Hulk Star Lou Ferrigno Was Bluntly Negative About Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman

The late 1970s was a notable time for superhero media. The biggest hit of the era was, of course, Richard Donner's 1978 feature film "Superman," which deliberately cast a then-relative unknown in the form of Christopher Reeve to star as the Man of Steel. Meanwhile, on TV, superheroes began exploding in earnest, most notably in Japan, with the release of "Super Sentai," "Kamen Rider," and other wildly creative tokusatsu series.

Similarly, in the United States, audiences enjoyed the exploits of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman," as well as zany, kid-friendly, Sid and Marty Krofft-produced shows like "Bigfoot and Wildboy" and "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl." Likewise, Filmation premiered its first non-animated series, "Shazam!" in 1974, followed by "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 1977.

However, the two most recognized superhero shows of the era were "Wonder Woman" and "The Incredible Hulk" (which debuted in 1975 and 1977, respectively). The former was a fun, colorful, and sometimes raucous superhero series in which the mild-mannered Diana Prince (Lynda Carter) would spin around, transform into the titular superheroine, and fight evil-doers. The latter, on the other hand, was a comparatively melancholy show about Dr. David Banner (Bill Bixby), a fugitive who meted out justice as he hitchhiked across the U.S. When he got angry, though, Banner would transform into the titular green-skinned monster, played by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno.

Ferrigno endured a serious risk of infection to become the face of "The Incredible Hulk," and to this day, he still appears at superhero conventions to sell merch and photos. But despite being part of a rising tide of '70s superhero media, he wasn't necessarily supportive of his peers. Indeed, speaking to Starlog Magazine in 1979, Ferrigno admitted that he didn't care for "Wonder Woman," feeling it was all style and no substance.

During his Starlog Magazine interview, Lou Ferrigno was asked what he thought of the various new superhero shows at the time. Both Marvel Comics and DC Comics were becoming notable players in the medium of television, and it was worth examining. Ferrigno, interestingly, felt that the quality of the genre depended on the series and didn't think much of comics-based shows in general. He even suggested that "The Amazing Spider-Man," which starred Nicholas Hammond, would have been better with Patrick Duffy in the lead role. Duffy had recently appeared in the action/fantasy series "The Man from Atlantis," and Ferrigno was impressed with his physicality. Incidentally, Marvel Comics boss Stan Lee hated that "Spider-Man" show.

Regarding "Wonder Woman," Ferrigno stated:

"There's nothing there [...] Nothing to show at all but a 'beautiful body,' and that's it. You never get a chance to find out anything about the person at all. What a bore! I can't understand why that show ran as long as it did. [...] We're the best of them all, [producer] Kenny Johnson and Bill Bixby are both very talented, creative people. It's because of people like them that we have the respect of both the critics and the audience."  

Naturally, Starlog Magazine was careful to note that the "Wonder Woman" series (which had only just concluded after three seasons a couple of months before that interview was published in November 1979) had legions of passionate fans who would've happily explained to Ferrigno why the show was so successful. It wasn't just that Lynda Carter is beautiful. "Wonder Woman" was also a lot of fun, had a wild personality, and was full of mind-tickling fantasy conceits. Diana owning an invisible jet was an especially amusing detail.

Although Lou Ferrigno was somewhat dismissive of "Wonder Woman," he was actually quite clear as to why "The Incredible Hulk" worked as well as it did, and it wasn't just because he was one of the show's stars. Notably, he pointed out that "Hulk" was the opposite of the wild comedy seen on the hit 1960s series "Batman." "No one ever took the comic book stuff seriously," he remarked, "they looked at them as Batman-type camp stuff." 

And because Ferrigno portrayed David Banner in his Hulk form, he had given a lot of thought to the nature of his character. Ferrigo observed that the Hulk wasn't just a monster; he was a layered brute with knowledge of himself. As he put it:

"[T]hat's not what the Hulk is about. He's not a Frankenstein; he's like a big kid who doesn't know his own strength. The Hulk has his good and bad sides that react to the way other people treat him."

Ferrigno went on to state that he loves acting, having made the transition to the profession from the world of bodybuilding. He went on to note that he had been engaged in bodybuilding since he was 16 years old and that it's a profession that had benefited him immensely. 

It's worth mentioning that this interview took place two years after the release of the documentary feature "Pumping Iron," in which Ferrigno was shown competing against a cocky and confident Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ferrigno is depicted as the underdog in that film, and although he didn't defeat his rival, both men became big movie and TV stars. In fact, "The Incredible Hulk" was Ferrigno's eventual victory over his opponent, as he beat out Schwarzenegger for the titular role.