This Was the Real Color Stan Lee Made the Hulk

Morgan CutoloUpdated: Nov. 16, 2018

He wasn’t always that iconic green color.

Hulk comic bookS Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock

Stan Lee is famous for creating everyone’s favorite Marvel characters.  The late comic book legend created captivating stories about superheroes that people still enjoy today. One of his most famous characters is the big, green Incredible Hulk. However, if you’re an avid comic book reader, you’ll know that the Hulk wasn’t always green.

Lee based the character off of the shapeshifting character of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous book. In order to give the character a “spooky” presence, he decided to color him gray. These are the graphic novels that every adult should read.

After printing the first issue, Lee realized that the printer had trouble keeping the gray color of the Hulk consistent on every page. Because of that error, Lee changed his color to green for the second issue.

“It turned out to be a great choice,” Lee said in an interview. “By making him green, I was able to give him nicknames like ‘The Jolly Green Giant’ [or] ‘The Green Goliath.’ So, I’m very glad we made him green.”

So, the unfortunate printing error worked out in Stan Lee’s favor, making the Hulk a green giant that will never be forgotten. Next, read up on these surprising facts about your favorite superheroes.

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Originally Published: November 16, 2018

Morgan Cutolo
Morgan Cutolo
Morgan is an Associate Editor at Reader’s Digest. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2016 where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. She writes for rd.com, helps lead the editorial relationship with our partners, manages our year-round interns, and keeps the hundreds of pieces of content our team produces every month organized. In her free time, she likes exploring the seacoast of Maine where she lives and works remotely full time and snuggling up on the couch with her corgi, Eggo, to watch HGTV or The Office.