The Incredible Hulk: Original Movie Collection (2018)

The Incredible Hulk:
Original Movie Collection (2018)

Dirs. Nicholas Corea / Bill Bixby | 3 Films, approx 272 mins (total)

The 2018 date given above refers to the three-disc DVD box-set released by Fabulous Films in that year, but the three films themselves are from much earlier (1988-90). They're set after The Incredible Hulk TV series (1977-82) that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno as scientist David Banner and his alter-ego, respectively.

The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)

Dir. Nicholas Corea

It's been two years since David Banner burst his shirt and trousers in a green rage. He's in a stable relationship and working on a gamma transponder that could potentially rid him of his alter ego forever, but a face from his past upsets the apple cart, and pesky reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) is back on Banner's trail again.

Both a continuation of The Incredible Hulk TV series and a backdoor pilot for a Thor series that never happened (herein played by Eric Kramer), the movie flits between serious drama (Banner) and light-hearted nonsense (Thor).

The beardless Asgardian has a memorable scene that teases a poetic soul beneath the brawn, but mostly he's a stock larger than life hero who also happens to be a fish out of water.

Ultimately, the first of the TV Movies is an unwise team-up that goes against the established grain of the Incredible Hulk series and yet still somehow respects its enduring melancholy.

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)

Dir. Bill Bixby

Hoping to avoid conflict lest his inner Hulk surfaces, travelling lonely man David Banner settles in a densely populated city, a place that's typically ass-hole central. As if to prove that his choice of locale isn't the dumbest thing he can do that day, he takes a ride on the subway, too.

In that same city is a crusading blind attorney named Matt Murdock (Rex Smith), aka Daredevil.

And where there's Daredevil, there's usually Wilson Fisk (John Rhys-Davies), a scheming crime boss with aspirations of becoming head of a vast criminal network. It's a busy time for Fisk.

Serving once again as a pilot for a series that didn't emerge, the story puts Daredevil to the fore, with Hulk in a more secondary role. There's a kindred spirit element to the duo's relationship that makes it more textured than the Thor story, and therefore more enjoyable to watch.

The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990)

Dir. Bill Bixby

The final outing for the Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno incarnation of the troubled character(s) has Banner working as a nighttime cleaner at a lab, so that he can slip in after hours and work on the development of a new gamma formula - one that he hopes will cure his condition permanently. Things go well for a time, but tragedy inevitably rears its head and the green fury is unleashed.

The theme of family is central to the story. So too is change, which connects to the other at various points along the way and with varying degrees of success. But best of all, unlike the previous two TV movies it has no backdoor pilot aspirations, which means there's no extra Marvel character pissing about, and it's all the better for it.