5 Things You Didn’t Know About Daredevil’s First Live-Action Appearance
If you remember the The Incredible Hulk‘s 1970s run on the small screen, you likely recall the TV show from 1977, starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the iconic green giant. After the groundbreaking series’ original run ended, three direct-to-TV movies were created, which you probably don’t remember — which is a shame, because the second film, 1989’s The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, contains the first live action version of The Man Without Fear, Daredevil. In honor of Daredevil: Born Again releasing weekly on Disney+, here are some lesser-known facts about this hidden gem of a film!
1 This was actually the first time Daredevil wore his DIY black suit
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As any self-respecting fan of Daredevil obviously knows, before donning his iconic red suit and devil horns, Matt Murdock’s early days as Daredevil were spent wearing an all-black DIY costume that resembled a ninja uniform, as portrayed in Frank Miller’s quintessential origin story Daredevil: The Man Without Fear (1993), and the Netflix/MCU show.
But most fans would be surprised to know that the actual first time he donned the all-black suit was is in this movie, which predates “The Man Without Fear” comic run by years! Frank Miller has talked about how the all-black, blindfold/bandana look is a specific homage to this movie and, thankfully, has become almost as iconic as the red suit.
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2 It was intended to serve as a backdoor pilot for a Daredevil series
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A “backdoor pilot” is like the TV version of a surprise party — you think you’re just watching a regular show, and then BAM!, they sneak in a whole new concept, hoping it’ll lure you into watching an entirely different show. This movie intentionally wasn’t just about Hulk smashing things — it was more about setting up Rex Smith‘s Daredevil to take center stage on NBC. So much so that the blind lawyer turned superhero is basically the main character and Banner is more of an audience surrogate.
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Unfortunately, NBC didn’t bite, and Daredevil’s TV debut was confined to this one awkward courtroom drama until 2015. It was like buying a ticket to a blockbuster and getting a trailer for the wrong movie — The Trial of the Incredible Hulk ended up just being a Hulk-sized tease.
3 It has the first ever blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by the great Stan Lee
Before his passing in late 2018, Stan Lee enjoyed making short, lovable cameo appearances in every Marvel movie he could. From strip club DJ in Deadpool to FedEx driver in Captain America: Civil War (any Tony Stank fans in the crowd?), his 37 (!!) cameo appearances were standout moments for fans. All of that started here, in this movie, where Stan plays a jury member who watches as David (not Bruce?) Banner “Hulks” out and destroys a courtroom. Stan apparently, as the story goes, was quite disappointed when he found out he had to be replaced with a stunt person. What. A. Guy. Rest in peace.
4 First ever comic book/superhero movie directed by its lead actor
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Nowadays, films being directed by their stars are commonplace, even in the world of comic adaptations, where Jon Favreau directed the first two Iron Man movies while also appearing as Happy Hogan (those films, of course, went on to lead into The Avengers). That’s a cool accomplishment and all for Favreau, but the precedent, as far as I’m concerned, was set here, by the great Bill Bixby.
Bixby had already directed episodes of shows like Mannix and Charlie’s Angels, as well as an episode of the Hulk series, before tackling this feature. He went on to direct more afterwards, as well, including two episodes of the Ferris Bueller TV adaptation, and 30 (!) episode of the Mayim Bialik sitcom Blossom.
5 Nancy Everhard appeared in another Marvel Comics adaptation in 1989
TriStar/courtesy Everett Collection
1989 was a big year for Nancy Everhard … and for middling Marvel Comics film adaptations. While Daredevil is surprisingly well adapted from comic to screen in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, the same cannot be said for his frenemy and frequent comic counterpart The Punisher (portrayed by Dolph Lundgren), in his cinematic debut.
Everett Collection
Luckily for Nancy Everhard, in 1989, her characters got a front-row seat to the madness: getting to see the Hulk transform, Daredevil fight (and possibly electrocute to death?) an assassin/nurse and The Punisher mow down bad guys.
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