There are plenty of surprises in the “She-Hulk” finale, including right at the beginning, when retro-looking opening credits interrupt the normal MCU intro. This is copied almost 1:1 from a popular Marvel series from the 70s.
Do you remember the time before the MCU? When superheroes and superheroines were still marginal figures in the film and series cosmos and didn’t dominate the entire pop culture? The makers of “She-Hulk: The Lawyer” certainly remember and are giving us a lavish retro homage with the recently released finale of the Marvel series on Disney+. The intro of “She-Hulk” episode 9 corresponds almost 1:1 to the opening credits of the TV series “The Incredible Hulk”, which ran from 1978 to 1982 on the US channel CBS and then also found its way to Germany in the late eighties.
The grainy look, the 4:3 aspect ratio, the stiff acting performances as well as the almost ridiculous costume of the green rage monster from today’s point of view: The style of the original intro was copied in detail, but there are also differences, for example when She-Hulk, unlike her predecessor, has to deal with internet trolls, which is of course a deliberate anachronism in the 70s setting of these opening credits.
Another change: Instead of “The Incredible Hulk”, the title at the end is now “The Savage Hulk”. Surely a humorous hint that men and women are judged differently when it comes to angry behaviour. You can watch the opening credits from back then here:
THIS IS “THE INCREDIBLE HULK “
Although the Hulk’s rampages from the 70s series seem more unintentionally comical than frightening to the modern eye, this early Marvel TV adventure was very successful in its time and still enjoys cult status today. Many fans from back then will probably forever think of Lou Ferrigno first when asked about a Hulk actor. In “The Incredible Hulk”, however, he actually only played the green rage colossus. His human form, here called David Banner instead of Bruce Banner, was embodied by Bill Bixby.
In total, “The Incredible Hulk” had 80 episodes and two TV films in five seasons. The series ended in 1982. However, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno returned for three more “Hulk” TV films between 1988 and 1990. These were “The Return of the Uncanny Hulk”, “The Uncanny Hulk on Trial” and “Death of the Uncanny Hulk”. Our video editor Sebastian took a look at all three in his column “Marvel times different”.
But the intro is only the beginning of a “She-Hulk” episode that had many more surprises in store for us. What K.E.V.I.N. is all about, where Hulk’s son Skaar suddenly comes from and where Abomination could end up, we have already discussed all that in a separate article.
