I need a soaper-hero! Wannabe Incredible Hulk covers himself in green paint... and then discovers it won't come off

It's not easy being green - as one Brazilian man proved when he painted himself to look like the Incredible Hulk - and found the colour wouldn't wash off.

Pool attendant Paulo Henrique dos Santos, from Vila Cruzeiro, dressed up as the comic book hero for a running event, but got a nasty shock when the time came to remove the green paint.       

After frantic scrubbing, the hapless chap realised he'd used a paint reserved for ballistic missiles and nuclear submarines.

Colour crisis! Hulk prankster Enrique dos Santos was left red-faced when his green paint refused to budge

According to Brazilian news site Extra.globo.com, Paulo had hoped to buy a brand of paint he'd used on a previous outing as the Hulk, but the shop he went to didn't have it.   

Desperate to undo his inking, the would-be superhero spent Sunday and Monday having 'about 20 baths,' and was forced to sleep in a room lined with plastic bags.   

He feared the industrial paint could actually give him lead poisoning, though he appears to have had no symptoms.

 

Instant celebrity: The action hero look proved a hit with local children in Vila Cruzeiro

The 35-year-old, who also works as a DJ in Rio de Janeiro and is known as MC Marronzinho, has achieved overnight celebrity in his local area.

As if being bright green wasn't embarrassing enough, the local press ran pictures of his mother trying to remove the paint - and referred to her as his girlfriend.

Maternal mix-up: The hapless Hulk is helped by his mother - who media reports referred to as his girlfriend

It was only after being scrubbed by a gang of friends and neighbours for 24 hours that Paulo finally removed the stubborn staining.

So was he left feeling blue? Amazingly, Paulo says he doesn't regret the incident.