When the Incredible Hulk made his first appearance in a Marvel comic, he was grey. That look was quickly ditched and by the second issue of his title he was green, and everybody pretended that the Hulk had always been that color. But with the world of comic books being endlessly self-referential, like a four color Oruborous, the grey Hulk made a reappearance during writer Peter David’s run. This version of the Hulk was of average intellect but completely amoral – he ended up becoming a mob enforcer in Las Vegas. Where he wore a suit.
All of that is to explain why it’s at all interesting that Avi Arad seemed to let slip a change in coloration for the Hulk in the Edward Norton starring sequel. According to Frosty at Collider, this is what Avi said: “It’s a new Hulk, new direction, new size, new color, new attitude. Anything that was done before is not in this movie. It’s a very different kind of Hulk.”
So would a grey Hulk in the movie be a smarter Hulk? He won’t be a mob enforcer – Arad says that this Hulk is more heroic, and compares him to the Hulk on the shitty old TV show. But could an intelligent, talking Hulk be part of what led Ed Norton to sign on as Bruce Banner, despite turning down the role for Ang Lee? If this is the case, it’s going to be damn strange hearing Norton’s nasally voice coming out of a big grey brute. Especially if he’s wearing a fedora.