Among all the superheroes Marvel has introduced to its fans to date, Hulk is by far one of the strongest and most terrific heroes. The green giant of rage aka Strongest Avenger has been portrayed by numerous actors over the years, with the current one being Mark Ruffalo, who seems like a constant in the role.
Years before Ruffalo, however, there were several network executives at Marvel who wanted the name of the big green superhero, ‘Bruce’, changed to something else because they thought his name ‘sounded homosexual’. That was why he was initially named differently in the 1978 series, The Incredible Hulk!
Hulking Out on Stereotypes: Hulk’s Name ‘Sounded Homosexual’ To Execs?
Way before Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, and even Eric Bana got the chance to portray him on the big screens, the big green giant’s name wasn’t what it is today — Bruce Banner. Instead, in the first-ever live-action series on the comic book character named him ‘David’ Banner instead.
The reason behind this change was that the network executives at Marvel, behind The Incredible Hulk TV show, found the name ‘Bruce’ to be too homosexual. As shared in the recently released MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios:
“The series [The Incredible Hulk], which starred Bill Bixby as David Banner–incredibly, network executives thought the name ‘Bruce’ made him ‘sound homosexual’–and Lou Ferrigno as his muscled alter-ego, aired on CBS from 1977 to 1982.”
However, though most would not remember it, Bill Bixby’s series wasn’t the last place where Mr. Green’s name was shown as David Banner: It was indirectly hinted at in one other film in the following years as well.
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‘David’ Banner Was In The Incredible Hulk film (2008) Too!
As the years passed, Hulk’s character progressed as it passed on to several actors over the years: starting with Bill Bixby as the first ever Dr. Banner to Eric Bana to Edward Norton, and lastly, Mark Ruffalo as the current on-screen portrayer of the character. However, Bixby’s green giant wasn’t the only one referred to as David Banner.
Although most fans must not have noticed it, there is a scene in Edward Norton‘s 2008 film, The Incredible Hulk, where Bruce Banner receives a mailed package, which had the name written on it: ‘David B.’ This was nothing short of a reference to Bixby’s superhit TV show that aired from 1977 to 1982.
All in all, as much as the character progressed throughout his time as one of Marvel’s strongest superheroes, the Strongest Avenger also went through a lot of name changes which include Robert Bruce Banner and David Banner, with Banner being the only constant to address Mr. Green by.
