From the moment Dr. Bruce Banner first transformed into The Incredible Hulk, fans have tried to uncover his greatest secret: how the heck do his pants manage to stay on? Turning from a 90-pound weakling into a 1,000 pound green rage monster puts a lot of stress on clothes, after all, and if his shirt, shoes, and everything else tears free... how can the Green Goliath somehow manage to protect his modesty?
As it turns out, those incredible pants do a lot more than protect the Hulk from angry comic book censors. Over the years, writers and artists have used Hulk’s pants to answer many common questions about the Hulk’s transformations, and Banner’s ability to survive with next to nothing whenever a bout of rage subsides. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at those incredible purple pants, and the secrets casual Marvel fans may never have known (and definitely never asked).
Okay, How Does Hulk Keep His Pants On?
Ever since the Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962), comic book fans have written to Marvel asking Hulk co-creator Stan Lee how the Hulk keeps his pants on when he changes form. Lee actually offers an explanation in one interview, stating Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four outfitted Banner with some “elastic trousers” (possibly made of the same unstable molecule fabric the Fantastic Four’s costumes are made of) that stretch when he transforms. In later interviews, however, Lee admits that, despite his desire to provide scientific explanations for all his superhero’s powers, he still couldn’t understand how the Hulk kept his pants on.
The “elastic trouser” explanation is actually referenced in multiple Hulk movies. In Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003), actor Eric Bana portrays a version of the Hulk that grows larger as he gets angrier – going from 9 to over 15 feet in height. Eventually this proves too much for Banner’s sweat pants and they tear off completely, leaving him stumbling in the nude. Following this outrageous exposure, the army outfits Banner with a pair of purple pants that expand (or contract) as he grows or shrinks. In a comic book sequel to Hulk, Banner reveals he always wears these purple pants underneath his regular clothes – almost like a regular superhero costume.
In The Incredible Hulk (2008), Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner intentionally buys large, stretchy pants (even using a heavyset woman’s frame as a point of reference) to prepare for his inevitable transformations. Later, when Banner (now played by Mark Ruffalo) joins the Avengers, he’s shown wearing a special pair of stretchable pants likely designed by his “science bro” Tony Stark.
A more metafictional, tongue-in-cheek explanation is given for the Hulk’s magic pants when his cousin Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk) reveals that her underwear never leaves her totally exposed in a fight because her clothes are “Protected by the Comic Code Authority.” As the real-life Comic Code Authority (which once policed comics for objectionable content) had strict anti-nudity guidelines for comic books, it’s likely Banner also buys his clothes from them too. The best explanation ever given comes off the page: if this was an issue for Banner, he's smart enough to design 'a pair of pants that can stretch.'
Why Are The Hulk’s Pants Purple?
The Hulk is famous for being a green skinned monster who wears shredded purple pants and remains a movie Easter Egg (Bana’s Hulk wears purple shorts, while Edward Norton tosses away the stretchy purple pants Betty Ross buys for him). From an artist’s perspective, green and purple offer a nice contrast. It's the same reason so many comic characters, from Green Goblin to the Impossible Man, follow a similar color scheme. But the Hulk actually has a specific reason for his iconic purple pants.
Back when Marvel Comics was awarding “No-Prizes” (an empty envelope given to fans for providing plausible explanations for comic book mistakes), one fan won such a prize by suggesting that when Banner Hulked-out, his body gave off gamma radiation that dyed the fabric of his pants purple. This explained why Banner – who often wore different colored pants – always ended up in purple pants when he became the Hulk. Writers and artists later added to this notion by establishing that when he was in college, Banner emulated Albert Einstein by buying ten identical suits – all purple – so he wouldn’t have to waste time deciding what to wear.
Since the purple pants-wearing Hulk is an alternate personality of Banner’s representing a hidden aspect of himself, it’s totally plausible in the established logic that his unconscious mind gave Hulk a similar fashion sense, even knowingly emitting the gamma radiation. Notably, other versions of the Hulk (such as the grey, “Joe Fixit” Hulk or the Immortal Hulk) do not wear purple pants, suggesting the radiation doesn’t have to give every Hulk purple pants.
How Does Bruce Banner Find Clothes After Changing Back from the Hulk?
Bruce Banner can end up in the most inconvenient places after a trip as the Hulk, with various stories showing him waking up in the desert, in a blizzard, or even the middle of an ocean. Worse, he always winds up in those situations half naked and destitute – yet somehow, he always manages to find clothes, rent a room, and even get a job in a matter of hours or days. As it turns out, the secret to these miraculous comebacks lies in the Hulk’s pants.
In the one-shot comic, Hulk: Let the Battle Begin, readers get to see step-by-step how Banner recovers from a hulk out. Shortly after waking in an unfamiliar place, he reaches into his “stupid purple pants” and tears open a survival kit (containing waterproof matches, a debit card, a needle, and a thread) stitched inside the fabric. Banner then hitches a ride (making up an outlandish story about how he lost his clothes). Next, he uses his debit card get cash for new clothes, prescription glasses, and a room. Finally, he uses the needle and thread to sew the items back into his pants, preparing for his next inevitable transformation. (Presumably Banner uses the matches to cook and keep warm if he wakes up too far from civilization). According to him, his ex-wife Betty came up with the idea to sew survival items into his pants, as those were the only things that survived his hulk outs.
Sadly, with the ending of the Comics Code Authority, the Hulk can now lose his pants in battle, causing Banner to wake up stark naked and without his survival kit. Granted, his genius typically helps him survive – but as he puts it, “it would all be impossible… without my purple pants” showing just how important the Hulk’s famous pants are to the Green Goliath.