Top 10 Superheroes
#09 – The Incredible Hulk

Bruce Banner (Robert Bruce Banner)
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #1
Occupation: Scientist/Wanderer
Base: Mobile
Special Powers & Abilities: Unlimited Physical Strength, (the madder he gets, the stronger he gets.) Can leap several miles in a single bound. His body heals wounds almost instantly.
Created by: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

Hulk

Origin Story: The Hulk’s origin story has been told as many times as Batman’s, Superman’s and Spider-Man’s. Everybody knows who the Hulk is but everybody has a slightly different origin story they prefer. The more widely accepted origin tale goes a little something like…

Bruce Banner grew up in an abusive household, one that would have profound long-term effect on his psyche. An introverted child, Bruce was ill-equipped to deal with the outbursts of his father, who called young Bruce a monster and terrorized both him and his mother. Bruce developed a multiple personality disorder, shunting aside and repressing all of his negative emotions when the trauma became too much to take. This cycle of abuse continued until the day Brian Banner slew his wife in a fit of rage. Thereafter, Bruce was shuttled from relative to relative, and grew ever more socially awkward, even as his remarkable intellect became more apparent.

The US Army recruited Banner to develop new weapons systems while he was still in high school. Bruce was placed under the authority of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a blustering no-nonsense veteran. It was in the person of Ross’ daughter Betty that Bruce found a kindred spirit. Both he and Betty had lost mothers and were subjected to the outbursts of raging fathers; an attraction soon developed between them.

Prodded by his military handlers, Banner developed a G-Bomb, a weapon harnessing the power of gamma radiation. On the day the bomb was to be tested, a reckless teenager, Rick Jones, drove out onto the test range on a dare, little realizing that he was standing on ground zero of the most potent explosive device ever developed. In an uncharacteristic moment of heroism, Bruce Banner rushed out onto the test site, and dragged Jones to the safety of a nearby trench before the G-Bomb detonated. However Banner was exposed to the full force of the weapon, his every atom bombarded by gamma radiation; Creating the Incredible Hulk, who surfaces whenever Banner loses control of his emotions.

Supporting Cast: Betty Ross, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, She-Hulk.

Why I Like The Character: Hulk is a bad ass! Plain and simple! His creation was inspired by one of my favorite fictional characters/stories of all time: Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. The Hulk is the best example of where they could’ve continued the stories of Jekyll & Hyde. There’s an evolution seen in the stories of the Incredible Hulk that is just freakin’ fascinating.

When Hulk stories first started Banner would transform into the Hulk at nightfall, and back into Banner at dawn. Soon after that, Banner learned to control his “Hulk-outs” with a Gamma Ray Machine, which of course eventually lead to Banner receiving too much Gamma Radiation. This lead to his losing complete control over the Hulk and so began the more familiar situation of Banner becoming Hulk when he lost control of his emotions, or got too angry.

The Hulk himself has evolved a lot throughout the years. Each different persona representing a different part of Banner’s fractured mind. There’s a childlike Green Hulk, a more intelligent but less powerful Grey Hulk, an extremely intelligent but egocentric “Professor” Hulk, “Savage” Hulk, “Joe Fixit” Hulk, and even a “Devil” Hulk representing all of the evil within Banner’s soul.

My Favorite remains a more recent incarnation of the Hulk. One that can transform back and forth from Hulk to Banner at will, retaining Banner’s consciousness while in Hulk form, and Hulk’s consciousness while in Banner’s form. It results in a very cool Hulk/Banner interaction where each admits they are part of each other, and yet they are also each their own unique personality.

In one of my favorite storylines, the recent PLANET HULK/WORLD WAR HULK saga, The Hulk falls in love with the Queen of an alien planet. And so, even though Bruce Banner loves Betty Ross (which wouldn’t be possible if Hulk didn’t also love Betty,) its understood that Bruce also loves Queen Caiera Oldstrong. The Hulk’s love for Oldstrong wouldn’t be possible without Bruce’s love for her. They are each part of the other.

His involvement in the Marvel Universe is as great as Spider-Man’s and Wolverine’s. He’s just as recognizable a character too.

Skaar: Son of Hulk

Legacy: DC gives most of their characters a Legacy. They’ve given us 6 different faces behind the Robin mask, 3 different Blue Beetles, 3 or 4 different Flashes, and so on. That’s not quite as common with Marvel, but they seem to be trying lately. Giving us a new Captain America, a couple different Ronins, Danny Rand took over as Daredevil for a while, and so on. Another way to accomplish the Legacy aspect in comics is to give the hero an extended hero family. Like Peter Parker’s future daughter May Parker taking up the mantle of Spider-Girl, Clark Kent’s temporary adopted son Christopher, and Green Arrow’s son. In recent comic continuity, Hulk has a son named Skaar through Caiera Oldstrong on the planet Sakaar. Skaar was introduced in November 2007 and now has his own comic series. Hulk also has a daughter named Lyra through Thundra first introduced in August 2008.

Television: From the original Television Series starring Bill Bixby,
Lou Ferrigno, and Jack Colvin, to several  of his own animated series and appearances in other shows like Wolverine & The X-Men… Hulk has appeared on television sets for decades!

Movies: There’s something to be said about the caliber of talent attracted to The Hulk on the big screen. While Ang Lee’s HULK, starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, and Sam Elliot was met with mediocre reviews from both critics, and comic geeks alike, it was a fair attempt at the character and has plenty to offer Hulk fans. That being said, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt is one of the best received live-action/CG interpretations of the character on the big screen. It will be interesting to see how the character progresses in inevitable sequels and/or the upcoming Avengers film. You can read my general thoughts on The Incredible Hulk movie in my Top 10 Favorite Superhero Movies Article.

Recommended Reading:

Hulk Battles Silver Surfer in Planet Hulk

Hulk: Grey – by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, Skaar: Son of Hulk – a trilogy by Greg Pak
Incredible Hulk #24-25 – Thunderbolt Ross unleashes the Hulk on the Abomination
The Ultimates Vol. 1 – Mark Millar