The Incredible Hulk
Big. Green. MAD.
Ep. 204 is live!
The mighty march of Make Mine Marvel Month hits week four, and we have a monster of a property to cover. So far, the properties covered this month have all been known more for their numerous animated appearances or series, but this one's turn in animation is often overshadowed by his much more famous live action series. This week, we're diving into 1996's The Incredible Hulk on UPN. To set the table, for the uninitiated, UPN was a new broadcast network brought to market in 1995 until its demise in 2006, at which point it merged with The WB channel and birthed The CW. UPN, not unlike FOX in its fledgling days, was known to roll the dice/throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks when it came to programming. The results were interesting, to say the least. Shows of note that stand out from my own recollections were Richard Jenni's Platypus Man, Shasta McNasty, Homeboys in Outer Space, and The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer.
The only piece of Marvel Comics 90's animation that wasn't on FOX, The Incredible Hulk hit airwaves on September 8, 1996, and lasted two seasons. I knew about this show being on the market due to articles about it in Wizard magazine at the time, but I really didn't see it until its second season. This was likely due to UPN not really being in our area just yet. Additionally, at this point I was fairly busy with extracurricular activities now that I was in high school. The show being parked on UPN likely didn't do the show many favors as far as exposure, which is a shame. These days, the show is available on Disney+, and I have to say it truly was a gem. The storytelling and animation made for a great series, the character designs were solid, you had a great cast, amazing cameos from previously seen heroes with their original voice actors, and an intro that was second only to The X-Men. With all these factors in play, one has to surmise the show likely would have seen greater success on FOX or another network.
Naturally, there was an action figure line from ToyBiz. There were four waves released, each one with a creative name showcasing the theme of each wave. There were many interesting choices for the line, the stand out being the Savage Hulk that featured a Bruce Banner that could be "tucked" into Hulk's back. The standout, I think, was the Transformation Wave. This featured different versions, or takes, on the Hulk that really made for some pretty cool figures. Of this wave, I'd say Hulk 2099 and The Maestro are the gems as they really capture these strange variations of The Hulk. Another fun "time stamp" of this line was the ToyFare Exclusive She-Hulk in a Fantastic Four uniform, calling back to when she subbed in for The Thing with the FF.
It is a shame we didn't get treated to future seasons, because you really had some solid ingredients with this entry in 90's Marvel Animation. Moving on to our final episode of Make Mine Marvel Month, however, we see quality take a hard left. We end January and close our coverage of 90's Marvel animation as we revisit two incredibly subpar, short lived series that filled time on Saturday mornings. The Silver Surfer and Avengers: United They Stand...two decisions that Fox ran with for 13 episodes for each. As always, thank you for reading and listening...we'll see you next Monday.
-Derek
