One of my latest projects is co-hosting SO BAD IT’S GOOD, a movie review web-series created by Webby-award winning comedian Rusty Ward. In our first episode we reveiw the 1988 made-for-TV movie THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS, this marks the first feature-length appearance by Thor. 

Now curiously, the 1988 movie takes places just 6 years after the Hulk TV series ended. (It’s like attending your 6th high school reunion.)  Donald Blake mentions being Dr. Banner’s student 10 years earlier at Harvard.  (That would’ve been 1978, when Banner was regularly transforming into the creature, and traveling the country as Bavid Bannister or David Ballinsgley, etc.) That’s because the movie is supposed to take place just two years following Banner’s initial exposure to gamma radiation that’s turned him into the Hulk. 

Other observations and what-have-you:

In the movie, Banner has shacked up with a familiar looking woman — it’s the hot mom from Valley Girl,
one of pop culture’s first MILFs.

The actor playing Thor is a bit stiff.  This could be an homage to the 1960’s Thor cartoon. (for maximum wooden-ness, skip ahead to 5:15)

In 1988 NBC passed on doing a TV series of THOR, but they did make three more seasons of HUNTER.

During one sequence, Donald Blake takes Thor out on the town, because Thor is always thirsty.  (He totally has a drinking problem.)

When they walk by a marquee it announces that Dave Alvin will be playing at the bar.  Unfortunately, we never get to see him.

It seems a shame that we only get to see a short clip of Thor partying on the town.  Rusty and I agreed that it would be nice to bring Marvel Superheroes together in a non-superhero film, and see them in another genre entirely, like “The Incredible Hulk’s Bachelor Party.”

Related HULK material: 

The Hulk is a character I can’t seem to escape.  The first KEVIN GEEKS OUT was all about the Incredible Hulk (we screened nearly every version of the animated Hulk (1966 – 1996), plus live-action footage and staged readings of HULKU (incredible hulk haiku)

At Comic Con I arm wrestled Lou Ferrigno for my web show.

During my sketch days I ended one routine by hitch-hiking (and we played the super-sad Hulk song “The Lonley Man” — p.s. why would anyone want this as a ringtone?  To condition onself to cry at incomign phone calls.)

If you want a more upbeat tune, download this rockin’ 45 of Nobody Loves the Hulk.

Even KEVIN GEEKS OUT ABOUT SHARKS related back to the Hulk.  It always goes back to the Hulk.

And here’s the time we mentioned the Hulk’s “Terror in Times Square”…