Why The Hulk Should Own The Avengers Movie

There's a few more images of Hulk released today, so we wrote a love letter.

By Marcus Doidge / April 14, 2012

Bruce Banner. Troubled scientist who through a freak accident with gamma radiation becomes the Hulk. The unstoppable green goliath thats fuelled by anger and rage making him want to smash pretty much anything thats in front of him. So, in a film all about a team of superheroes coming together to form what is quite possibly the biggest comic book movie event yet, why is it the loner of the group thats getting me so damn excited about The Avengers? Lets start at the beginning shall we? The Hulk TV show. I loved it. Watched it all the time. Loved the sadness of Bill Bixbys David Banner, loved the smashing of things by Lou Ferrignos green painted Hulk and generally the weekly adventure of the misunderstood green monster was a kid's dream come true. However that in between visual of Banners eyes wide with anger and fear freaked the hell out of me as a child. The somewhat uncontrollable change from mild mannered Banner to full on Hulk hit a note with my young mind and that visual always stuck with me, making Hulk a character I would never forget. Jumping forward to when my comic book reading really began, Hulk was very early on my journey. What I found was a rich history of Hulk. Grey Hulk, Savage Hulk and just plain classic Hulk, all that stuff intrigued me but it was the Gary Frank drawn run that drew me in, during a time where Hulk was always Hulk but he spoke and had the intelligence of Banner (I know - mad stuff happens to Hulk). Hulks been through a lot in the comic books but the core was always there. Get this calm man angry and unleash hell. This is what I love about the Hulk. In any colour, design or backstory at the centre of all this is a normal guy who usually through no fault of his own is pushed to the limits. He has a primal reaction to smash everything thats getting in his way and after the meltdown he has to clean up his mess or run away. Now this is probably the purest super-metaphor there is in comics. Everyone on the planet can lose their cool and we all know the outcome of it and how hard it is to fix sometimes. Through everything, this is why Hulk has remained so popular I think and for those that have delved into the comic book and have enjoyed seeing deeper into the mind of Banner and indeed The Hulk over the years, the simple loss of control is what makes the Hulk an exciting movie prospect. So why has the Hulks movie career to date been a wash of what many consider disappointments (despite the fact theyve both done okay financially one way or another)? I personally have enjoyed both Ang Lees Hulk and Louis Leterriers Incredible Hulk. Ang Lees Hulk delved into the psychology of Hulk extremely well and countering that ticked all the boxes for action (those boxes being 1) Hulk punches everything and b) Hulk throws a tank oh and as a bonus I wasn't expecting c) Hulk punches a helicopter in the face). Sure it had its goofy moments and the effects only held up for about six months but seeing a Hulk unleashed on the big screen (and boy was he big) was a delight. With the Incredible Hulk, we got a total reboot. The plot was much more in tune with that of the TV show, the set up very much a safe fit into the new Marvel movie universe and once again I was happy with it. For starters it had a Hulk design that felt like the comic book come to life on top of that it had what is probably the best single scene in all the Marvel movies to date (where Hulk takes on the sonic tanks - man that whole thing screams 'COMIC BOOK!!") and the finale with the Abomination fight was awesomely violent (though with a fairly controlled and not so angry Hulk).

With both of these movies, we were shown potential for our big green giant but at the same time they both highlighted Hollywoods fairly narrow view of the Hulk. Beyond the basic Dont make me angry. You wouldnt like me when Im angry go to plot its hard to write the Hulk. They also seem scared of having him really big (my general rule of thumb is Hulk's hand should be the size of a man's torso) and honestly there's a real sense that the movie world doesn't know what to do next with the big green angry one. The big thing is, Hulk isnt a character as much as he is a reaction. There's nothing at all wrong with that but it's hard to find a balance for in sequels and what not. Comic book writers have had mixed success at finding things to do with the Hulk (shooting him into space, splitting him from Banner, altering his powers etc) but really theres no escaping that Hulk works the best when you give him something big to react to and with The Avengers movie we may just have the perfect vehicle for Hulk to thrive in. Long before we saw designs of the Hulk for The Avengers movie, word came out of an early convention or exhibitor preview that there was a scene that involved Loki saying I have an army and Tony Stark replying We have a Hulk. That single line got my Hulk heart pumping. That to me screamed out that this movie was Hulk's playground and no matter how heavy the plot or crowded the scenes get (because lets face it were gonna have at least thirty minutes of getting the team together before anything really happens) I could sit there knowing that when the shit hits the fan and each member of The Avengers are scratching their heads wondering who handed their asses to them Hulk will literally be able to smash. Im sure Whedon and Co. will give Hulk an arc of some kind but my guess it will be minimal. My feeling by from every trailer and TV spot so far is Hulk gets to be the punchline of every action joke. Avengers taken down = bring out the Hulk. Not sure what do do next = bring out the Hulk, The Avengers play it safe = counter that with Hulk smashing the faces of whatever those alien hordes are. This is all simple but damn exiting stuff and its an arena in which Hulk should hopefully get to shine. In this already packed to ceiling supercast, Hulk doesnt need to retread his search for a cure stepping stones. We dont need our favourite big green monster to have moments of anguish over accidentally hurting Betty Ross or having her daddy after him all the time. The way I see it, Mark Ruffalo can show up for twenty minutes, give us an insight into his take on Banner (for future movies) and then its time for Hulk unleashed against spaceships, aliens, tanks, cars, buildings the whole thing. In fact if the movie ended with Iron Man brining that big Transformers looking snake around the building and Hulk stepped up and hit it square in the face winning the day and doing the one thing the combined might of the Avengers couldn't, Id walk away happy. Of course the other Avengers will get their moments in the sun. In fact I'm petty sure each and everyone of them will have their own big scene but for me, without the weight of a plot to carry, or the focus on Banner's dilemma's, Hulk could pretty much own every frame he's in of this massive summer event and lets face it he's owned every trailer so far. I mean come on, he catches Iron Man, punches a spaceship and crushes an alien with a killer back fist. He even grins when Captain America tells him to "Smash". What's not to adore about Hulk? Oh and there's a few new pictures of him released today as well. Enjoy.