Marvel of Shame: When the Hulk Met Daredevil!

Let’s think back to when Marvel tried to get into television and created pilots for the hugely popular Hulk in hopes of launching a series with other superheroes. Today, The Trial of The Incredible Hulk.

As usual, Bill Bixby (who plays David Banner from the Hulk series) tries to revive interest in the Green Monster by pairing him with a new character, this time Daredevil. This new TV movie takes place after the events of Return of the Incredible Hulk, but never touches on them.

In this new story, David Banner arrives in a town where mob boss Wilson Fisk is. There is only one superhero on the ground to fight this gangster: Daredevil. One evening, David witnesses an attack, intervenes as the Hulk and, creating panic, is arrested by the authorities. He must go to court and in this case meet blind lawyer Matt Murdoch.

In the end, the trial doesn’t take place as the Hulk takes control of Banner and breaks out of prison. He meets Daredevil and together they fight against Fisk.

Something quite rare in the “David Banner universe” (see that other Shame Marvel), the TV movie shows some pretty violent scenes, like when Daredevil gets beaten up by Fisk’s men. The latter is also played by John Rhys-Davies, alias Gimli’s interpreter in Peter Jackson’s version of The Lord of the Rings.

Apparently the TV movie is inspired by the comics Careless #163 Written by Roger McKenzie and released in 1980, it features the Hulk as a blind vigilante. The concern is that in the end, the two characters have very few scenes together. First of all, if the banner exists, the Hulk is hardly in the feature film. As for the “twist” of the title, it’s a stand-alone scene, rather one dreamed up by Banner, that serves to disillusion the audience at the Green Giant’s trial.

The trial of The Incredible Hulk is a disappointment. Daredevil is pretty bad at that point, but the rather banal plot and woefully lacking means make the feature film a complete failure, as the first meeting of the two superheroes could (maybe) have been so much better.

Despite the very right take on this pilot, ratings below Return of the Incredible Hulk didn’t lead to the start of a Daredevil series. Such a project will not see the light of day until 2015, where the main role is Charlie Cox. It would be so successful that the character, still played by Cox, would later join Disney’s Avengers universe.