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It may have taken until 2025 for a Red Hulk to hit the big screen in “Captain America: Brave New World”, but if a certain showrunner had his way, the crimson Hulk would’ve shown up on the small screen over forty years earlier.
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Back before CGI made it possible to put Mark Ruffalo’s face on a digital Hulk’s body, the CBS series “The Incredible Hulk” had a different solution: Bill Bixby played David Banner, and when Banner got angry his larger half was played by body builder Lou Ferrigno in a wig and green body paint.
But if “The Incredible Hulk” showrunner Kenneth Johnson had his way, Ferrigno would have been covered in red body paint, not green.
Harrison Ford as Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World
Harrison Ford as Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World
Disney
In 2006, Johnson told IGN he called Hulk co-creator Stan Lee in hopes of turning the Hulk red for the show: “Yeah, I called Stan Lee and I said, man, what’s the logic of green? Is he the envious Hulk? Is he green with envy or jealousy? The color of rage is red, which I was also pushing for because it’s a real human color – you know, when people get flushed with anger.”
Johnson called the battle to change the Hulk’s color one he “could not win… [Hulk] was just too iconic already in the comic books.”
For better or worse, Ferrigno wore green instead of red paint in “The Incredible Hulk”, and it took Marvel Comics a few more decades before it decided to give the idea a shot.
In 2008 the “Hulk” comic rebooted with a bright red Hulk on the cover. Unlike in “Captain America: Brave New World”, in the comics the Red Hulk’s real identity was a secret for almost two years. Finally in 2010’s “Hulk” #23, Thaddeus Ross was unveiled as Red Hulk or, as he is sometimes known, Rulk.
For a time the Red Hulk was all the rage (no pun intended). He took over the Hulk’s regular title, spent time in the Avengers, and eventually led his own version of the Thunderbolts alongside more violent heroes like Venom, Deadpool, the Punisher, and Elektra.
In the comics he was cured for a while, died for a while, and now is back thanks to the release of “Captain America: Brave New World”. We’ll see how long he sticks around this time.
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“}]] The Red Hulk almost showed up much earlier, and was pegged as being the only Hulk that Marvel wanted to showcase. Read More