Who Is the Incredible Hulk?
A combination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jerkyll and Mr. Hyde, the Incredible Hulk is a giant green creature, the alter ego of a scientist contaminated by gamma radiation. The story of Hulk started with a series of Marvel comic books developed by Stan Lee and developed into a successful TV series in the 1970′s and two movies: one in 2003 and its remake in 2008. In all of them, Hulk is presented as a monster with potentially good intentions, but which cannot be valued by the superficial people who cannot go over the appearances.
Dr. Bruce Banner, a successful physicist is portrayed as a genius who has little interaction with the outside world. Passionate by its discoveries, Bruce will eventually fall under the spell of its own science when, due to the gamma radiations, he will become a green (gray in some editions) monster.
Originally, the transformation takes place during the night and lasts until dawn. However, in the television series and films (and later in the comics), the transformation was triggered by strong negative emotions, such as anger, fear, frustration and rage.
His strength was far greater than the one of a normal human being and it grew exponentially with the increase in anger or rage. The main quote meant to describe Hulk was “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets.” Furthermore, his durability and endurance were also determined by Hulk’s emotional state. An angry Hulk could endure much more than a relatively calm Hulk, so the chances that this creature could have ever been defeated were rather scarce.
Along with the comic books, television series and movies, the Hulk also has a huge array of merchandise, toys, and clothing. Incredible Hulk costumes are always popular during Halloween – people who dress up can be a monster and a superhero at the same time!
Along the years, the physical traits of the Incredible Hulk have changed significantly. The beginning of the Hulk era (in the comic books) was marked by a giant Hulk, far bigger than any human being, with a highly muscular stature and color shades varying from different scales of grey to green. The modern Hulk, featured in the television series as well as in the movies has a smaller, more human stature and all grey shadows have been removed, making Hulk the big green creature.
Many fans have been disappointed by the thinner and less muscular appearance in the 2008 movie. Yet, even with the significant decrease in stature and muscularity, Hulk still has a frightening, unworldly look that puts it on the monsters’ side without any doubt.
Symbolical interpretations have ranked Hulk as a product of the human fear of the side effects produced by nuclear experiments. It was viewed as a threat towards the scientific world which was believed to have assumed the role of God. Yet, these were mere speculations as none of those contributing to the production of the Hulk series have asserted their adhesion to such ideas.
The Incredible Hulk is one of the most nonconformist superheroes which have been made famous by the comic books. Possessing the mind of a genius and the strength of a huge monster, Hulk is presented as a potential good figure in the television series and the good guy looking ugly and mean in the 2008 film. This has been a successful approach, as it made millions of Hulk fans all over the world.
Leave a Reply