Posted in: Comics, Conventions | Tagged: comic con, comiccon, comicon, convention, flash gordon, hulk, incredible hulk, mcm london comic con, sam l. jones, The Flash
Where's The Beef? Flash Gordon And Incredible Hulk Actors Purportedly Go Nose-To-Nose At London Comic Con
UK tabloid The Sun is reporting that a fan attending the MCM London Comic Con this weekend had to step in to de-escalate an argument which had become heated between Flash Gordon star Sam J. Jones and the Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno. Attendee Darryn Clements, who was dressed as Suicide Squad's El Diablo at the time, told The Sun that he had selflessly stepped in at a whopping 5'7" against Ferrigno's 6'4" and Jones 6'3":
There was a large crowd around, so I told them to act like adults and grow up as they were supposed to be there for their fans. I don't know if I was the real superhero because if there was a clash of the Titans I would have got squashed.
Flash Gordon [Jones] was telling the Hulk [Ferrigno] to go home. Lou was just saying, "You're winding me up". There was a lot of finger-jabbing and it was getting pretty nasty.
When Clements spoke to security, rather than stepping in themselves they asked Clements if he would mind stepping in between them.
I thought this has to be calmed down because if one hits the other it would be chaos — they are absolute monsters. I made them laugh and that seemed to calm everything down.
Now while this is the story being reported by The Sun, other outlets are relating The Suns story, but when they reached out the the respective actors, they were told something very different. Jones said that he and Ferrigno had stepped in to stop a fight from developing between fans who had been standing in line for autographs. "He [Ferrigno] and I together defused it." None of The Sun's images show anything close to the finger pointing or combative stance described. Only the general way both actors tend to stand close and leaning-in, as Ferrigno has worn hearing aids since the age of 5, and the ambient noise of a convention center often makes it a challenge for him to hear clearly.
The original story also seems to read a bit off since Jones had moderated a panel for Ferrigno on Saturday, and they both had been at dinner the same evening as the purported near-fisticuffs. The idea that security would also ask for a patron to intervene between guests also seems a bit atypical. Sunday the two actors were at their tables once again smiles and signing for fans.