Even if you're not a comicbook fan, when someone mentions the character of the Hulk, certain images spring to mind. Usually those images involve a giant, green monster, full of uncontrolled rage and sporting purple stretchy pants. For many the first thing they think of is the classic 70s and 80s television show The Incredible Hulk which starred the late Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner. Banner's beastly counterpart was portrayed by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno who went on to voice the Hulk in four MCU films.
Ferrigno however did not lend his dulcet tones to this year's AVENGER'S: ENDGAME and for good reason. The highest grossing film of all time showcased the Hulk in quite a different manner, not as a rage filled beast but as a cardigan wearing, bespectacled conversationalist who liked to share tacos. Dubbed "smart Hulk" by many, this iteration of Bruce Banner retained all of the doctor's intelligence as well as the green guy's strength and emerald skin. While many adored "smart Hulk," Ferrigno was not one of them. In a recent interview at a Canadian Comic Con in Hamilton, Canada, the sixty-eight year old actor had this to say about the portrayal:
What’s happening is that the first two Hulk movies, the CGI was improving, but the last one, Endgame, I was disappointed. Because the Hulk needs to be hideous, he needs to be a creature. You see in Endgame, Mark Ruffalo — I think it has a lot to do with him and Disney — I didn’t like the way it portrayed [Hulk]. It took away that beauty, that quality of the Hulk. That’s why a lot of people liked the series.
I have mixed feelings about Lou Ferrigno's comments. On the one hand I love the super strong, rage-fueled version of the Hulk. To be perfectly candid, that's what people pay to see. However, we've already seen that version of the Hulk on screen multiple times going all the way back to Ang Lee's HULK starring Eric Bana. I for one appreciated the fact that we received a different version of the Hulk in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. It was innovative, endearing, and hilarious. Moreover, it's also perfectly in line with the comicbooks as "smart Hulk" was inspired by Professor Hulk, which first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #377.
Having said all that, if Disney has any plans to have Mark Ruffalo do a solo Hulk film(s), I don't think you can have him be "smart Hulk" the whole time. Watching Ruffalo lecture first year college students on the fundamentals of physics as the Big Green Guy holds little appeal for me. I doubt that kind of story would rake in much at the box office. People don't just need the sizzle they need the steak too and that means a big old Porterhouse helping of the green gargantuan.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME is currently available on digital, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K and you can next see Mark Ruffalo in DARK WATERS which hits theaters tomorrow.