The Incredible Hulk is an interesting contemporary pop-culture figure, in that he serves as a metaphor for our potential for rage/irrational behavior as a result of extreme emotional behavior.
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In this sequence we see an elderly Bruce Banner in a desert wasteland pursued by a swarm of bloodthirsty insects. As he falls to the ground, fear fills his heart, and we witness the transformation of his puny old-man hands to big green hulk hands!
This is a great example of a monster in modern day media because it shows an exaggerated example of what happens to humans when they get angry. Think about when you were young and your mom was bitching at you all day long. You know, that nagging that makes you want to strangle a small child. You find yourself in a situation where your anger is preventing you from thinking straight or making rash decisions. You probably ended up yelling back or saying something very hurtful before storming out of the house. Then, while reflecting what just happened, you think to yourself what the hell did I just do?
This is very similar to Bruce because he loses all control of his body when he becomes angry. So much that he destroys everything around him in a brutal frenzy. The movie is taking human nature and magnifying it so we can see what we actually look like to the person we are yelling at. While I’m sure no one destroys entire cities or tears the gun off a tank when they’re angry, it is very much alike.
This is very similar to Bruce because he loses all control of his body when he becomes angry. So much that he destroys everything around him in a brutal frenzy. The movie is taking human nature and magnifying it so we can see what we actually look like to the person we are yelling at. While I’m sure no one destroys entire cities or tears the gun off a tank when they’re angry, it is very much alike.
The Hulk is a notable version of the classic monster. He is a huge, strong, angry green beast. However, he is the result of the gamma radiation exposure that Bruce Banner sustained. When Banner gets angry, or his heart rate jumps, the transformation happens and a wave of destruction follows. The massive destruction causes the military and general populace to hate and fear the Hulk; just like Frankenstein in the classic movies. The military also would like to use the Hulk as a weapon, or duplicate the process to make super-soldiers, bringing into question of who is really the monster: the reluctant victim or the military.
Much like some outspoken political documentaries, the Incredible Hulk series of comics brings into question how far the military/government will go to secure their power and place in the world. Now, the origin stories of the Hulk have gotten a little convoluted, but most of them say that Banner was working on the gamma enhancement project for the military to use as a weapon or for repurposing super-soldiers. Thus, because of his accidental survival from lethal amounts of gamma radiation and subsequent ability to transform into the incredibly powerful being known as the Hulk; the military views his entire body as their property. Now what they would actually do with the Hulk has been explicitly said a few times, but they would most likely use him to make more to use as weapons of intimidation (like nuclear warheads) or as a one man strike force to take out targets (super-soldier). The intentions of the
military can paint them as the real monster instead of the Hulk.
The Hulk’s alter-ego Bruce Banner on the other hand, only wants to be either left alone or to find a cure for the Hulk. His intentions are very sincere that he only wants the Hulk to go away and return to a normal life. Throughout the movies and comics, the situations that usually lead to Banner’s transformation into the Hulk result from the appearance of the military arriving to apprehend Banner.
Some possible questions to consider
1.) When The Incredible Hulk gets angry, he turns from a normal human into
an enormous green monster. How does this change in his color add to the
effectiveness of The Hulk’s character? If he were to just become big and
ripped, and not turn green when he gets angry, would The Hulk have the
same effect on viewers?
2.) Deep down the Incredible Hulk is just a normal person (Bruce Banner)
who is unable to control his actions and emotions when he gets angry. Is
there any character in today’s media or culture that we could relate to The
Incredible Hulk?
3.) In both the movie and the cartoon version of the Hulk, the authors use
multiple tactics to signify that the Hulk is a monster. Aside from his
change in appearance, what other methods do the authors use to show The
Incredible Hulk as a monster?
