Donny Cates is a comic book writer known for comics such as Venom, Thanos, Doctor Strange, and Thor. Back in June, it was announced that he would be tackling Hulk. “Marvel just gave me the keys to the strongest one there is,” Cates told Marvel.com when the comic was announced. “Haha… oh boy. You guys are just not ready for this. You’re about to find out what happens when Ryan Ottley and I get angry… and guess what? Well… pretty sure you’re gonna like us a lot when we’re angry.” Cates has clearly been busy working on the comic and recently had a pretty amazing encounter. While writing Hulk in a coffee shop, he bumped into the Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno.
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“So. True story. Today I was writing HULK at my usual little coffee shop here in Austin when (I swear to god) @LouFerrigno walks in. What. Are. The. Odds??!! We shook hands and I told him who I was and what I was writing and yeahโฆwe were both a little weirded out,” Cates tweeted. “You guys have no idea what it feels like to be writing the Hulk and then look up and have THE HULK WALK IN. I’m honestly still kind of in shock. I cannot believe that happened.” You can check out the tweets below:
You guys have no idea what it feels like to be writing the Hulk and then look up and have THE HULK WALK IN.
Iโm honestly still kind of in shock. I cannot believe that happened.
โ DONNY CATES (@Doncates) August 6, 2021
Ferrigno is best known for starring in The Incredible Hulk in the 1970s, playing the Hulk opposite Bill Bixby’s Dr. Banner. These days, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has Mark Ruffalo playing both versions of the character thanks to CGI technology. Since Ruffalo took over the role in 2012’s The Avengers, Ferrigno has been pretty open about his distaste for the franchise’s take on the Hulk, saying he’s “not very impressed” with the use of CGI. Back in June, Ferrigno expressed similar sentiments on Twitter, throwing shade at Ruffalo and other actors who are altered with today’s technology.
“Can’t think of another superhero that isn’t in costume or CGI. Worked damn hard on my diet and exercise for the Hulk. Wasn’t going to let anyone down. The hulk was my hero as a kid as well ๐๐ฝ,” Ferrigno wrote. “Thanks @MensHealthMag for this piece on me, my career + tips about what I eat. When you think about it I was the only superhero character to not wear a costume so keeping up my physique was very important to me,” he added in another post.
Many people ended up hopping in Ferrigno’s comments to argue that there are plenty of MCU stars who put in a lot of work at the gym, for example, Dave Bautista as Drax and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
Ferrigno may not be a fan of the current Hulk, but it’s still pretty cool that he ran into Cates when he did. Are you looking forward to Cates’ Hulk comic? Tell us in the comments!
The new Hulk is expected to be released in November.