Was Macgee a villain? - The Incredible Hulk (1977) Discussion

[–] RikerDonegal 9 years ago

No. Definitely not a villain. Frequently written as a sympathetic and likeable character.

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[–] drloomis666 9 years ago

Sympathetic and likeable but also i think obsessive and somewhat selfish.I wouldn't call him a villain but his motives were definitely not altruistic.In mystery man he all but said that he didn't care about the Hulk.He just wanted to exploit him to further his career

You don't know what death is_ Sam Loomis Halloween 2

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[–] SpaceMountainMike 9 years ago

He was definitely wrong to let the hulk take the rap for causing the lab fire. He should have confessed to it.

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[–] amyghost 9 years ago

He didn't know he'd caused it. The chemical containers he accidentally spilled didn't combust immediately. He wasn't a chemist, he was a reporter and had no way of knowing the fire was of his doing.

I think as the series progressed, McGee was allowed to become more sympathetic and human. If David had ever been able to confront him with what had actually happened that night, I think McGee would have owned up to it in the end.

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[–] jefgg 9 years ago

Jack McGee was an adversary, not a villain. He was an inept reporter working for a sleazy tabloid. And I can't believe they paid him to run around the country looking for a giant green man.

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[–] PaladinNJ (21594) 6 years ago

He was David's "Gerard", a foil necessary to occasionally push the story along. I have to disagree with you in one respect though, he was far from inept. He proved himself quite capable several times.

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[–] millsey72 (10577) 3 years ago

Who's Gerard? I don't recall any such character

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[–] AutoexecBatman 9 years ago

Antagonist yes, villain no.

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[–] terryc316 9 years ago

Not a villain. Just a pesky investigative reporter desperate to be taken seriously as a journalist, and therefore, desperate to prove that the Hulk is real.

There are several episodes which illustrate McGee's obsession with the Hulk. These include, "Mystery Man", "Of Guilt, Models, and Murder", "Equinox", "Stop the Presses", and "Prometheus", among others.

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[–] amyghost 9 years ago

IIRC, McGee was a serious reporter once, and got busted down to the tabloids because of a drinking problem. That bit of backstory is given in either one of the pilot films or an early episode. He sees proving the Hulk story as his ticket to becoming a credible journalist once again, probably the chief reason why he's so relentless in his tracking of the Hulk.

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[–] mikelutton35 9 years ago

I felt bad for McGee do u ever think he got his story or retired from following the hulk

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[–] Verdugo85 8 years ago

Not a villain. He's just a pigheaded reporter trying to boost his career by trying to capture the Hulk. I liked that the series turned him into a three-dimensional character.

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[–] jefgg 8 years ago

Jack McGee was a very sad character. He did not seem to have close relationships with family or friends. He had little success finding The Hulk despite making it the priority in his life. And his Hulk obsession was based on false information that he was a killer.

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[–] frozencloud (120) 4 years ago

Yes. Because in the 70's they couldn't afford the special effects for an Abomination or Juggernaut. So they made the Hulk's main villain an annoying and relentless TV reporter.

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