Hulk

Hulk was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Throughout his comic book appearances, the Hulk is portrayed as a large green humanoid that possesses near limitless superhuman strength and great invulnerability, attributes that grow more potent the angrier he becomes. Hulk is the alter ego of a Bruce Banner, a socially withdrawn emotionally reserved physicist who physically transforms into the Hulk under emotional stress and other specific circumstances at will or against it; these involuntary transformations lead to many complications in Banner's life. When transformed, the Hulk often acts as a disassociated separate personality that hates Banner. Over the decades of Hulk stories, the Hulk has been represented with several different personalities based on Hulk and Banner's fractured psyche, ranging from mindless savage to brilliant warrior, and Banner has taken control of the Hulk's form on occasion. Banner first transforms into the Hulk after being caught in the blast of the gamma bomb he invented while saving Rick Jones, a youth who had wandered onto the testing range. Lee said that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Although the Hulk's coloration has varied throughout the character's publication history, the most consistent shade is green. As a child, Banner's father Brian Banner often got mad and physically abused his mother, creating the psychological complex of fear, anger, and the fear of anger and the destruction it can cause that underlies the character. A common storyline is the pursuit of both Banner and the Hulk by the U.S. armed forces, because of all the destruction that he causes. He has two main catchphrases: "Hulk is the strongest there is!" and the better known "HULK SMASH!", which has founded the basis for a number of pop culture memes. The Hulk has been depicted in various other media, most notably with Bill Bixby (as Dr. David Banner, and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk) in a 1970s/1980s live-action television series, The Incredible Hulk. In major film adaptions (which integrate various CGI versions of the creature), Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo have each played Bruce Banner. Other depictions include multiple animated series; the character has also been used in highly-profitable merchandising for generations (e.g., video games, toys, clothing.) In 2011 Hulk places 9th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes. Hulk's origin story stated that: "During the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, scientist Bruce Banner rushes to save teenager Rick Jones who has driven onto the testing field; Banner pushes Jones into a trench to save him, but is himself hit with the blast, absorbing massive amount of gamma radiation. He awakens later in an infirmary, seeming relatively unscathed, but that night transforms into a lumbering grey form that breaks through the wall and escapes. A soldier in the ensuing search party dubs the otherwise unidentified creature a "hulk". The original incarnation of Banner transformed into the Hulk at sunset and reverted at sunrise. Banner was cured in The Incredible Hulk #4, but chose to restore Hulk's power with Banner's intelligence. The gamma-ray machine needed to effect the transformation induced side-effects that made Banner temporarily sick and weak when returned to his normal state. In The Avengers #1 (September 1963), the Hulk became a founding member of the title's eponymous superhero team. However, by The Avengers #3, overuse of the gamma ray machine rendered the Hulk as an uncontrollable, rampaging monster, subject to spontaneous changing. In Tales to Astonish #59 (September 1964) the Hulk appeared as an antagonist for Giant-Man. The series established stress as the trigger for Banner turning into the Hulk and vice versa. It was during this time that the Hulk developed a more savage and childlike personality, shifting from the brutish figure who spoke in complete sentences and his memory, both long-term and short-term, was markedly impaired in his Hulk state. In Tales yo Astonish #77 (March 1966), Banner's and the Hulk's dual identity became publicly known when Glenn Talbot, Banner's romantic rival for Betty, witnessed his transformation, turning Banner into a wanted fugitive. The 1970s saw Banner And Betty nearly marry in The Incredible Hulk #124 (Feb. 1970). Betty ultimately married Talbot in issue #158 (Dec. 1970). Hulk also traveled to other dimensions, one of which had him meet empress Jarella, who used magic to bring Banner's intelligence to Hulk, and came to love him. Hulk helped to form the Defenders. In the 1980s, Banner finally married Betty in The Incredible Hulk #319 (May 1986) following Talbot's death in 1981. It was also established that Banner had serious mental problems even before he became the Hulk, having suffered childhood traumas that engendered Bruce's repressed rage. The grey Hulk persona "Joe Fixit" was introduced, a morally ambiguous Las Vegas enforcer and tough guy. Banner remained repressed in Hulk's mind for months, but slowly begins to reappear. Banner comes to terms with his issues for a time, and Hulk and Banner were physically separated by Doc Samson. Banner is recruited by the U.S. government to create the Hulkbusters, a government team dedicated to catching Hulk. Banner and Hulk were reunited in The Incredible Hulk #323 (Sep. 1986) and with issue #324, returned the Hulk to his grey coloration, with his transformations once again occurring at night, regardless of Banner's emotional state. The 1990s saw the Green Hulk return. In issue #377 (Jan. 1991), the Hulk was revamped in a storyline that saw the personalities of Banner, Grey Hulk, and Savage Hulk confront Banner's past abuse at the hands of his father Brian and a new "Guilt Hulk" persona. Overcoming the trauma, the intelligent Banner, cunning Grey Hulk, and powerful Savage Hulk personalities merge into a new single entity possessing the traits of all three. The Hulk also joined the Pantheon, a secret organization of superpowered individuals. His tenure with the organization brought Hulk into conflict with a tyrannical alternate future version of himself called the Maestro in the 1993 Future Imperfect miniseries, who rules over where many heroes are lead. In 2000, Banner and the three Hulks (Savage Hulk, Grey Hulk, and the "Merged Hulk", now considered a separate personality and referred to as the Professor) become able to mentally interact with one another, each personality taking over the shared body. During this, the four personalities (including Banner) confronted yet another submerged personality, a sadistic "Devil" intent on attacking the world. In 2005, it is revealed that the supernatural character Nightmare has manipulated the Hulk for years, and it is implied that some or all of the Hulk's adventure written by Bruce Jones may have been just illusion. In 2006, the Illuminati decide the Hulk is too dangerous to remain on Earth And send him away by rocket ship which crashes on Planet Sakaar ushering in the Panet Hulk storyline that saw Hulk find allies in the Warbound, and marry alien queen Caiera, a relationship that was later revealed to have bore him two sons: Skaar and Hiro-Kala. After the Illuminati's ship explodes and kills Caiera, Hulk returns to Earth with his Warbound and declares war on the planet in World War Hulk (2007). In the 2010s Hiro-Kala traveled to Earth to destroy the OldStrong Power wielded by Skaar, forcing Skaar and the Hulk to defeat and imprison him within his home planet. Hulk decides to allow Dr. Doom to split Banner and Hulk. Banner also willingly joined the spy organization S.H.E.I.L.D. allowing them to use Hulk as a weapon in exchange for providing him with the means and funding to create a lasting legacy for himself." Bruce Banner and Hulk have different personalities. Bruce Banner's personality: "During his decades of publication, Banner has been portrayed differently, but common themes persist. Banner, a physicist, is sarcastic and seemingly very self-assured when he first appears in Incredible Hulk #1, but is also emotionally withdrawn in most fashions. Banner designed the gamma bomb which caused his affliction, and the ironic twist of his self-inflicted fate has been one of the most persistent common themes. Arie Kaplan describes the character thus: "Bruce Banner lives in a constant state of panic, always wary that the monster inside him will erupt, and therefore he can't form meaningful bonds with another." As a child, Banner's father Brian often got mad and physically abused Banner's mother, creating the psychological complex of fear, anger, and the fear of anger and the destruction it can cause that underlies the character. His fractured personality led to transformations into different versions of Hulk. These transformations are usually involuntary, and often writers have tied the transformation to emotional triggers, such as race and fear. Writers have adapted the Hulk changing Hulk's personality to reflect changes in Banner's physiology or psyche. Banner has been shown to be emotionally depressed, but capable of deep love for Betty Ross, and for solving problems posed for him. Under the writing of Paul Jenkins, Banner was shown to be a capable fugitive, applying deductive reasoning and observation to figure out the events transpiring around him. On the occasions that Banner has controlled the Hulk's body, he has applied principles of physics to problems and challenges and used deductive reasoning. It was shown after his ability to turn into the Hulk was taken away by Red Hulk that Banner has been extremely versatile as well as cunning when dealing with the many situations that followed. When he was briefly separated from the Hulk by Doom, Banner became criminally insane, driven by desire to regain the power of the Hulk, but once the two recombined he came to accept that he was a better person with the Hulk to provide something for him to focus on controlling rather than allowing his intellect to run without restraint against the world." Hulk's personality: "The original version of Hulk was often shown as simple and quick to anger. The Hulk generally divorces his identity from Banner's, decrying Banner as "that puny weakling in the picture." From his earliest stories, the Hulk has been connected with finding sanctuary and quiet and often is shown reacting emotionally to situations quickly. Grest and Weinberg call Hulk the "dark, primordial side of Banner's psyche. Even in the earliest appearances, Hulk spoke in the third person. Hulk retains a modest intelligence, thinking and talking in full sentences, and Lee even gives the Hulk expository dialogue in issue six, allowing readers to learn just what capabilities Hulk has, when the Hulk says, "But these muscles ain't just for show! All I gotta do is spring up and just keep goin!" In the 1970s, Hulk was shown as more prone to anger and rage, and less talkative. Writers played with the nature of his transformations, briefly giving Banner control over the change, and the ability to maintain control of his Hulk form. Artistically, the character has been depicted as progressively more muscular in the years since his debut." Hulk's abilities include: As Bruce Banner: Genius-level intellect. As Hulk: super-strength, speed, endurance, reflexes, and durability, immunity to diseases and viruses, adrenal activation and anger empowerment, accelerated healing and longevity, resistance to mind control, able to sense astral forms, skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and able to hold his breath for long periods of time.