What with Ang Lee’s treatment of the jolly green giant, The Hulk, out this week, I thought it worthy to look at the comeback specials that followed the popular TV treatment of the Stan Lee creation. Not to be left out of the current wave of Hulkmania, two of these made-for-TV movies are out on one DVD set (available at Boîte Noire). The first, The Incredible Hulk Returns, first graced the airwaves in ’88. To be perfectly blunt, this is a pretty sorry-ass excuse for a reunion, one that basically was floated mainly as an attempt to pilot another Marvel superhero into their own series. Eric Kramer does his best as Thor, a massive hunk of a man resurrected from a chunk of ice, who learns to fight alongside Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno to take on some evil mafia types. Included is The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, again with another attempt to jettison a Marvel hero into series heaven. (This time, it’s former teen heartthrob Rex Smith playing the blind-yet-feisty Daredevil.) You too may find yourself asking "Why the hell am I watching this?"

» Matthew Hays