About Me
The origins of the Hulk in the TV series differ greatly from the original comic book. David Banner is a physician/scientist who has been traumatized by the loss of his wife in a fatal car accident and his guilt over his inability to save her from the burning wreckage. He begins to conduct research into strange phenomena in which human beings temporarily display superhuman levels of strength, trying to understand why others faced with a traumatic experience similar to his own were able to save themselves or their loved ones while he was not. He concludes that high levels of gamma radiation from sunspots are the cause. To prove the theory, he bombards his body with gamma radiation to see if he can endow himself with temporary superhuman strength.Unbeknownst to Banner, the equipment had been upgraded, causing him to administer a far higher dose than he'd intended (2,000,000 units instead of 300,000). He initially thinks that the experiment has failed, but later that evening during a rainstorm, he experiences a flat tire and injures himself while trying to change it. The resulting pain and anger trigger his first transformation (which begins with Banner's eyes turning a whitish-green color) into the Hulk. The Hulk proceeds to destroy Banner's car, then wanders all night through the woods before coming across a young girl fishing, reminiscent of the 1931 Frankenstein film where the monster kills the girl. The Hulk tries to help her as she runs away and is shot by her father, who he throws thirty yards into the lake. He eventually transforms back to Banner with no memory after the tire-changing incident.While Banner and Dr. Elaina Marks, his research partner and the only other person who knows what has really happened to him, try to reverse the process, the interferences of a nosy reporter named Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) result directly in the destruction of the research laboratory. Dr. Marks dies from injuries received in the explosion, after the Hulk, seen by McGee, carries her away from the burning building. Banner, now presumed dead, is forced to go on the run while trying to find a "cure" for his condition. In a manner vaguely similar to the popular series The Fugitive, this forms the basis of the TV series, as Banner endlessly drifts from place to place assuming different identities. Along the way, Banner finds himself feeling obliged to help the people he meets in his travels and odd jobs with their problems. Despite his attempts to stay calm, Banner inevitably finds himself in innumerable stressful and dangerous situations that trigger his transformations into the Hulk. Fortunately, the Hulk's animalistic personality still reflects Banner's good and compassionate nature, which means he typically restricts his wrath on villains threatening him while helping people in distress.All the while, McGee continues pursuing the story of the mysterious monster whom he believes killed Banner and his associate. As a result, he often personally investigates sightings of the monster, forcing Banner to move .. the reporter can learn too much. A pivotal episode in this regard is "Mystery Man: Part 2" (second season). Here, an injured McGee is trying to escape a forest fire, aided by a man known only as "John Doe," whose face is covered by a gauze mask (actually Banner, who has lost his memory and burned his face in an auto accident, surviving only by "Hulking out"). During their ordeal, McGee reveals to "John" that he wants the Hulk to win a Pulitzer Prize so he can escape the pap produced by the National Register newspaper and go back to writing serious journalism. He later sees the mystery man transform into the Hulk in front of him and realizes that this is how the Hulk gets from one distant place to another without being seen in between. As a result, while McGee wants the creature captured, he does not want the creature killed for the sake of the human containing him. Throughout the entire series run, McGee never learns that Banner is the "John Doe" he pursues, though he actually comes face to face with Banner in the episode "Broken Image" but Banner manages to convince him he is a hood named Michael Cassidy who is Banner's double. The series wraps up with a standard 50 minute episode ("A Minor Problem"). Colvin does not appear in this last episode or a few other episodes in the short, last season.One big difference between the Hulk on TV and in comics is that the TV version was not bullet proof. However since bullets penetrate by exerting hundreds of pounds of force per square inch, the Hulk who can bend steel in his bare hands should have skin hard enough to be able to withstand such impacts. The TV Hulk does have an superhumanly accelerated healing ability which allows him to heal from such injuries very quickly (certainly before the episode is over). For instance, Banner is once rendered paraplegic, but when he next transforms into the Hulk, the creature's powerful healing ability allows him to walk normally in that form within seconds of transforming. In addition after Banner changes back, the doctors are amazed to find his spinal injury has dramatically improved enough literally overnight to be able to use leg braces to stand. Furthermore after Banner's next transformation into the Hulk, Banner's spinal injury is completely healed for his walking ability to be entirely restored.
