How the MCU Failed The Hulk

The Incredible Hulk is a character that is loaded with depth, fascinating characterization, and is way, way more than just a big angry green monster. But as the MCU has grown over almost two decades, the portrayal of the Jade Giant has been very, very poor. Very disappointing. to quickly run it down. In short, the reason why there hasn't been a Hulk solo movie after 2008 is a rights issue. Universal owns the rights to Hulk, and clearly they haven't brokered a deal, allowing Hulk to have his own solo movie. Now, whether or not Disney wants that is beyond our scope of knowledge. What we do know is that he only appears in movies that are not his own, which of course severely limits his characterization, but that is not an excuse for the lack of care shown to one of Marvel's biggest and greatest superheroes. So, let's see how it's been over the past 18 years. Hulk's journey starts in The Incredible Hulk, the 2008 solo film starring Edward Norton. The first red flag is the change to Hulk's backstory. Instead of Banner creating the gamma bomb and it exploding while he tries to save a kid, it's changed to a lab accident with a gamma variation of a super soldier serum that he tried on himself, thus creating the Hulk. This change flattens the nature of the giant, who is supposed to be representative of America's anxiety over the atomic age and nuclear warfare. And it also softens his own guilt that is baked into the character with Hulk being a potential punishment for Banner manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. The movie itself is largely uneventful with Banner being on the run for most of the film as it chooses to focus more on Banner and Betty Ross' relationship than anything else. This portrayal of Hulk and Banner forgets the most important part of the character, his psyche. Hulk is the manifestation of all of Bruce's fears and his guilt and his dissociative identity disorder, which existed even before the accident. Hulk is a manifestation first and foremost because of his father. His father, who beat him relentlessly, began calling Bruce a monster when he was as young as 3 years old, leading to the point where Brian Banner beats and kills his wife in front of a young Bruce. In response to all of these horrific things happening to the young Banner, Bruce bottles up all of his emotions. His response to this trauma is that emotions, when they get out of control, will eventually lead to anger, and that will lead to violence. Bruce equates violence with his father, and he never ever wants to be like his father. From a teenager well into his adult years, he's held on to this very childish notion that emotions are bad, that they hurt people. And as the Hulk manifests with violence and anger as his motto, he is reminded every time he looks in the mirror of the very man he is trying to run from. Bruce escapes becoming his father by shutting the Hulk down, therefore repressing himself and his feelings. Without them, he is both safe from his father and safe from becoming like his father. Hulk as a character does not work without the synergy between Banner and the Green Giant. The 2008 film is a poor depiction of Hulk because all of the Jackalyn Hyde Frankensteinesesque conflicts, the best parts of the character are removed. No trauma, no abuse, no repression. just a man on the run, fearful of what he has become with no exploration of how that affects what goes on inside of his head, only how the world around him is affected. In the first Avengers movie, there's a bit of a time gap between the Hulk's film and this one, where Banner and Hulk are not necessarily on good terms, but Bruce can call on Hulk when needed, and the Green Giant will play his role. He will smash things. But Banner rarely even refers to Hulk by his name, calling him the big guy or the other guy. Banner doesn't even want to acknowledge or identify with the Hulk. And yet, they end up working together in the end. There isn't any hint as to what that conversation looked like. So, we don't get much of Hulk or Banner's personality. In the crumbs that we are given, we know that things got so bad with the Hulk that Banner tried to take his own life, but Hulk wouldn't allow it. He spit the bullet out. It's these moments that would have been perfect to explore Banner's inherent guilt that comes along with having the Hulk inside of him. But instead, we are only shown Hulk as this raging monster and Banner as the sane one. Hulk, however, does show empathy and nobility later on in the movie when he saves Iron Man and playfully punches Thor. He recognizes them as friends. This first film is nothing remarkable, a passible depiction of the Incredible Hulk. It establishes his role as a founding Avenger. In Age of Ultron, Hulk's arc is that he has a hard time calming down and changing from Hulk back into Banner. Because she recruited and cared for Banner, Black Widow now has the job of turning Hulk back into Bruce. She appeals to him the best. For me, their relationship is unnecessary. just a point to try and romantically connect Natasha and Banner due to their shared trauma on a team and in a film that is lacking many of these interpersonal connections. But the real crime for me is that Banner and Hulk should both be responsible for the possession of Banner's body. If Hulk doesn't want to change, explore why instead of inserting a character who has no idea what's going on inside of him to fulfill that role. Hulk has zero characterization in these films, and this could have been the chance for the two characters to grapple with the idea of Hulk having autonomy. Instead, like in films past, Age of Ultron's banner only sees Hulk as a mindless monster that he does not trust, like a disease. It's not you that I don't trust. >> And that's the problem with Hulk's character. He is treated like a mindless monster throughout almost every single one of these movies, never treated as his own character with needs and wants. The films treat Hulk like a thing rather than a person. We've also left Banner off at an important moment. He is a character normally racked with guilt, and this was the time to show off a tormented Banner who just probably hurt a lot of innocent people, and he also helped in creating Ultron, who also just hurt a ton of people. Benner's guilt, his apprehension should be at an all-time high. But again, nothing for this character. In this film, everyone gets their mind corrupted or altered by Scarlet Witch, where they all get to see some of their worst nightmares, their dreams, their potential futures. For Hulk and Banner, nothing. He just gets taken control of for the second straight movie, like Loki with the tesseract. And Hulk becomes the mindless, raging monster that they always allude to. Benner then takes the Quinjet and he leaves Earth only to be found later during Ragnarok has without a doubt Hulk's greatest depiction in the MCU. One that explores Hulk with an actual personality, a first potential alternate personality of the strongest there is. As Benner lands on Sakar, we see through a flashback that he has changed into the Hulk as a survival mechanism and has been the Hulk for over 2 years. On this planet, people accept him. They cheer him on. He is their champion. A very loose adaptation of Planet Hulk. It feels as though Ragnarok's Hulk mixes in the two most common Hulk personalities, Joe Fixit, the Greyhulk, and Savage Hulk, the common green Hulk, with the appearance of Green Scar. The Joeixit aspect of this Hulk comes alive after his fight with Thor. Hulk loves fighting, but he loves winning. We see him enjoying a hot tub, eating food. These are his spoils of war. He loves this world because this world loves Hulk. The way he yawns while Thor is speaking, the way he spits out the seeds of his food inside the room, how he laughs at Thor, even the way he carries himself. It has an air of arrogance. This is the hedonistic, pleasure- seeeking aspect of Joe Fixit, but obviously without fixits intelligence. This Hulk, however, is a bit more simple-minded, [music] as he holds a grudge against Thor, but when he beats him, he boasts in his face. And that's where the childlike savage Hulk comes through. >> I smashed you. >> Yeah, sure. Sure. >> Baby arms. >> And it's astonishing, but these are the MCU's Hulk's second words ever. He's only ever said this to Loki. >> Puny god. >> That's it. Moving forward, the MCU's Hulk always had a bit of empathy. We see that during the moments with Widow, saving Iron Man in the first Avengers movie. And here in Ragnarok, he's able to identify and respond to Thor's sadness. But still, he quickly admonishes the god of thunder for crying like a baby. And when the two argue, Hulk throws a very sharp, very dangerous shield at Thor, prompting Thor's anger. And the god of thunder ends up calling Hulk the stupid Avenger and telling him that Earth hates him. This severely wounds Hulk. And what made that distinction between the childlike and the slightly older Hulk was his reaction here. Hulk throws his arms and he grunts much like a child throws a tantrum because they're unable to communicate what's wrong. And Hulk sits down and he turns away from Thor. He can't even face him. That conveys his level of hurt. He considered them friends. But it is a very childish approach to his emotions. However, right after he shows a very mature understanding of Thor's emotions and he accepts his apology and Hulk is even able to identify that he himself is someone who just gets so angry all the time and he too apologizes for that. This Hulk bounces back and forth between these two personalities to create this blend. Ragnarok's Hulk is direct. He prefers actions over words. When he wants Valkyrie to stay in a room, he throws a chair at the door and then asks. Violence and anger are still the number one emotions he leads with, and he finds comfort in them. But it's not always for the wrong reasons. This is the most Hulk in Hulk's own personality that we've ever gotten from the movies. And unfortunately, the most we will ever get in his current run of the MCU. It all happens without Banner's control. When Banner regains it over the course of the film, he doesn't remember anything. He hasn't seen any of Hulk's growth. He still views Hulk as a monster. But Hulk and Banner never discuss the last 2 years. They never discuss issues, their problems, their fears. But nevertheless, Ragnarok is Hulk's greatest appearance and depiction in the MCU to date. incredible highs to counter his incredible fallout. In what is probably Hulk's lowest moment in his MCU existence in Infinity War, Thanos embarrasses Hulk in a very quick, very brutal defeat, one that Hulk doesn't recover from throughout this movie. With the world at stake, Hulk refuses to show himself, leaving Banner to aid in the fight against the Mad Titan through a Hulkbuster suit. I don't care that Hulk lost. In fact, I think that it's a great choice because of the potential for self-examination. I'm more disappointed in the way that it was handled. Hulk losing is perfectly normal and could have been positive for Banner and Hulk's relationship going into Endgame. Hulk prides himself on being the strongest there is. In his mind, no one will ever make Hulk feel small and weak like his father did if he never loses a fight. That's how he copes, and that's why the Hulk is so strong. so much of himself, his pride, his ego is predicated on that strength. So losing to Thanos here and actually being afraid or embarrassed or whatever was a chance here for Banner to engage with why exactly Hulk was so unwilling to return, investigate what the origins of that fear are. It could have been the perfect time to visit the Hulkcape. Alternatively, Banner could have potentially gotten Hulk to call upon one of his alternate personalities. Maybe summoning Green Scar, the strongest Hulk, to take over and fight, or exploring Devil Hulk as one of the Hulk alters who exists as a pseudo father figure, the one who protects Banner when Thanos threatens him and the child, Savage Hulk. There was a real chance here to once again explore the psyche of Bruce Banner and mend that relationship following the events that had happened. but instead the worst possible outcome happened. Professor Hulk is the worst possible outcome for a few reasons. The first is that all of the development that happened between Banner and Hulk happened offcreen. 18 months, Professor Hulk says, inside the Gamma Lab. We missed out on 18 months of conversation, fights, exploration of the duality of the Incredible Hulk. Second, whether intentional or not, we were lied to. Professor Hulk said that he put the brain and the brun together, that he now looks at Hulk as the cure rather than the disease. This is a lie. The problem with Professor Hulk is that it fundamentally disregards Hulk, the character. It takes all of Bruce's qualities, his personality, and simply shoves it into Hulk's body. There are no different personalities for Hulk and Banner. No alternate personalities at all. It's all banner. There are no Hulk-like approaches to conflicts. There is no Hulk perspective. There is no aspect of the character other than the big green body. It smooths out all of the characters intricacies. All gone. That Ragnarok version of Hulk is gone. In Endgame, he gets his quote unquote moment by snapping everybody back and being responsible for that. But during the final fight against Thanos, who embarrassed him, he gets nothing. Banner doesn't even relinquish control to Hulk, not even for a second. It's Professor Hulk, but the Hulk doesn't exist. Hulk appears in She-Hulk's first episode where he serves as his cousin's mentor on how to control her Hulk form, but they quickly learn that She-Hulk doesn't have another personality. It's just an extension of Jennifer's rage, but she is fully conscious and fully aware. We don't learn anything new about Banner and Hulk in this series, but for as timid and careful as Banner used to be in the earlier movies, he has grown into his role as a hero. It's something that he truly does take pride in, it feels like. But for the Hulk, Banner mentions Hulk as an alter ego with the analogy of two guys on the steering wheel, but I just don't see Hulk's personality. It's another instance of Banner's personality overtaking Hulk's body. A brand new day's Hulk is a lot of what we've already seen. Banner and Hulk are at odds once again. Professor Hulk no longer exists, and Banner controls Hulk thanks to these inhibitors that he wears. When Gene takes control of Hulk's mind in the film and sets Hulk loose, there is a line that is said, quote, "No Banner, no girl, only Hulk." This perhaps points to the two grappling for control and Hulk finally lashing out after being caged by Banner. We do get a look at Hulk's power and strength, which we haven't seen since Ragnarok, and he easily dispatches Punisher and Spider-Man during their battle. Still, Hulk does once again show his trademark nobility when he's fighting Spider-Man. And at one point, Peter pleads for Banner not to hurt him, and Hulk looks at himself in a broken mirror, and he acknowledges his own pain and anger, and he realizes that he's hurting his friend. In the aftermath, Banner says that something broke inside him as he is brought to a psychiatric ward in the scenes that follow. Now, wishful thinking would be Devil Hulk, who's historically been caged up, just like Banner is going to be. They could also explore the character with the help of a very prominent green-haired psychiatrist, Doc Samson. But it is more likely that Banner and Hulk have a lot more work to do offscreen. One thing Banner mentioned to Peter when discussing parts of oneself, he asks Peter which parts of his nature will he determine are good or bad. >> How would you decide what parts of nature are good or bad? >> And of course, he's talking about himself as well. He spent all this time demonizing Hulk and even at one point tried to take his own life to stop the Hulk. But it seems as though it's still a question for him that maybe Hulk isn't quote the bad. It's something perhaps that he still needs to reckon with. Banner yelling at everyone to get out of the building while physically and audibly hurling at Savage Hulk's emergence was a neat new addition, adding a horrific element that inherently exists in Hulk's story. That transformation is not a clean one, especially when the two are fighting for control. But that guilt, that repulsion never amounts to any sort of real exploration for the character, so it just plays as Banner being ashamed and disgusted with Hulk once again. The disease is back. The MCU's version of Hulk's relationship with Banner can be summed up best by a quote from Al Yuing's Immortal Hulk, where Savage Hulk lets loose on Bruce Banner. And Hulk says that he hates Banner because of the way Bruce treats him. That Bruce is Hulk's prison. Quote, "Banner always wants a cure for Hulk, wants to take Hulk's strength and lock Hulk in darkness or kill Hulk, and if Banner can't, then he'll get someone else to do it. Banner would rather die than let Hulk live. We have a Banner who hates and is afraid of Hulk, which is why he won't even call Hulk by his name. And a Hulk who doesn't want to relinquish control back to puny Banner because he knows Banner hates him. Bruce is always taking and taking from the Green Giant and never addressing what it is that Hulk wants. So, it's no wonder why their relationship is fractured. And it gets repetitive when the MCU just uses him as their resident monster. Banner should be much nicer to Hulk, but we never get that confrontation and no desire to come to the conclusion that they need each other. Angle's Hulk in 2003 is the best depiction of the Hulk so far. It isn't an MCU movie, and for all of its problems, at least it had heart and intentionality in depicting Hulk as an endlessly complex, troubled, repressed, and tortured individual. It tried to see Hulk not as something opposite to Bruce Banner, but a part of him and a part of him that could be good. In summation, Hulk in the MCU is very much a husk, a shell of what this character could and should be. I'm not looking for the perfect adaptation from comic to film. I think the comic versions of Hulk that so many great writers have been able to conjure are more than enough. But if the character is to be adapted to the silver screen, it would have been nice to have seen it done correctly. Hulk is a character that represents so many things, abuse, trauma, repression. He is an emblem of the fear of nuclear war and violence, a character that critiques masculinity. Hulk is tortured and struggles with the side of himself that he doesn't want anyone to see and yet forces himself to choose. And the heroic aspects of Banner and Hulk always choose to try and put his best foot forward. Hulk is the only character whose deepest, darkest secrets and traumas are always exposed. He's the only one with these issues that get manifested larger than he is out there for everyone to see. Hulk and Banner, they choose faith and hope in themselves. They choose to forgive themselves. And that's what makes him a superhero. It's that choice. He is a character that I believe people can relate to. But the Hulk that I've seen depicted in the MCU over the past 18 years simply hasn't been that.