10 Messed Up Marvel Comics Moments We'll Never See In Movies
8. When Bruce Banner Had A Not So Fun Stay At The YMCA
The Offending Comic: The Hulk!, Vol 1, #23 (1980)
The Village People once assured us in song form that it was fun to stay at the YMCA but that wasn’t the case back in 1980 when a down on his luck Bruce Banner was staying there. After a rough day of trying to find a cure for his condition, Bruce returns to the YMCA and decides to take a shower in its communal washroom before retiring for the evening.
That’s when two stereotypically aggressive gay men interrupt Bruce telling him he has “the cutest little cheeks” and calling him “sweetums”. If the reader is left wondering what these two offensive homophobic clichés are up to, Marvel really hammers it home by having one of the proclaim “I like it when they whine”.
Yes, they really went there.
Bruce informs his would-be rapists that he’s actually the Hulk and capable of crushing steel balls with his bare hands which prevents the attack from going any further. Quite rightfully, writer Jim Shooter got a lot of flak for what many perceived as the comic promoting homophobic stereotypes but we’d like to think we’ve come a long way since then so hopefully the chance of such a story appearing in a Marvel film is highly unlikely.