According to Marvel comics, gamma ray turns you green. At least that's how it's been since 1962 when the Hulk was brought to life by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. She-Hulk, Doc Samson, and the Leader all share origins with the Hulk from gamma ray exposure and they all have green skins.

So in 2003, upon release of Ang Lee's Hulk movie, lots of fans ran around in green bodypaint hopefully with purple pants (or any pants), and a bad hair cut. The 2003 Hulk movie really made a splash in the costuming world. There were plenty pictures of fans in conventions dressed up as the green goliath, although some were not so goliath.

The recent release of the 2008 movie, The Incredible Hulk, adds another version of the Hulk's costume in the mix. Although the differences are minor, there are enough variances between the two Hulks that are noticeable. Note too that we're only talking about Hulk movie costumes here. The Red Hulk and Gray Hulk will be subjects of another article at another time.

If your child was a toddler or infant then, the answer is obviously no since he or she is five years older now and the costume wouldn't fit. But you should learn the difference in case they want to be the Hulk again for Halloween this year and they know the difference.

First, note that many fans regard the 2008 movie as more loyal to the comic books. This mainly means the storyline, the villain, and the supporting characters. The 2003 movie is so universally rejected that the 2008 movie was dubbed a reboot. Basically, the fans view it as a "do over" so that the 2003 movie can be filed away.

But, here's a caveat for costuming. The 2003 Hulk image resembles the comic book Hulk better than the 2008 Hulk. Mainly, the trademark green skin and purple pants are better represented in the 2003 Hulk.

The 2008 Hulk is not far off, but he has variances. First, he doesn't wear the traditional purple pants. But the purple pants made the movie as an easter egg. Second, he has a darker shade of green and his veins show as noticeable streaks of an even darker shade of green. And lastly, his muscles are shown to ripple. Both the veins and the rippled muscles remind me of roided out wrestlers when straining for attention.

The above bit of information is helpful to you if the 2003 Hulk movie costume still fits any of your children. Maybe the teen can pass down the Hulk costume to the younger boy (or girl). You may be able to save money and reuse the '03 costume by telling them that it's the better version because it looks just like the comic books. Just point them to the green skin without streaks and the purple pants.