The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982)

Long before his two mediocre films and his (finally!) standout role in 2012 hit The Avengers, the emerald giant was brought to TV simply by painting bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno green. Much like that early Spider-Man animated series, The Incredible Hulk helped introduce mainstream viewers to the Marvel mainstay, who has remained one of the most popular and powerful characters the company has ever created. The show's depiction of the dichotomy between Ferrigno's Hulk and Bill Bixby's David Bruce Banner placed a great emphasis on the psychology of each as well as their bizarrely symbiotic relationship between them. As he wanders from place to place in search of a way to cure himself, Banner gets mixed up in one adventure after another and even led to three television films in the late 1980s which finally resolved the series on a definitive note. For his part, Ferrigno has even continued onboard to voice the character in all of his Marvel Studios film appearances thus far.