We wrote the check, but is it at the expense of the Hulk?

The original mural of the Incredible Hulk inside Mansfield High's gymnasium.

Well, I'm absolutely stunned.

I went to Mansfield's special town meeting on Thursday night, fully expecting a battle for the combined $7 million needed to renovate the high school's football stadium, Alumni Field, and to replace the 53-year-old gym floor. But as it turned out, there was no battle. 

There wasn't even any debate. When the town moderator asked if there were any questions or comments from the 250 or so registered voters inside the MHS auditorium, not a single person went to the microphones to raise even a peep of protest over the expenditure. A vote was called, about 250 hands went into the air to vote yes, and that was that.

In fact, there was only one moment during the discussion of the article where any disapproval was even hinted among the crowd. As the assistant superintendent of schools explained that part of the renovation of the gym would include a complete re-painting of the gym walls and ceiling, he let it slip that the mural of the Incredible Hulk that has become the trademark of the James Albertini Memorial Gym over most of its 53-year life might not survive the paint brushes. An audible and unmistakable rumble of groans arose from the heart of the auditorium.

That would be a shame, although the Hulk has survived oblivion before. 

The 30-foot mural was originally painted on the south interior wall of the Albertini Gym in 1978 by Mansfield High alumnus Tom Palanza, and it survived for 36 years before repair work on the walls required new support beams to be put in place where the mural was, forcing replacement of cinder blocks and a repainting.

Former student Harrison Bateman
completed the newer mural.

.

Unwilling to surrender the school's association with the Hulk, which was the original creation of Marvel Comics head honcho Stan Lee and ace artist Jack Kirby, Mansfield High art students rallied to recreate most of Palanza's work on the opposite wall. The Hulk 2.0 was completed in 2014 -- maybe a little smaller, maybe a little less dynamic and fearsome in scope, but a worthy homage to the original, and much welcome to those that saw the character as representative of a crucial transitional period in Mansfield High School athletics.

In the 1970s, MHS sports had fallen upon hard times. Mansfield was the smallest school in the Hockomock League and was taking it on the chin in practically every sport, and the athletes needed something to rally around.

Mansfield already had a sports mascot -- the Green Hornet, chosen over "Marauders" in 1948 in honor of a very popular radio serial about a fellow named Britt Reid -- you know, the guy that fought injustice by day as a crusading newspaper publisher, and fought crime at night as the costumed hero called "The Green Hornet," teamed with his faithful Asian sidekick Kato, a master of the martial arts. There would be a later TV show on ABC that would try to capitalize upon the success of the campy "Batman" show, and an even worse movie in 2011 that made a total farce out of the characters.

But very few remember the story behind the Green Hornet of 1948. Mansfield is basically identified these days by an insect -- and only lately have they found a logo that truly represents the proper fighting spirit of Mansfield's teams without being too cartoonish. In the 1970s, however, most of the headlines about Mansfield involved phrasing that included words like "crushed," "stomped" and "squashed."

So, Hornet athletes of the time took a hard look at their plight. Palanza and his buddy, Paul Souza (of basketball and track fame) came up with a plan to embrace a new icon for Mansfield High. At that same time, CBS had debuted its "The Incredible Hulk" series based on the Marvel Comics character, and Palanza came up with an image that seized upon that show's popularity as well as honoring Jack Kirby's original concept.

At the time, Souza told Palanza he'd even spring for the paint to complete the project if the school didn't get on board with it. Fortunately, it did. 

The Hulk never really replaced the Hornet as Mansfield's sports identity, but that wasn't the intention. The school just needed an image that told opponents not to sleep on the teams playing here, or suffer the consequences. And over the next few years, the Hulk spawned several other murals across the Hockomock League. What had once been barren walls were suddenly graced with images of Rocketeers, Tigers, Bulldogs, Eagles and what have you. The Hulk blazed a trail for others to follow.

Mansfield has renewed its love for the Green Hornet as the fortunes of its teams have improved significantly in the 21st century, but I'm not sure people in town are prepared to consign Dr. Bruce Banner's alter ego to the mists of history.

This might look good on the gym wall.

Work on the gym is supposed to begin in the summer of 2024 and be ready for Hornet basketball the following December. It's going to be an extensive project because there's some asbestos in the support beams at the base of the floor that has to be removed, which drove up the price a little. It's not going to affect my tax rate, the town claims, because most of the money is coming out of surplus funds.

But if I read the room correctly Thursday night, the town may have to revisit whether "The Green Machine" should be erased by a broad brush of beige. 

And who knows? Maybe an enterprising soul might be tempted to inform Marvel Studios of Mansfield High School's 44-year-long infatuation with the Hulk. It can be argued, after all, there may be no more popular character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe right now than Mark Ruffalo's interpretation of the Green Goliath. With a couple of new Avengers movies in the works for the next few years, the studios are always looking for unusual publicity opportunities.

Maybe they'll even spring for the paint!