TIMES HIS SIZE WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A SWEAT. Just like every other kids show in the 80s, this was all about sanitized action…which illustrates the main problem.

The series sticks to the comics, at least in concept. The Hulk’s origin, his supporting characters, and his general circumstances are kept close to the comic’s beginnings. However, everything has been knocked down to a G-rating. The more dramatic angles of the comic storylines are dumped in favor of bad jokes, cheap puns, and the cast laughing at absolutely nothing just before the end credits. Hulk is never allowed to harm anything other than robots, has a much stronger moral compass, and generally acts like an anti-hero, rather unlike his seemingly impossible-to-peg motives in the source material.

The show was highly episodic in nature; events never carried over from one story to the next, with everything getting a nice big reset button. Easily the biggest example of this is when the Puppetmaster reveals the Hulk’s true identity to the general public; the episode ends with an extremely convoluted series of events that causes the entire town to forget that the ENTIRE episode ever happened. And even when the army base is completely destroyed towards the end of the episode, it comes back good as new in the next.

There were two things that really drove this series. The first was the epic, over-the-top soundtrack. The voice actors were the typical 80s flair (with one exception), but the MUSIC was incredibly fitting for the kind of show. The melodramatic tones associated with the live action show were replaced with heavy drum beats and pulse-pounding rhythms. Even if the Hulk was taking out the garbage, you would have gongs, bass drums, and cymbals crashing every which way.

The other stand-out part was the narration, mostly because it was performed by none other than Stan Lee. His lines are already melodramatic, if not downright stupid at times, but the way he DELIVERS them makes the whole thing seem more epic and astounding than it really is. It’s more or less like reading one of those yellow boxes in comics, before Deadpool came along and ruined them.

I won’t even bother mentioning the animation. Talking about animation quality in an 80s cartoon is like kicking a three-legged puppy; it’s cruel, inhumane, and downright disgusting. Let’s just say the show’s actually animated and leave it at that.

Overall, this wasn’t a stupendously great show, but still worth a look. The awesome soundtrack, tolerable voice work, and wonderful narration helps to make the animation flaws, stupid storylines, and bad humor go down just a little bit better. The show’s supposed to come out on DVD in time for the Hulk’s new movie…in every place but the US. I mean, CANADA gets it and we don’t!

Next time: The 1990s series. Please, God, kill me.

Wilfredo_Martinez · May 20, 2008, 6:59am

d: I liked the live action show, but I never felt it was the “true” Hulk, for the reasons you mentioned. In fact, other than the Hulk himself, I can’t remember ANYTHING supernatural in the show- no aliens, ghosts etc. Hey, at least the Six Million Dollar Man met bigfoot! It was basically “The Fugitive” but with superstrength. Still, it was a good show (best scene: when the reporter chasing Banner meets a man with a bandaged face- who then transforms into Hulk right in front of him!) Also, this series has what is probably the most unexpected conclusion for a comic book superhero TV series ever: Banner DIES in the end! (Man, what a letdown.)

I never bothered with the 80’s cartoon. It had “Super Friends version” written all over it.

Waiting for your post on the 90’s show.

Mabatsekker · May 20, 2008, 7:47am

SO… SAYS… THE LEADER!!1

d_Galloway · May 26, 2008, 10:19pm

Alright, confession time. I can’t really go into a lot of detail about the 90s series…because…I lost my episodes.

I had several episodes of the show on tape (I forgot exactly why, but I was probably trying to catch the show before or after it), but they were either lost or damaged when my family moved. I couldn’t find any episodes on Youtube or any other video site, so I tried bittorent. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any torrents with seeds or peers, meaning I can’t watch the whole series.

This means I have to go by memory for this one. Sorry for any nostalgic innacuracies that may occur.

Series Three: The Incredible Hulk
First Aired: 1996

The Incredible Hulk’s 90s outing is one of…conflicting emotions, to say the least. I don’t really know why, but the show never really rubbed off on me the right way. The first season was pretty good, with several improvements over the previous shows we’ve covered. However, the second season is so bad, so purely terrible, I wish to have it removed from my brain.

The 90s was the glory age of Marvel animation. It started with the X-Men cartoon, a true standout of Saturday morning cartoons and one of my most fondly-remembered shows. In fact, it stands along with Batman: TAS and Earthworm Jim as one of the few childhood cartoons I can still watch and enjoy fully. The story was tightly crafted, with character and plot development the likes of which is rarely seen in children’s television. The animation had hiccups, but was overall very well-done and stylized. Even though the last season was purely awful, I still loved it.

Then came Spider-Man. As a kid, I adored this show, but now I can barely watch it. It’s easy to see why: the show is so neutered that it’s practically impossible to believe this was based on a comic. Not to mention it has the wussiest Punisher ever made. (Sorry, but when you love a character, you don’t like to see them get smeared like Frank Castle did.) The animation managed to go downhill over the course of the series, the storyline got way out of whack, and the whole thing had the gall to end with a cliffhanger.

But now we have the Incredible Hulk. This should be an easy show to transcribe, right? Just a big green guy smashing things. Well, the show started out well enough. There’s no real origin episode; Banner starts as the Hulk, and is working with Betty and Doc Samson to find a cure. The Leader is introduced in the first episode, and quickly becomes a regular villain. The show maintained a sense of continuity somewhat reminiscent of X-Men, with a great many bittersweet (or downright depressing) plots thrown in.

The season ended with a literal bang. General Ross goes batshit insane and screws up Banner’s chance of being cured, turning him into the Grey Hulk. THEN Rick is turned into another version of the Hulk, and everyone runs for their fucking lives. The end. Wow, what a sad, tragic turn of fate. I guess that’s it.

Wait…there’s the second season. takes a deep breath

The second season marked a drastic change from the previous. The entire series went from very PG-13 to the same level of G-ness of the 80s show, thanks to the introduction of She-Hulk. Let me be perfectly frank here: I never liked She-Hulk. She just never clicked with me, no matter what medium she appeared in. In the season premiere, all the leftover plot points from the first season are hastily tied up, allowing for one episodic adventure after another. The entire supporting cast vanishes, the Leader is relegated to a third-class villain, and the show ends happily ever after.

The animation quality was alright throughout, at least on part with other shows of the era. The voice work was also pretty good, at least as I can remember. However, this is about all I can comment on. The most I remember is the show’s plot, and how it pissed me off to no end. The second season alone knocks it down to the worst of the three shows.

Sorry about the poor ranting about the last show. I’m just freaking frustrated from spending a week trying to find some episodes, and coming up empty.

Next time: My closing thoughts.

Wilfredo_Martinez · May 27, 2008, 8:21am

However, the second season is so bad, so purely terrible, I wish to have it removed from my brain.

Heh, I have similar feelings regarding another show, THE OUTER LIMITS. I feel it’s the best of the old “Sci-Fi/suspense” TV shows, better than the Twilight Zone; it made me think more. The new version from the 90’s, however, was just a horror series, and while it had some intriguing ideas, it was so hateful (one episode was basically about how men (as opposed to women) are so hopelessly violent that they should be allowed to go extinct) that like you, I’m pained to even remember it.
::dekar!::

And don’t worry, d, your review of the 90’s HULK series was good enough; I barely saw it saw it myself, but everything I remember from it fits with what you said.

BTW what do you think of what they are doing with HULK these days? I’m really baffled by what they did after WORLD WAR HULK (which I thought was terrible); I understand they need a new take on the character, but the whole “Who is the Red Hulk” mystery is truly baffling (personal theory: it’s some kind of psychic projection of Banner’s) and having the Hulk REPLACED as the star of his own series- by Hercules, of all people- was truly shocking! Somehow I think Marvel just didn’t know how to follow up WWH so they threw this in as a distraction…

Btw: I’ve been thinking of doing a retrospective of my own- on Wonder Woman. Why? Well, I’ve been thinking: Wondy is one of the world’s most famous superheroes, certainly THE most famous superheroine. So, how come most people can’t tell you anything about her? Ask most people about Superman or Batman, and most can tell you the basic facts correctly. But Wonder Woman, a character who has been around for almost as long? Not really. And you would not believe the different approaches they have tried on her over the years… Anyway, what do you think?

d_Galloway · May 27, 2008, 10:56am

I don’t think the Red Hulk is that bad, compared to RICK TURNING INTO FUCKING A-BOMB! AND HE’S PISSED BECAUSE THE ABOMINATION IS DEAD? WHAT THE HELL, MARVEL?!!

And to think, I actually thought World War Hulk was a breath of fresh air after the mess that was Civil War. It wasn’t high art by any means, but it was still kinda enjoyable. Too bad they were just winging it through the whole plotline. Hell, why do they have to do these giant crossovers every year, anyway? I believe crossover series should be reserved only for something huge, not for some annual event nobody’s going to bother buying.

Btw: I’ve been thinking of doing a retrospective of my own- on Wonder Woman. Why? Well, I’ve been thinking: Wondy is one of the world’s most famous superheroes, certainly THE most famous superheroine. So, how come most people can’t tell you anything about her? Ask most people about Superman or Batman, and most can tell you the basic facts correctly. But Wonder Woman, a character who has been around for almost as long? Not really. And you would not believe the different approaches they have tried on her over the years… Anyway, what do you think?

Wil, you’re probably the one that should be doing these retrospectives. You still stand as our resident comic book/superhero expert. That, and I really don’t know much about Wonder Woman, outside of her origin, her TV appearances, and her section on Superdickery. So…sorry. If you still want to do it, do it. I’ll be gladly reading along.

Wilfredo_Martinez · May 27, 2008, 6:18pm

why do they have to do these giant crossovers every year, anyway? I believe crossover series should be reserved only for something huge, not for some annual event nobody’s going to bother buying.

Comics aren’t selling as well as they used to, and they keep trying all sort of gimmicks to sell. Remember in the 90’s when special covers of all kinds were used? That worked for a while, but then the market almost crashed. These days, it’s crossovers that are used to sustain the comics companies. DC has gone beyond that an invented the neverending crossover! Countdown to Infinite Crisis led to Infinite Crisis which led to the year-long 52 series which led to Countdown to Final Crisis, another year-long series, which led to Final Crisis, supposedly the last crossover of its kind- except DC is also doing Trinity, ANOTHER year long series! (I guess they are only retiring the word “Crisis” from their crossover titles!) The crazy thing is that these things SELL. Or they used to. 52 had the novelty of its being the first weekly year-long crossover ever; Countdown didn’t sell so well, probably because people started figuring out that nothing good was REALLY going on. You know, you’d think somebody would have realized that what makes an “event” series important is it uniqueness- that is, THE FACT THEY DON’T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME! And that if they kept doing them concurrently, the thrill was going to be eventually lost. If the universe is constantly in danger, who cares? It’ll still be there tomorrow- still imperiled! :thud:

But not all comics crossovers are bad. Some have good ideas; while I disagree a LOT of how “Civil War” was handled, the basic idea -superheroes finally having to deal with their legality- was original and entertaining enough. Other crossovers that I think rocked were Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet and DC One Million. But you notice that these happened about once a year, giving time for things to go back to ‘normal’ for the characters, before the next disaster struck.

Wil, you’re probably the one that should be doing these retrospectives. You still stand as our resident comic book/superhero expert.
Heh, thank you, d. But I actually don’t know that much about the Hulk, outside the comics. I haven’t even seen the movie yet! Trust me, you’re better for this retrospective on his other adaptations than I am.

That, and I really don’t know much about Wonder Woman, outside of her origin, her TV appearances, and her section on Superdickery. So…sorry. If you still want to do it, do it. I’ll be gladly reading along.
That’s just the point I want to explore: how come the character everybody calls “The Third member of the DC Trinity” (with Bats and Supes) is so poorly known? Let’s see if I can figure it out…

Seifer · May 27, 2008, 6:39pm

Nice job, Gallo.

Wil, I hope to read your Wonder Woman thesis one of these days.
For some reason I can only see an image of Lynda Carter when Wondy is mentioned. And she still looks hot http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/arts_entertainment&id=6115901

d_Galloway · June 1, 2008, 8:15pm

Alright, here is my closing thoughts on the subject.

The Hulk’s animated appearances are just the surface of his exposure in the media. The Jolly Green Giant has made guest appearances on other Marvel cartoons, in the movies, and even on Mr. Rodgers once. However, since this is technically a gaming site, let’s cover a few of his game appearances to round things out:

The Incredible Hulk (Super NES/Genesis, US Gold, 1994): Holy crap, is this game BAD! Controlling the Hulk is nearly impossible thanks to crippled controls, a near lack of collision detection, and an ultimately overly complicated and confusing fighting scheme. The plot has something to do with the Hulk fighting the Leader, but who cares, really? When you die from touching a single pixel of a RISING ceiling, you know something is seriously wrong.

Hulk: Pantheon Saga (Playstation/Saturn, Eidos, 1997): I haven’t actually played this one, but since I have yet to hear a single positive thing about it, I’d much rather avoid it like the plague.

Hulk (PS2/Gamecube/Xbox/PC, Universal Interactive, 2003): Compared to the movie, this is a work of art. However, it still has some flaws. The Banner levels force you to sneak around, while the Hulk areas have you simply smashing everyone. However, the two parts never really co-exist well together. The plot is alright, but follows the movie more than the comics.

Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2/Gamecube/Xbox, Vivendi Universal Games, 2005): The ultimate Hulk game. Seriously. Go buy it. Now.

And…that’s it. I really have nothing to add. Overall, the Hulk has had a tumultuous number of years trying to break into other media, and even into the comic mainstream itself. He is now a very well-known figure, thanks mostly to the live-action series, but still lags behind many other well-known characters in terms of movies, cartoons, tv shows, and general appeal. These three shows are a clear example of how the Hulk has progressed over the years, from a long-winded constipated Frankenstein’s Monster to the very embodiment of suppressed rage and frustration at the world at large.

If I had to watch only one, I would probably stick with the 1966 series. The other two were too much products of their time to really be enjoyed, while the original series showcases much of the raw talent that made Marvel so successful during the 60s and 70s.

Until next time…HULK SMASH!

Well, that’s the entire retrospective. I don’t know if I’ll ever do another one of this kind. If I stick with shows, I might do a Spider-Man recap some day, but that would involve bringing up the Toei series, something I should probably avoid doing. If I just use comics, I could recap the Punisher, but I’m the only one here with any interest in the character. Hopefully Wil will get his retrospective on Wonder Woman going.

Until then, so long, True Believers!

Mabatsekker · June 2, 2008, 3:50am

No comments on Hulk’s Marvel Super Heroes/ vs Capcom appearances? :<

Hades_Vulvuhzela · June 2, 2008, 5:51am

I thought there was already a hulk movie! I’ve been like, “What? What? Didn’t this just happen a few years ago?” for the past month. I guess I was right.

Either way, I won’t likely be seeing this.

Wilfredo_Martinez · June 2, 2008, 8:40am

Hades: The new Hulk movie is a remake, to make Hulk more like it was in the comics. Apparently Marvel didn’t like the way Ang Lee handled the character- but then, why use him to direct the movie in the first place? This isn’t his kind of material. I guess they just wanted a “Big Hollywood name” attached to it.

I know very little about the new movie, other than that it seems to be closer to the original comics, having characters like General Ross and The Abomination in it. Let’s see how good it is.

Gallo: Thank you for the retrospective. Yes, I think I will write my own, you have inspired me into it. And I would like to see you do one on the Spider-Man cartoons- the newest one, Sensational Spider-Man, is the best one I’ve seen in years. OK, I hate the look of some characters (what’s with their eyes and noses?) and some of the characterization is flat, however, their re-creations of some classic moments from the comics are surprisingly good. And this Spidey is actually FUNNY. Even the movies don’t have him making bad cracks at the bad guys. That used to be his trademark.

Curtis · June 2, 2008, 9:28am

How bout the X-men animated series? I used to watch that religiously when I was a little kid.

Kagato_Toujou · June 3, 2008, 9:59am

So how 'bout on that second clip I thought he was going to straight SPEAR-CHUNK that woman like some Zimbwabian Warrior at that UFO?

Hades_Vulvuhzela · June 4, 2008, 6:24am

Haha, on the second clip he so could’ve fit between the spikes. What a joke.

Mabatsekker · June 5, 2008, 4:48am

Perhaps they’re from Ivalice, those guys have some problems when it comes to noses.

Didn’t they try to explain Spidey’s joke-cracking with the fact that he was, at times, absolutely terrified when fighting against the likes of Electro, Sandman, etc, and now it’s more to annoy and distract his enemies? And I agree on the movie part, although I have no idea how “annoying” lines would fit Tobey Maguire. They did have that one crack in the third movie…

Wilfredo_Martinez · June 5, 2008, 5:50am

Mabat: You are correct: Spidey’s jokes were meant, both as a way to keep himself from panicking while fighting inhuman things like The Lizard, and to drive certain villains, like Doctor Octopus, so mad they committed dumb mistakes during fights. And of course, having a miserable Peter Parker turn into a gloating Spider-Man was part of the fun.

Btw, I’ve been meaning to ask: why do you have an Anti-Spyware ad in your sig? Are they paying you for publicity, or you just find the image they chose to use funny?