In the 1977 Incredible Hulk, David Banner has been travelling all over trying to find a cure for himself. When he turns into the Hulk it attracts a journalist who is trying to find out about the Hulk so he moves to another place. Here is the intro:
I thought it would be fun to map out where the Hulk has travelled. I made a map of his locations below. You can click on the map to zoom in. He is mostly in California. This map is just what is shown in the episodes. It is clear from the show that he has travelled to other places not shown in the episodes. In episode 7 journalist Jack McGee mentions that he has tracked him to Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland though this is not shown in any episode and I did not put it on the map.
Here is a summary of the season and his travels. Each of the episodes the reason he leaves is because the journalist shows up:
Episode 1. The Incredible Hulk. This was basically a TV movie. It tells of his origin. He keeps having flashbacks of a car accident he got in with his wife. He flung out of the car, his wife was trapped inside. Her door was toward the ground while the car was on fire. He attempted to lift it but it was too heavy. His wife died in the fire. Afterward, he studied people who had extraordinary strength in times of crisis. He found that the people who were able to be very strong in times of crisis all had the same gene mutation and the event occurred at a time when there was higher than normal gamma radiation from the sun. The car accident with his wife took place when there was low gamma radiation which is why his gene mutation did not help him have extraordinary strength. Naturally, he went and strapped himself in and exposed himself to a ton of gamma radiation. The intro says his exposure to gamma radiation was accidental, that is because he meant to expose himself to a lower level than he did. He found that he would turn into the Hulk when angry. A journalist from a tabloid newspaper called the National Register named Jack McGee is trying to find out about the Hulk. He breaks into the lab and accidentally starts a fire when he is caught. Banner's lab partner is killed and it is believed that Banner is killed as well. The Hulk is wanted for murder. Banner pretends to be dead so people won't find out he is the Hulk. This first episode took place near Sacramento, California.
Episode 2. Death in the Family. Banner travels to the fictional town of Everett, California. I put the location where Piru, California is because that is where it was filmed. Here he stumbles on a plot where he stumbles on a plot to kill a woman for her inheretance. He hulks out and saves the day.
Episode 3. Final Round. This takes place in Wilminton, Delaware. Here he becomes friends with a boxer who gets him a job. The boxer has been delivering packages in exchange for free gym access. He finds out that it is drugs and is considering reporting to the police. The villains of the story plan to drug the boxer. Banner finds out and hulks out and saves the day. He can't just become the hulk at will but he becomes the hulk after being angered by the villains attacking him.
Episode 4. The Beast Within. This takes place at the San Diego Zoo. Banner got a job there because he was interested in one of the experiments a scientist was doing there that he thought might be applicable to curing himself. She was very interested in his research and kept showing it to him not knowing that he was Banner. Unbeknownst to her, there is a drug smuggling ring where people were smuggling drugs inside of animals and then they would kill the animals. Banner found out and the villains attempted to kill him and the scientist. He becomes hulk and saves the day. I strongly disagree with Banner's decision to leave the zoo here. It makes no sense. It was the perfect place for him to conduct his research and the other scientist wanted him to stay. He would have had access to the best lab possible to try to cure himself. But he flees because Jack McGee came around. He should have just left for about a month until McGee moved on and then returned. With the villains arrested, he would likely be able to research in peace without turning into the hulk. Then the rest of the hulk series would just be Banner never turning into the hulk and successfully finding a cure for himself. For the rest of the season after every episode I think how he should have stayed at the zoo.
Episode 5. Of Guilt, Murder, and Models. This episode didn't give an exact location so I had to do some guessing. One of the characters mentioned Portland being north. The Hollywood like atmosphere makes me think it is near Los Angeles. In this episode, he starts out as the Hulk. He can never remember what he does while he is the Hulk and it looks like he killed a woman. He gets a job as a valet to have access to the crime scene to investigate. He find out that the Hulk was framed for murder. He solves the case and the villains try to kill him in a car crusher machine at the dump. He hulks out and escapes.
Episode 6. Terror in Times Square. He gets a job in New York City at an arcade. The villain makes his boss pay protection money. When his boss shorts him, the villain tries to force Banner's boss to kill another guy to set an example. His boss plans to kill the villain but is not likely to succeed as the villain is an experienced mobster type. Banner finds all this out and hulks out and saves the day.
Episode 7. 747. This episode starts in San Francisco. Banner boards a plane to Chicago but it ends up going to Denver instead. Banner plans to go to Chicago to meet a doctor who he believes can help him with his research for a cure. One of the pilots and a flight attendant poison the other pilot and plan to parachute out with some valuable Egyptian artifacts that are secretly being transported on the plane. Banner finds out their plan, he hulks out and knocks the other pilot out. The pilot attempted to shoot the Hulk and shot the hydraulic line which causes problems later on. When Banner comes to, he is directed from the ground on how to land the plane. He is about to crash because the hydraulic line is damaged. He hulks out which gives him the strength to pull the steering wheel up and land the plane. I thought this was one of the funnier uses of turning into the hulk. This is the first episode where Jack McGee does not appear at the end.
Episode 8. The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas. This episode takes place in Las Vegas. Banner is working in a casino. He stumbles on to a plot to kill a reporter who has a story exposing some mob activity in Vegas. The reporter convinces Banner to deliver a package to Jack McGee. Banner does so in a way that McGee never sees him. When the hulk turns into the hulk they show his shirt ripping. I believe this is the episode where his shirt rips after it has already ripped. In this episode, hulk saves Jack McGee. McGee seemed afraid of him at first but then he started to attempt to interview him. Hulk was starting to calm down. It looked like he was going to transform back into Banner right in front of McGee but then a villain shoots Hulk, angering him. Hulk runs off into the desert.
Episode 9. Never Give a Trucker an Even Break. This episode takes place on the road somewhere between Las Vegas and Carson City, Nevada. Banner is hitchhiking which he often does to travel. He gets picked up by a woman who gets him involved in this plan of hers to get a semi truck back from a bunch of villains who stole it from her. There was a lot of car chasing on here. Hulk saves the woman.
Episode 10. Life and Death. This episode takes place in the fictional city of Marysville, Oregon. I am judging this to be in the location of the real city of Corvallis, Oregon. This city used to be called Marysville and has similar characteristics as Marysville in the show. Banner is going here to be a part of dangerous and experimental research that he believes might cure him. He finds out the doctor doing the research is also part of an illegal adoption scheme where they give women money in exchange for their babies. He does this to fund his research. He believes that Banner and another woman are undercover agents. The doctor attempts to kill Banner and the woman. Banner hulks out and saves the day.
Episode 11. Earthquakes Happen. This episode takes place in the fictional city of San Tomas, California. I put the mark on the map at Barstow, California. I did this because it needs to be near an earthquake faultline, in the desert, and footage of an earthquake in Los Angeles is used in this episode so Los Angeles is nearby. This is the first episode since episode 1 where Banner didn't stumble upon a crime. This time it is him who is committing the crime. This is also the rare episode where McGee shows up before he turns into the Hulk. Similar thing happened in episode 9 but usually he shows up because he is chasing the hulk. He impersonates a nuclear safety inspector to get access to the plant. He wants to expose himself to high levels of radiation, thinking this might cure him. Right as he is about to give himself the radiation, one of the scientists stops him and then there is an earthquake. A bunch of people get trapped. Hulk saves them and stops the nuclear meltdown and flees.
Episode 12. The Waterfront Story. This episode takes place at Galveston, Texas. Banner is working as a bartender. He discovers who murdered his boss's ex-husband. The villains attempt to kill the woman. He hulks out and saves her. She wants him to stay, but he flees due to his search for his cure and because McGee is there again.
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