Top 9 Favorite Hulkout Moments

By: Chris "Sledge" Douglas

The Incredible Hulk; by far my favorite Marvel character of all time.  I just love the dichotomy of a generally mild-mannered person becoming so pissed that he becomes a raging green monster of destruction.

The Hulkout.  By far one of my favorite events in all of fiction.

Of course, it's not an altogether original concept.  Take the wolfman transformation, and add elements of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and there you go.  In the comics, it has served it's purpose, as a transition to go from one part of the plot to the next.  But in its various alternate media incarnations, it's served multiple purposes.  It can be a fascinating study of the extremes of the human psyche, or an exploration of the pain of fictional metamorphosis.

However, I truly feel that there are a number of such instances in TV and film that are truly better and more interesting than others.  Therefore, I have composed my Top 9 Favorite Hulkout Moments.  Because I am a nerd with nothing better to do than to get emotionally invested in a fictional beast.





9. GOT TO GET TO GAMMABASE / From Grey to Green
The Incredible Hulk (1996), Return of the Beast Part 1


While the 1996 Hulk cartoon series was at best really good, it never really had too many standout Hulk transformation moments.  However, I feel that these two do, at least merit comment.

The first is an excellent example of Bruce conciously trying to stop or at least control the transformation.  He is ultimately unsuccessful, as the Hulk is only interested in destroying the surrounding equipment.

The second notable transformation happens later in the clip, as it shows this series' interpretation of the first Hulkout, and shows a momentary transformation into the grey Hulk.  An interesting bit of fan service, if nothing else.


8. Stock Hulkouts From 1982 Series
The Incredible Hulk (1982)


THESE SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME AS A KID.

Seriously.  As an impressionable 2-year old nerd in 1982, these sequences used to terrify me so much, I used to hide my eyes from them until they were done.

But could you blame me?  These sequences were pretty damn intense.  And although most episodes of this series used the same few over and over again, they never lost their intensity to me.  That's why I still love this series!



7. I DON'T HAVE 25 CENTS!
The Incredible Hulk (1978), Never Give A Trucker An Even Break


I know this may be hard for many of our younger readers, but a long time ago, if you wanted to make a call while you were out and about, you had to use a payphone. And if there was a call you absolutely HAD to make, you had to pay for it. This was pre-911 (the phone number, not the attack) I believe.

Now, imagine you are a drifter who often destroyed your pants on a regular basis. It'd be pretty hard to keep all your change. Now imagine you had to make an emergency call, you didn't have enough money, and you had the "condition" that David Banner had. There you go.



6. Simultaneous She-Hulk and Hulk Hulkout
The Incredible Hulk (1982), Enter The She-Hulk


If I thought the stock transformations were intense, this one must have blown my mind! Not only can Rick not stop the process, we see both Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters engage in a very dangerous experiment that could have seriously backfired. But it didn't, and Bruce had control of the Hulk for a while, while Jennifer maintained control of her's. The former did not last, of course, but it helped create an incredible episode.


5. Airplane Cockpit Hulkout
The Incredible Hulk (1978), 747


This one was interesting due to the simple fact that David tried SO HARD to maintain control. The physical transformation was delayed so long that I don't think we ever got a better view of an in-between Hulk (the second closest physically was what happened in Prometheus, but it was a mostly-Banner entity, while this one was clearly in the throws of the Hulkout). Keeping such control must have been a momentous struggle.



4. Sterns-Induced Hulkout
The Incredible Hulk (2008)


Here we FINALLY get to clearly see the physical changes that occur: the shifting bones, the morphing skull, the muscles inflating and green veins popping. We finally see the physical toll it takes, and it is terrifyingly painful looking. No wonder he's so pissed when it's done.

And this is all done by the man who would go on (hopefully) to become one of the Hulk's biggest enemies.



3. The Abusive Dad
The Incredible Hulk (1978), A Child In Need


This one STILL gets to me. In this episode, we have an abused kid befriending David Banner. By the end, Banner understands that the man is mentally ill, and (supposedly) cannot control himself due to the kind of abuse heaped on to him by his own father.

What makes this fascinating is that, even as the Hulk, he seems to understand this at some level, as he never really hurts the guy, only kind of dodging and taking his blows. Eventually, the abusive father halucinates the Hulk as being his own abusive father, and cries out "don't hurt me daddy" so pathetically, even the Hulk looks upon him in pity.

When he tearfully apologizes to his son, who himself is wiping away his tears, it's a powerful moment. And it still brings me to tears today.

I'm a bit of a sucker for these kind of things.



2. The First Hulkout
Hulk (2003)


A lot of people give this movie a lot of flack. And I would have to say it's not exactly undeserving of it. Its a slow, cerebral, serious movie when people were expecting exactly the opposite. And it certainly has its flaws, like clunky dialogue. But one thing it did not screw up on was a killer hulkout sequence!

When this movie came out, I was intensely curous how the first Hulkout would be portrayed. And it surpassed my wildest expectations.

Here we have Bruce, after having undergone his "accident" in his lab after hours, having recieved one bit of stressful information after the next, and he finally is at the cusp of not being able to take it anymore. Finally, a collision with a mop bucket is what ends up being the last straw, as he finally cannot bear anymore, and the transformation begins.

This transformation was the most graphic seen up until that time. The scream, the show busting, the foot bones popping into place, every facet was intense.

A review for this movie is upcoming.



1. Romanoff Chase
The Avengers (2012)


And here we have my favorite Hulkout moment. You know why it's my favorite? Because of how much of a surprise it was.

First, we have a Bruce Banner, who while throughout the film looked like he was about to burst at any moment, contained it to the point that he started to seem quite comfortable being where he was. Then all hell breaks loose, and he and Black Widow are cast into what is never established, but I feel may be the research compartment that Captain America was exploring previously. Of course, anger and stress bring on the transformation, but pain does as well, and I'm sure that kind of fall caused a great deal.

Now, while Banner was trying to subdue what was to happen, I'm sure he would have changed eventually, as indicated by his rocking back and forth. But when Johanssen's prodding became too much, it caused him to go over the edge, sparking a transformation that was shocking, even to me.

Here, we had the first instance (besides almost choking Betty in Hulk (2003)) on film of Hulk attacking a "friendly." In fact, it's almost as if what was left of Bruce at that point was worried about such a thing. He is well aware that the Hulk can be "aimed" as per his experience in The Incredible Hulk (2008). But what could the Hulk be accidentally aimed at someone on his side? Hell yes.

And it was an incredibly scary experience, for both her and for me. This sequence gave me, a then 32-year old man, at least one nightmare. And I loved this moment ever since.

While, as explained in my previous Avengers review, I found the final transformation to be "glorious," I loved this for the exact opposite reason: it scared me. To the core.

Let me know what YOUR favorite Hulkout moment is! I haven't seen any from the comics that affected me in such a fashion, but if you have solid backing behind it, please show me some!