The
Hulk is a
fictional character, a
superhero who appears in
comic books published by
Marvel Comics. Created by
Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in
The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). He is a gigantic, green,
irradiated,
mutated humanoid monster with incredible
strength and an inability to control his
rage.
The Hulk is sometimes characterized as hyper-aggressive and brutal,
other times as cunning, brilliant, and scheming. He is often portrayed
as an
antihero. The Hulk is cast as the emotional and impulsive alter ego of the withdrawn and reserved
physicist Dr. Bruce Banner; Banner first transforms into the Hulk shortly after he is accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a
gamma bomb
he invented. Subsequently, Banner will involuntarily transform into the
Hulk whenever he gets too angry or if his life is in danger, leading to
extreme complications in Banner's life. Lee said the Hulk's creation
was inspired by a combination of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and
Frankenstein.
[1]
Although the Hulk's coloration has varied throughout the character's
publication history, the most consistent shade is green. As the Hulk,
Banner is capable of significant feats of strength, the magnitude of
which increase in direct proportion to the character's anger. As the
character himself puts it, "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk
gets!" Strong emotions such as anger, terror and grief are also triggers
for forcing Banner's transformation into the Hulk. 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 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 by
Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and
Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk in the live-action
television series and five made-for-television movies, and by
Eric Bana,
Edward Norton and later
Mark Ruffalo in the most recent Marvel film adaptations. Other depictions include
multiple animated series, through the use of
CGI in
Hulk (2003) and
The Incredible Hulk (2008), and various video games. The most recent CGI portrayal is in the 2012 film
The Avengers.
