In The Incredible Hulk Returns, Dr. David Banner, a scientist who transforms into a green-skinned superhuman monster when enraged, believes that he has found a potential cure for his condition, but he is delayed by the inexplicable arrival of the arrogant Viking warrior Thor.

He has not changed into the Hulk for two years since he met a young widow, Maggie Shaw, with whom he is romantically involved.

A Mercenary gang outside the Joshua-Lambert Institute seek to kidnap Banner and the Transponder, but the Hulk effortlessly dispatches them.

Unlike the preceding series which was produced by MCA/Universal, this film and the following two sequels were produced by New World Television (New World was Marvel's owner at the time) and Bill Bixby's production outfit, which, in association with NBC, took over the Hulk television franchise from former broadcaster CBS.

[4] Johnson was at the time contracted to the film Short Circuit 2 as director and was "surprised" to learn of the project whilst working on location in Toronto.

In The Incredible Hulk Returns, Thor is neither Asgardian nor a god (though he does once claim to be the "son of Odin"), and is instead described as a long-dead Viking king who was denied access to Valhalla for the sin of arrogance, for which he must perform a number of heroic acts, similar to the trials of Heracles.

Additionally Thor's powers are heavily limited; while he has superhuman strength, he cannot fly or control the weather and his hammer is not restricted by the "worthiness enchantment" from the comics.

On May 21, 1988, just one day before the film aired, Ferrigno appeared as a contestant on the game show Family Double Dare to promote it.