Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is an Animated Adaptation of Marvel Comics' popular The Incredible Hulk franchise. The series features the Hulk teaming up with She-Hulk, Red Hulk, Skaar, and A-Bomb to fight threats too great to handle alone. The series aired alongside Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD's Marvel Universe block.
Agents of S.M.A.S.H. features the voices of Fred Tatasciore as the Hulk, Clancy Brown as Red Hulk, Eliza Dushku as She-Hulk, Seth Green as A-Bomb, and Ben Diskin as Skaar. The series is produced by Marvel Animation and overseen by Paul Dini, best known for his work on Batman: The Animated Series and DC Comics' DC Animated Universe.
Aired for two seasons and ended in 2015 with 52 episodes. It was replaced with Guardians of the Galaxy (2015).
Not to be confused with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is another Marvel series, taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Tropes applying to Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
- Aborted Arc: Skaar's true parentage is still unknown by the end of the series. All the audience knows by this point is that he was abandoned on Sakaar as a child and adopted by a family on said world before the Leader took over.
- Absorbing Man and Titania's road to redemption.
- Adaptational Badass: The Mole Man, being the ruler of a civilization that's constantly attacked by underground monsters, has unexpectedly good fighting skills, as he demonstrates against the subterranean Larva Beasts.
- Xemnu the Titan. His comic self was no slouch, but in "The Strongest One There Is," he easily defeats the Agents (minus A-Bomb), even taking out Hulk with little effort.
- Ghost Rider is completely unstoppable, shrugging off the Agents' best attacks with ease.
- Adaptational Heroism:
- This version of Red Hulk actually doesn't seem like such a bad guy, being a bit of a jerk worst.
- In "Of Moles and Men", The Mole Man and his minions are also portrayed as this as they go as far to help Hulk save his hometown from the queen of the Larva Beasts in gratitude for all his efforts in Subterranea.
- Played with Maestro, who initially appears friendly to the Hulks, but he really traveled back in time just to ensure his own existence. However, this ultimately fails, changing the future so that he never becomes evil in the first place. Expressing remorse before he and Future A-Bomb return to their new timeline.
- Miek like the Planet Hulk version is insecure and adorable and not a villain.
- Adaptational Job Change: In a stark contrast to her comic counterpart, She-Hulk's a Hollywood stuntwoman rather than a lawyer. During her debut appearance, she explains that stunt work was the only job she could get due to her alarming appearance, which may be a reference to Wonder Man's struggles with the same issue in the comics.
- Adaptational Modesty: The Red Hulk is fully clothed in this version compared to his comic book counterpart having no shirt and wears shorts.
- Short legs were added to She-Hulk's leotard.
- In Wendigo Apocalypse when A-Bomb turns into a Wendigo we see him grow hair all over his body revealing that he wears blue shorts the exact same colour as the rest of him.
- Abomination is fully clothed most of the time just like Red Hulk above.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- In "Planet Leader", Hiroim (A member of the generally heroic Warbound in the comics) is the brutal slavemaster of the mines of Sakaar.
- Mainframe, an Avenger from the MC2 line, is turned into a villain who attempts to destroy New York City. However, the episode does end with Mainframe leaving to experience the world after being defeated, and only then does he take on his comic appearance and get his Boss Subtitle, as if to say "okay, now he's the real Mainfraime," all hinting pretty strongly that he'd become a little closer to his comic counterpart. He does come back in time to help the heroes against the Kree, showing he is clearly a hero.
- Adaptational Wimp: All five Hulks are far less powerful than how they're portrayed in the comics, with weaker enemies having a slight advantage over them when the plot allows it. Apparently, they're also more vulnerable as well. The show is very vague on what can actually kill a Hulk, but it's implied molten lava, the vacuum of space, getting crushed by metal walls with enough pressure, and even extreme temperatures can likely put an end to them.
- In the case of the Hulk himself this might at least be explained by the comics usually depicting his power being inversely proportional to his intellect and restraint, and the show depicting him as a generally articulate guy and capable group leader.
- In some cases, however, it's more or less because the antagonist, but mostly the Leader, underestimate the sheer stamina and endurance the Hulks have. Although, the Hulks are still victim to defeat on numerous occasions, regardless of what the villain knows or is capable of.
- Adapted Out: The Red King, No-Name of the Brood, and Caiera do not appear among the denizens of Sakaar in "Planet Leader" (Justified in the Red King's case, as the Leader has his position in this continuity).
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The Leader gets the Hulks' own jump jet to turn against them by giving it its own AI. Then it starts ignoring his orders as well.
- Aliens Speaking English: Though Annihilus, Blastaar, and The Collector do this, A-bomb lampshades Ego doing it:A-Bomb: It's a living planet... who speaks perfect English. Does anybody else think that's weird?
- All Animals Are Dogs: The Hulks adopt a red Tyrannosaurus Rex for a pet, who behaves much like a dog.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Two green, one grey, one red, one blue.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Leader attempts to make She-Hulk his queen in "Planet Leader". Though he's quick to point out that he's doing so in order to have an "insurance policy" rather than out of any real attraction to her.
- And Your Reward Is Edible: In "The Strongest One There Is", Xemnu challenges A-Bomb in a video game where whoever wins will destroy the earth's sun. A-Bomb instead changes the reward to a donut. Xemnu is even more excited about that.
- Antagonistic Offspring: In "Days of Future Smash: The Tomorrow Smashers", Junior is revealed to be the Leader's son, and is determined to stop his father.
- BFG: Red Hulk's weapon of choice, be it cannons, mortars, or lasers.
- BFS: Skaar's weapon of choice, when he's not using an axe.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Royally averted and dovetailing with Nobody Poops after Shulkie stinks up the bathroom on the jet. A disgusted A-Bomb throws a whole can of air freshener at the resulting odor.
- Big Eater: The entire team is this, Justified since well, they're Hulks.
- I'll Take Two Beers Too: Sort of, The Hulks order five "Gutbomb specials". As an appetizer.
- Big "NO!": The Hulk when he believes his teammates were killed by The Leader.
- Bluff the Impostor: After dealing with shapeshifting Skrulls, Hulk cottons on to their game and asks what appears to be A-Bomb where the Pink Hulk is. The results should be obvious.
- Boss Subtitles: Every newly-appearing character gets 'em, very 90s-Shōnen-anime-ish. Since it's all Rick Jones's documentary, he might have added 'em in post-production.
- Brought to You by the Letter "S": The Hulks all wear belts with an "H" insignia. Weirdly, Hulk, Red Hulk, and Skaar are already seen wearing them in the first episode, even though they're not anything even close to a team at that point. Even more weirdly, when Rick becomes A-Bomb, he bursts through his clothes, and is already wearing his H-belt underneath.
- Buffet Buffoonery: The Hulks do this in "Galactus Goes Green", mostly as payback on the hotel manager who owns the buffet for calling them monsters instead of heroes.
- Call-Back: In "The Big Green Mile", Hulk tells a bunch of supervillains that he's not locked up with them, they're locked up with him. He said the same thing about a swarm of aliens in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Home Sick Hulk".
- The Cameo: J. Jonah Jameson makes one in the first episode, claiming Hulk to be a worse threat than Spider-Man, which is really saying something. He makes several more cameos over the course of the series.
- Classified Information: When A-Bomb explains Hulk's origins to viewers he attempts to show footage of the incident, only for Red Hulk to deny it due to the footage being classified by the military and only allowing a crude reenactment via drawings.
- Color Character: Red Hulk, who gets as angry as the color he signifies.
- Continuity Nod: In Spidey, I Blew Up The Dinosaur, Spider-Man is asked to dress up as a hot dog. Spider-Man responds by saying "I've been down the Spider-Ham route before, and I'm not travelling it again", which is a nod to the Ultimate Spider-Man episode Run Pig Run.
- Cool Sword: Skaar can be seen wielding one, as pictured above.
- Corrupted Contingency: In "Hulk-Busted", the Leader takes control of Tony Stark's Hulk-Buster suits which he created as countermeasures against the Hulks.
- Crazy-Prepared: The Leader always seems to have a back-up plan when his previous attempt to kill the Hulks fails. Not surprising considering he's one of the most intelligent minds on the planet.
- Creator Cameo: Once again, Stan Lee appears but as the mayor of Vista Verde in "The Defiant Hulks".
- Critical Psychoanalysis Failure: Doc Samson suffers a mental breakdown after his efforts to civilize Skaar go to naught.
- Cuteness Proximity: Skaar can't help it regarding Lockjaw.
- Oh, Skaar don't smash dog... *Triton tackles him* SKAAR SMASH FISHMAN! *punch*
- Designated Girl Fight: When the Leader's "Agents of C.R.A.S.H." attack Vista Verde, She-Hulk fights Titania. And against the Inhumans, she's put against Medusa.
- The Dragon: Skaar starts out as one to Annihilus due to a mind-control chip.
- The Dreaded Toilet Duty: For the first half of the second season, the Leader is being held prisoner by Hulk and his team inside his own ship on the way back to Earth. Among other things, they force him to clean toilets.
- Distaff Counterpart: She-Hulk.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: There are a few differences between Season 1 and Season 2, like how the Leader seems to be phasing out his "Premise X, Conclusion Y" Mad Libs Catch Phrase, or the lack of focus on gross-out humor (though Ego's second guest appearance provided a reemergence of such) and how there are many more two-parters in Season 2, with a five-parter toward the end.
- "Fantastic Voyage" Plot: Happens in "All About Ego" where the Hulks travel into the inside of Ego's body to stop him from consuming the Earth.
- Fun with Acronyms: Naturally, given the title. When asked in-universe what "S.M.A.S.H." stands for, Rick responds "Who cares? We're awesome!" For the record it stands for Supreme Military Agency of Super Humans. Still no idea what C.R.A.S.H. is supposed to mean.
- Future Self Reveal: In the episode "Enter, the Maestro", the mysterious intruder from the future that attacked Future Hulk and fought Hulk and his friends turns out to be the future version of A-Bomb. Not only that, but it turns out that he's not a villain, as Hulk's friends assumed, but is a member of La Résistance who's actually trying to prevent the Bad Future that was caused by Hulk's infection by the Gamma Meteor that would lead him to become Maestro, a.k.a. Future Hulk, who came to past to ensure that present Hulk remains infected, preserving his status as an Evil Overlord in the future.
- Genius Bruiser: The Hulk's shown to be quite intelligent and well spoken in this show, it's quite possible he has Banner's intelligence.
- Go-Go Enslavement: She-Hulk in "Planet Leader". And, yes,
someone had to take off her leotard (and subsequent the Xena getup) offscreen to get her into that while she was unconscious. It may have just been the robots, though. - Grand Finale: The two-part Season 2 finale "Planet Monster". The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and every ally they've met teaming up against the threat of the Kree empire.
- Hereditary Twinhood: In "Days of Future Smash: The Tomorrow Smashers", the Hulk is sent into the future, and encounters a new team of Smashers. Among them are two red gamma mutate twins named "Thad" and "Betsy", who are heavily implied to be Red Hulk's descendants. After he returns to the present, Hulk nonchalantly suggests that twins run in Red's family, which Red confirms (then confusedly asks how Hulk knew that).
- Hero with Bad Publicity:
- Partially averted. Hulk's considered a hero in his hometown, but Rick tries to make him a hero everywhere else.
- As usual, Spider-Man, who guest stars in one episode. It's implied that this is part of the reason Hulk likes and relates to him, to the point he introduces him to his team. This is shown In-Universe at the end of "All About Ego", when Jameson says that Ego's failed destruction of Earth was somehow Spider-Man's plan.
- J. Jonah Jameson in "The Collector" is revealed to be a vocal catalyst for their bad publicity.
- Hulk Speak: Averted with Hulk himself (though he can fall back into this at times, especially when's particularly angry), played straight with Skaar (though he sometimes averts it, as seen in his conversation with the Leader).
- Identically Powered Team: All five members of S.M.A.S.H., Hulk, She-Hulk, A-Bomb, Red Hulk and Skarr are gamma powered mutants with super strength. There are a few abilities unique to certain characters, but for the most part they have the same power set.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: The episode "The Green Room" opens on the Isle of Lucee.
- Informed Flaw: In "The Strongest One There Is," A-Bomb is stated by the others to be the weakest member of the team, something that had never been brought up before.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Red Hulk and Hulk, with the former having a soft spot for the latter.
- Wolverine in "Wendigo Apocalypse" has shades of this, as well.
- Killed Off for Real:
- Terrax, one of Galactus' heralds, was killed offscreen by Firelord after he was deemed "unworthy".
- Ronan the Accuser and the Supreme Intelligence in the series finale.
- Knight of Cerebus: Abomination is the most serious and deadly villain, yet. He takes most of the team down without trouble. And his ultimate goal is to blow up half the continent, while it on the Hulks.
- Deathlok is a mercenary from a Bad Future, and his character is played very seriously with little to no humor.
- The Ghost Rider: Seriously in the episode Spirit of Vengeance this guy turns Abomination into a Butt-Monkey. Plus Deathlok used more humor than the Ghost Rider.
- Large Ham: Blastaar.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: A-Bomb gets mad at
how little attention the show is getting, and declares it cancelled, just in time for the Grand Finale. - Like Brother and Sister: Hulk and She-Hulk.
- Magic Pants: As usual for the Hulk.
- The Man Behind the Man: The Leader was the one supplying Annihilus with earth-tech, and also gave assistance to Sauron and Ymir.
- The Mole Skaar, due to the Leader's holding the secret of his origin.
- Moral Myopia: In the second season, Ronan the Accuser lied to the Hulks in order to trick them into turning Ego into a Kree weapon. When the Hulks learn the truth and turn against the Kree, Ronan considers it a great crime, hunting down the Hulks for breaking their word, despite the aforemention deception on his part.
- Mythology Gag:
- Red Hulk makes references to Hulk's mindless days in the first episode.
- Rick Jones name drops Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom when he's wondering who's responsible for the portal above "Vista Verde".
- When Rick Jones is trying to come up with a hero name for himself, at one point he thinks of calling himself "Bucky"; a reference to his brief time as Captain America's new Bucky in the comics.
- Red Hulk punching out The Watcher.
- Spider-Man briefly playing Poker with the Hulks references how he occasionally plays Poker with other heroes in the comics. Similarly, Red Hulk saying that him wearing a mask is an unfair advantage and thinking that his spider-sense went off due to his bad hand are also things that happen when Spidey play Poker in the comics, which is why most heroes stopped inviting him to their games.
- Red Hulk (He's a goldmine of these) saying he'd make a better Emissary than She Hulk, the line being "Give me sparkly power cosmic and a flying red surfboard and you'd see some fireworks alright." A straight reference to the time Red Hulk hijacked the Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic and went on a joyride.
- When Spidey and Venom from Ultimate Spider-Man guest-star, A-Bomb makes a wild guess that Venom is some kind of alien who came to Earth in a meteor; a reference to Spider-Man 3 (and, to a lesser extent, the comics, where the symbiote is an alien but didn't arrive on a meteor).
- In the Lotus-Eater Machine episode, the fantasy world includes that She-Hulk has found time to take a law degree and is now on the Supreme Court. (In the comics, she became a lawyer before she became a Hulk.)
- After Deathlok sacrifices his own power core to detonate a Skrull spaceship, Hulk finds a replacement courtesy of Tony Stark, an arc reactor similar to the ones in the movies.
- After Crystal nearly dies, A-Bomb wakes her up by pulling a Rage Against the Heavens. He claims he got the idea from a movie, a reference to how the Hulk revives Iron Man at the end of The Avengers.
- When Thor gets smacked against Loki's cell in "For Asgard", Loki mockingly asks him "Who's the puny God now?"
- In "The Big Green Mile", She-Hulk mentions to fellow prisoner Titania that she has a law degree. In the comics, Jennifer Walters was a lawyer before becoming She-Hulk, but she couldn't get hired as a lawyer in Agents of S.M.A.S.H. because of her mutation.
- The last time Ghost Rider appeared in animation was in the 90s Incredible Hulk series- it was intended as a backdoor pilot, but UPN didn't pick it up (because of that Ghost Rider was cut from appearing in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, as a side note).
- Xemnu mentions one of his other titles is "Xemnu the Living Hulk". He was originally called The Living Hulk (or just The Hulk) in the comics, before his reappearance in a Defenders story with the big green guy forced the change to "The Titan". A "hulk" is originally a rotting ship, if you're wondering.
- Never Say "Die": "Hulk smash Leader for good!"
- Not Quite Dead:
- The Collector easily manages to survive a planet-sized explosion with only torn clothing and a wounded pride.
- Annihilus survived a similar fate.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: Averted in a Time Travel episode where Hulk wields Mjölnir before it had any enchantments to prevent non-chosen ones from wielding it. Loki gets his chance in a timeline where it never had those enchantments.
- Pygmalion Plot: Doc Samson attempts to do this to Skaar, ultimately hypnotizing him to do os.
- Pygmalion Snap Back: But it doesn't work, because a trigger phrase reverts Skaar to his normal self exactly when the other hulks need him most.
- Red Is Heroic: Red Hulk, Spider-Man and Iron Man.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: The first three confirmed villains for the show are Annihilus, Blastaar, and Ego the Living Planet, all three of whom are traditionally enemies of the Fantastic Four. They also face off against The Collector, normally an Avengers foe (Although Hulk is an Avenger in most comics and media). There was also an episode where the team faced off against Sauron, who's traditionally an X-Men villain. And one not normally considered in the Hulk's league for that matter, since one of his main powers is hypnotism and one of the Hulk's powers in the comics is resistance to mind control.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Collector provides one to Hulk and Spider-Man. He says that Earth's media views them both as menaces, not heroes, so they weren't worthy enough to be captured along with the rest of the planet's heroes.
- Running Gag: In Season 2, The Leader getting stuck with demeaning jobs as punishment.
- Scenery Porn: The winter landscapes in "Wendigo Apocalypse" are surprisingly beautiful, and set a good atmosphere.
- Series Continuity Error: Although Doc Ock’s design is taken from Ultimate Spider-Man, it is his Season 1 design and he is not paralyzed from the neck down as in that show.
- Shapeshifter Mode Lock: As revealed in "Banner Day", the reason why Bruce Banner hasn't shown up in this series, or Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble, for that matter, is because he is in the Hulk form permanently. The same probably applies to the other Gamma Mutates.
- Shout-Out:
- When Spider-Man and Hulk infiltrate the Collector's ship, Spidey sarcastically asks if they should disable the tractor beam or rescue the princess first.
- The stylization of certain shots, looking like comic panels, seems to be a shout out to Ang Lee's Hulk film.
- Hulk and Red are nursing a grudge while helping Thor stop the Frost Giants from freezing the Earth. Hulk eventually decides to stop arguing and "Let it go".
- When the Hulks are at a restaurant, Skaar drinks the mustard. Sound familiar?.
- In "The Hunted", Hulk defends a bunch of eggs from a giant turtle that tries to eat them. Hulk at first thought it was the mama, but when the turtle puts an egg into its mouth, he remarks, "That's not the mama!"
- Hulk: "It's good to be the king."
- The Collector has Howard the Duck on his ship in a stasis pod.
- She-Hulk is wearing armor similar to Xena in "Planet Leader".
- Jameson mentions he once saw a talking raccoon in a movie.
- In "All About Ego", Skaar shouts out, "Skarr make holes in teeth!" in exactly the same cadence as the Cavity Creeps from the late 70s/early 80's Crest toothpaste commercials.
- In "The Trouble with Machines", the Leader gives the Hulks' jump jet its own AI - not only does it now have an ominous red light, it even says "I'm afraid I can't let you do that".
- In "Deathlok", one of the mallgoers looks like a modernised Fat Albert.
- And Deathlok appears in a ball of blue electrical energy, without his suit (at first).
- And A-Bomb thinks the name Deathlok sounds like A Good Name for a Rock Band. Remind you of any existing ones?
- A-Bomb, Skaar and Red get duped, and sucked out of a vent in the Skrull spaceship, but they survive by clinging to antennas at the ship's bottom.
- In "The Green Room," the Hulks are briefly trapped in a place known as the "Puzzle Box," a set of constantly interchanging, deathtrap-laden square rooms, much like the titular location in the Cube film series.
- Hulk riffs on Rorschach's "I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me" a couple of times.
- Significant Name Overlap: The Red Hulk twins in the future are named Thad and Betts, indicating a relationship to Thaddeus Ross and his daughter Betty, if being Red Hulks isn't enough of a clue. Similarly, the A-Bomb counterpart is RJ3, for Rick Jones III.
- The Smurfette Principle: She-Hulk seems to be the only female on the team so far.
- Smug Snake: The Leader. Supremely pompous and arrogant when he thinks things are going his way, but he turns into a cringing coward when the situation turns against him.
- Stealth Pun: Hulk ends each episode by saying "Hulk, out." to the camera.
- The Agents of CRASH can cloak themselves from everyone except Gamma-powered beings. How does A-Bomb uncloak them in his webcam videos? Gamma correction.
- In "Hulking Commandos" the Howling Commandos work with the Agents and it's revealed Hulk "goes commando."
- Stock Footage: Hulk's horrified expression is copied and pasted into almost every episode, normally in a scene where there's danger.
- Surveillance as the Plot Demands: Played With: We actually see the cameras, they're the little round floating machines that the characters give their POVs to. Though presumably, since Rick has lots of them floating around wherever the Hulks go, we're actually still seeing everything through the eyes of in-universe cameras. They have figured into the plot a few times when someone throws one at someone; and it was apparently through these that Hulk learned that Skaar is The Mole.
- That Was the Last Entry: Deathlok is from the future, having received his mission from the final broadcast of A-Bomb's show.
- To Catch Heroes, Hire Villains: In 'Monsters No More', the team is framed by arch-foe The Leader for the destruction of their hometown. Pursuing Leader into space and then taking him back to Earth, their attempt to clear their names is met with a government-authorized robot army led by the Abomination. Makes more sense than it would in the comics, since, like in the 2008 Movie, Blonksy has a background as a government operative.
- Toilet Humor: Seemingly in every episode. The most common audience reaction being disgust rather than humor. A small list:
- She-Hulk stinking up the bathroom in the pilot.
- A-Bomb farting in his stasis pod in "The Collector."
- Too many examples to list in "All About Ego."
- Took a Level in Kindness: Red Hulk in general is nicer than his comic counterpart (even after the Heel–Face Turn in the comics), if a little bit of a jerk. Various moments throughout the show, namely Abomanation's debut episode and the late series "Spirit of Vengeance" episode, rather heavily imply that Red Hulk was as bad as his comics counterpart is usually portrayed, and that he's been behaving much better at this point in his life than he ever was before.
- Unified Naming System: The Supreme Military Agency of Super Humans gets its own Legion of Doom from past villains in the form of C.R.A.S.H. (Chaotic Radical Agency of Super Humans).
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Hulk and Red.
- Wendigo: When the curse of the Wendigo begins spreading across the team in "Wendigo Apocalypse", the Hulks fight their way out of a real live horror movie, starting with Hulks old rival Wolverine.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- In "Into the Negative Zone", Annhilus regains his cosmic control rod and slipps back into the shadows... and is never seen in the series again.
- J. Jonah Jameson was last seen in season two's "Spidey, I Blew Up the Dinosaur" (not counting his alternate timeline selves in "Days of Future Smash"). So we never learn of his reaction to the Hulks being proven innocent.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Hulk and Red Hulk have no problem with using lethal force against Annihilus's insect minions. Or against Annihilus himself, for that matter. Both Hulk and Red Hulk really let go on Abomination, as well—if not actually killing him, at least giving him a good "nuclear beatdown" for his trouble.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Delivered by the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. towards the Avengers on how they treat Hulk as Dumb Muscle and a Living Weapon, ignoring the fact Hulk and his team have fought the enemy they're currently facing before and therefore has intel on their strategies and weaknesses. Averted by Hulk, himself, though as he doesn't really mind how the Avengers treat him (although he is understandably frustrated they are ignoring him when he tries to warn them about the enemy) due to the fact he understands as an Avenger he is pretty much a Living Weapon, while with his team its more of a family. Doubles as a bit of an Author's Saving Throw as well to explain why S.M.A.S.H.'s Hulk seems so focused and intelligent, while in Avengers Assemble (which is set in the same universe) he pretty much is the Dumb Muscle stereotype of the team.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Considering the whole team is Hulks, they tend to default to smashing things. Lampshaded in the episode with Venom, when Spider-Man tells them to stop smashing because it won't work and Hulk says "I like smashing. It's my go-to thing." In the end he grabs a huge church bell and keeps hitting it because Venom hates sound. So he smashes smarter, not harder.
- Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: Trying to get rid of the team's pet dinosaur, Red Hulk tried to take it to some forest but a wrong turn (and yes, Red Hulk mentioned Albuquerque) led them to Latveria.
