9 Mind Blowing "What If?" Scenarios That Almost Changed Comics Forever
4. Marvel's Printing Press Copes With The Demands Of Grey Hulk
Marvel Comics
It really is incredible to think that the colour of one of Marvel's most iconic characters came down to a simple printing press malfunction.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had originally wanted Bruce Banner's famous alter-ego to be coloured grey, but the company's printing press struggled to keep up with the demand and imperfections began to crop up on the page, with some panels having switched entirely from grey to green.
Seeing this, and actually preferring the colour change, Lee and Kirby opted for a green Hulk, birthing yet another modern marvel and one of the most iconic looking images of the generation in the process. While said Grey Hulk would make further appearances down the line (as the Hulk's slightly brainier counterpart), had Marvel's press not messed up, he could've been the main man.
While we've got nothing against Grey Hulk, the thought of a world without Marvel's jolly green giant isn't one we want to be a part of.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
