The Incredible Hulk (1982)

The Incredible Hulk is an animated television series based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The series ran for 13 episodes on NBC in 1982, part of a combined hour with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (as The Incredible Hulk and the Amazing Spider-Man). Compared to the live-action The Incredible Hulk television series from Universal, this series followed the Hulk comic books much more closely, particularly with regard to the Hulk's origin, the supporting cast (though Rio and his only daughter Rita do not appear in the comics), and the heavy use of fantastical elements. This was the second Hulk animated series: in 1966, the Hulk appeared in 13 seven-minute segments as part of TV's The Marvel Super Heroes.

The series aired from 1996 to 1998 in CBBC as part of The Marvel Action Hour (UK).

## Plot

The series focuses on Dr. Bruce Banner attempting to cure himself of his transformations into the Hulk, and the Hulk defeating various monsters and villains whilst fending off the army's attempts to subdue and capture him.

## Characters

* Bruce Banner:
* Rick Jones: Here, Rick is blond, wears a cowboy hat, and has a girlfriend named Rita. As in the early years of the comic books, he is the sole confidant of Banner's secret that he is actually the Hulk.
* Betty Ross: In this incarnation, Betty is a research scientist working alongside Bruce Banner at Gamma Base. Like the 1966 series, Betty is unaware that Banner transforms into the Hulk.
* General Ross:
* Major Ned Talbot: In this version, Major Talbot's first name was changed from Glenn to Ned. He is nicknamed by the troops secretly as "*Noodle-head Ned*" because he is very clumsy, somewhat cowardly, sucks up to General Ross, and is often deceived by the enemy. He acts as comic relief for the series.
* Rio: Rita's father, a character exclusive to this series. Although not confirmed, in the second episode, it is clear that Rick reveals the secret of Bruce to him, whom too tries to help him as he can.
* Rita: Rick Jones's girlfriend, a character exclusive to this series. Although not confirmed, in the second episode, it is clear that Rick reveals the secret of Bruce to her, whom too tries to help him as she can.

## Cast

Bruce Banner was played by voice actor Michael Bell, while the Hulk himself was voiced by Bob Holt, whose stock library of roars created for this series would be used in various other Marvel Productions series and movies.

* Michael Bell as Dr. Bruce Banner
* Pat Fraley as Major Ned Talbot
* Bob Holt as Hulk
* Michael Horton as Rick Jones
* Stan Lee as Narrator
* B.J. Ward as Betty Ross
* Susan Blu as Rita
* Roberto Cruz as Rio
* Bob Ridgely as General Thunderbolt Ross

## Marvel Mash-Up

Scenes from *Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends* and *The Incredible Hulk* were re-cut, edited, and re-dubbed into comical shorts as part of Disney XD's Marvel Mash-Up shorts for their "Marvel Universe on Disney XD" block of programming that includes *Ultimate Spider-Man* and *The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes*.

## Home release

The series was planned for release on Region 2 DVD in the UK in August 2008 by Liberation Entertainment as part of a release schedule of Marvel animated series. However, due to unforeseen circumstances the release day was pushed back to October, and then again to November 3. Liberation Entertainment then closed its UK division, making 12 staff redundant. This brought many delays to the releases.

Lace International bought the rights to distribute the series on DVD. Amazon.co.uk was the first store to receive stocks of the resulting two disc DVD set, which includes a short restoration featurette.

Clear Vision re-released the series on DVD in the UK on the June 7, 2010.

1. ↑ Marvel
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