Jack Kirby claims credit for inventing Hulk single-handedly. He tells a story of seeing a car parked over a gutter one day, and a child was in the gutter and unable to get out past the car. It doesn’t sound like the kid was in any immediate danger, but his mother was frantic, knowing the child was down there and stuck for the moment. Instead of getting the car to move, she got behind it, bent down, reached under it, and lifted it up.
“She was a short, firm, well-built woman,” he explains, someone who did have the physical strength to lever up a car—when pushed to the limit through desperation. He wrote the Hulk as someone who gets that same kind of power through rage. Oh, and he too cites Frankenstein as an influence.
We aren’t sure which of the men sounds more credible when saying they came up with the Hulk. Pick whichever story you prefer … and take anything that creators say with a grain of salt.
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For more facts about the Hulk, you should read:
The Hulk And 4 Other Famous (& Blatantly Stolen) Characters
6 Totally Weird Marvel Movie Scenes You Forgot Existed
5 Weird Origins For Beloved Superheroes
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Top image: Marvel