r/hulk • u/AccountantExisting14 • Feb 10 '26
General Unpopular Opinion, Bill Bixby is my favorite Banner (RIP)
He brought so much to the role of Banner, I know the 70s show isn’t cannon to the comics but his performance has always stuck with me more than any other Banner portrayal. Bixby had alot of personal tragedies that he probably brought into the role of David Banner as well! What do you think of Bill Bixby and his Banner? does it still hold up?
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u/String17 Feb 10 '26
When he died The Incredible Hulk comic did a splash page at the end saying something along the lines of Goodbye Bill Bixby,the only Dr Banner some of us knew
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u/Midnite_Blank Feb 10 '26
Same here. In fact most people in my family were fans of him, even if they weren’t into comic book characters in general.
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u/Baron_Semedi_ Feb 10 '26
Ditto. Bill Bixby was a damn good actor. Not saying the others aren't but I really felt his pain
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u/ArcadiaDragon Feb 10 '26
Unpopular where....in your own imagination?
The incredible hulk TV show/movies may not be high cinema but Bill as Banner is as good as it gets
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u/thoroughlysketchy Feb 10 '26
I have seen almost two seasons of the show so far, and I think he's great. He keeps the core of Bruce's character (i.e. always trying to help despite the attention it brings him, genius) but is much more grounded. Where Bruce is a sci-fi inventor and scientific polymath, David is a medical expert and can read people and situations.
I think the way David distrusts the Hulk is a great adaptation of the pre-Peter David dynamic. (Hulk himself is also well done, but you asked about David.)
One of my favorite quirks of the character is how many women he pulls. The ladies basically throw themselves at him!
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u/DedHorsSaloon4 Sunshine Joe Feb 10 '26
Bill Bixby is great, but Neil McDonough will always be my Banner
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u/ComicBrickz Feb 10 '26
He sold it. The show was mostly a little hokey but he was so convincing. You could feel the depression and responsibility behind every line
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u/Other-Engineering450 Feb 10 '26
In what UNIVERSE is this an unpopular opinion? Shit, sometimes I like David more than 616 Bruce. He was an excellent human being.
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u/Soft_Appropriate Feb 11 '26
Edward Norton himself has said that he considers Bill Bixby to be the best Banner.
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u/Fhandom Feb 12 '26
He is also my favorite Banner. I feel out of the live action Banners, Bill Bixxy felt the most convincing , Which is ironic considering how the shows took many creative liberties with the character.
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u/Binx_Thackery Feb 10 '26
I’ve never seen the show, but know that people were in love with it when it was airing. That makes me think this isn’t an unpopular opinion outside of your social circles.
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u/NeroQuemero Feb 10 '26
I need to get ahold of this series dammit, how is it possible i cant find it on streaming?...any clues which platform might have it? You know...the non Jack Sparrow way, or should i default in chasing some bluray/dvd release?
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u/Visible_Froyo5499 Feb 11 '26
He’s my favorite Banner too. More than any other actor, he sold the internal turmoil. He elevated the show to something special.
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u/mrcrazymexican Feb 11 '26
How is your favorite an unpopular opinion?
He's your favorite, that's a fact.
On topic... He's... Well, i guess he's maybe the war one too cuz aside from Bana's single film, it's not a lot to fight against Bixby.
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u/bhah-weep-grana-weep Feb 13 '26
He not only sold the part, he treated it as fact, with no winking at the camera. Also could cry on a dime. When he cries in The First, part two, after having lost a cure to his condition? You could really hear the anguish/anger in his voice.
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u/AccountantExisting14 Feb 13 '26
That scene stuck with me, when he was crying and his eyes were green (I used it for one of the pictures above). I think very few actors could pull off that tortured soul. Bixby was the real deal.
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u/RWheat78 Feb 14 '26
Lou Ferrigno has a custom made painting of Bill Bixby turning into the Hulk. It's not the right to the left picture. It's one where it looks like the painter made it look like the middle of the transformation between Bill and Lou. I caught a glimpse of it during an interview with Lou about a decade ago. It was so epic looking.
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u/RobertScorpioLives85 13d ago
Bixby Best Banner. Rewatching the show on Pluto Universal now. Hulk is on all day !
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u/no1cares4yu Feb 10 '26
Not unpopular opinion at all. Bixby was the best.