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1966, syndicated
Grantray-Lawrence, Paramount,
ARP, Krantz Films |
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Dr. Bruce Banner
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Paul Soles
Rick Jones
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Paul Soles
Major Talbot
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John Vernon
Betty Ross
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Peg Dixon
General Thunderbolt Ross
................................................. Paul Kligman
Narrator
.............................................................................. Bernard Cowan
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In
1966, at the beginning of Marvel Comics' decades long
domination of the super-hero genre, several popular
characters made their first appearance in an animated
format as part of the syndicated, The Marvel Superheroes.
The show consisted of five different segments, each
starring a different superhero. The segments were: The
Sub-Mariner, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Iron
Man, and The Mighty Thor.
Unlike Namor and Captain America, who had been comic
book stars since the 1940's, The Incredible Hulk was, at
the time, a fairly recent creation. The green-skinned Hulk
was really Dr. Bruce Banner, a scientist who had helped
develop a new bomb that used gamma rays to destroy its
target. After accidentally being caught in the blast,
Banner found himself transformed into a giant green
creature with unbelievable strength. There were only two
drawbacks: First, the good doctor had no control over his
transformation, and second, when Banner became the Hulk,
he retained none of his alter ego’s intelligence or
memories, essentially becoming a completely different (and
angrier) person. While the Hulk usually ended up fighting
simply to protect himself, the general public saw him as a
threat.
In order to meet the demands of presenting so many
characters each week, the stories were told in a
cliffhanger format, requiring fewer scripts. Individual
segments for the show were six-minutes in length,
three of which
combined to make a complete story arc/show. In the end,
thirteen complete shows (39 segments) were produced for
each series.
The creators also
saved time through the use of Xerography, a process
developed for Disney's 101 Dalmatians that allowed
animators to copy pencil sketches directly onto animation
cels, thereby saving them from having to redraw any
scenes. While this technique resulted in a severe
stiffness of the characters and almost no movement, it
allowed the animators to churn out regular battles between
our heroes and their super-powered nemeses.
Despite the limited animation, The Marvel Superheroes
won its share of loyal fans. Namor, Captain America, and
Thor continued to appear in later Marvel cartoons, and The
Incredible Hulk and Iron Man later got shows of their own.
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Episode 1
The Origin Of The Hulk
Enter The Gorgan
To Be A Man
Episode 2
Terror Of The Toadmen
Bruce Banner Wanted For Treason
Hulk Runs Amok
Episode 3
A Titan Rides The Train
Horde Of The Humanoids
Hulk On The Rampage
Episode 4
Power Of Dr. Banner
Where Strides The Behemouth
Back From The Dead
Episode 5
Micro Monsters
The Lair Of The Leader
To Live Again
Episode 6
Brawn Against Brain
Captured At Last
Enter The Chameleon
Episode 7
Within This Monster Dwells A
Man
Another World Another Foe
The Wisdom Of The Watcher
Episode 8
The Space Phantom
Sting Of The Wasp
Exit The Hulk
Episode 9
Hulk Vs. Metal Master
The Master Tests His Metal
Mind Over Metal
Episode 10
The Ringmaster
Captive Of the Circus
The Grand Finale
Episode 11
Enter Tyranus
Beauty & The Beast
They Dwell In The Deaths
Episode 12
Terror Of The T-Gun
I Against A World
Bruce Banner Is The Hulk
Episode 13
A Man Called Boomerang
Hulk Intervenes
Less Than Monster, More Than
Man
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"Doc Bruce
Banner,
Belted by gamma
rays,
Turned into the
Hulk.
Ain't he
unglamo-rays!
Wreckin' the
town
With the power
of a bull,
Ain't no
monster clown
Who is that
lovable?
It's ever
lovin' Hulk! HULK!! HULK!!" |
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