Hulk Speak: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:ThogSMASH 7781.png|link=The Order of the Stick|frame|'''[[Shout-Out|"wait, how thog's pants turn purple?"]]''']]

 

{{quote|"'''crong hope crong get to verb conjugation before end of week'''"

 

 

[[Self-Demonstrating Article|This is speak type for]] [[Dumb Muscle|character what has more muscle than brain]].

 

 

This is a common trait of [[Frankenstein's Monster]], especially in adaptations of ''[[Frankenstein]]'' -- although, in the original novel, the monster spoke perfect French. This is also typical of cavemen. (The Hulkspeak, not the perfect French.)

 

{{examples}}

* From the start, ''[[Dragonball Z]]'''s Majin Buu gained progressively better vocabulary until his final/original form of Kid Buu, whose [[Omnicidal Maniac|complete lack of sanity]] is a major contributor to such gems as "Me Buu, not you!" and "Buu squish you like bugs!"

* Parodied in one of the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' manga extras, when Al tries this manner of speaking to become more popular, but stops after realizing how stupid it is.

 

* The [[Incredible Hulk]], for whom this trope is named, but only the animated version and the "savage" version from the comics. The 2003 movie version only spoke once, in Bruce Banner's dream sequence. (It was even a [[Mythology Gag]]: "'''Puny human'''.") In [[The Incredible Hulk (film)|the 2008 movie]], Hulk said "'''[[Hulk Smash|HULK... SMASH]]'''!" during the final fight scene with Abomination -- [[Catch Phrase|because it had to be said at least once]]. Aside from that, though, he mostly just roared as Hulk. For the most part, however, he speaks correct, if terse, English. The Hulk says "HULK SMASH!" pretty often in the comics, even in his more intelligent incarnations that are pretty smart and can actually talk perfectly fluent English. Then there was a partial Subversion in Peter David's apocalyptic far-future Hulk story ''The Last Titan''; the Hulk was given ample space for his thoughts, which while being in Hulkspeak, were well-constructed and reasonable, though also mostly misanthropic and relating to various forms of violence.

** The Bixby/Ferrigno ''[[The Incredible Hulk (TV series)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' TV series from the 1970s likewise averts this trope. Lou Ferrigno mostly stands there and growls while he flexes.

* Ka-Zar, [[Marvel Comics]]' signature [[Wild Child]], speaks in this manner... though in one of his earliest appearances an author's note clarifies that this is "merely a loose translation of the original gutteral swamp dialect, a tongue which very few of us majored in at college!" Of course, Ka-Zar's speech can't be expected to be very sophisticated to begin with, considering that at the time he was illiterate and had little human contact at all.

* Jitterjack and Gloo from ''[[Astro City]]''.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Goyle from ''[[A Very Potter Musical]]'' speaks this way about half the time.

* A surprising amount of ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' fanfics take [[Genius Bruiser]] Lexaeus and strip him of the "Genius" part, resulting in him speaking in Hulk Speak.

* After seeing Krillin impaled by Frieza in ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged]]'', Gohan descended into this mentally.

{{quote|'''Gohan''': ''Gohan smash effeminate alien! Gohan strongest there is!''}}

 

== Films ==

* In ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'', after Hulk wipes the floor with {{spoiler|Loki}}:

{{quote|'''Hulk''': "[[Crowning Moment of Funny|Puny god.]]"}}

 

== Literature ==

* While all Gamorreans in ''[[Star Wars]]'' are [[Dumb Muscle]], only Gartugg, one of Jabba's guards, has Hulk Speak, and is teased for it by other Gamorreans.

** In the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'' novel ''[[X Wing Series|Wraith Squadron]]'', Voort "Piggy" saBinring, the [[For Science!|genetically-enhanced experiment]] has [[Genius Bruiser|genius-level intelligence]] and incredible grasp of math and science. Of course, when the Wraiths need to sneak into somewhere Imperial, Piggy is quick to disguise himself as one of his nonverbal, grunting kin...and his advanced state makes him feel ashamed of his people and their 'lowness', but that's another trope. [[Fantastic Racism]]?

* The barbarians in the ''Kedrigern'' books speak like this. Kedrigern [[lampshade]]s this in the first book, and ponders whether it's actually [[Obfuscating Stupidity]], with the barbarians eloquently chatting when they're sure no one's listening.

* The Ogres of ''[[Xanth]]'' supposedly speak very simplistic, crude rhymes. But it turns out this is a result of [[Fantastic Racism]] and people who approach ogres without prejudice discover that they're actually quite erudite.

 

* Kubiak from ''[[Parker Lewis Can't Lose]]'', more so at the beginning of the series (when he was a violent, bullying thug) than at the end (when he was an almost-sympathetic near-ally of the leads).

* Of course, the "Tarzan, Tonto and Frankenstein" sketches on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' make fun of the device, putting the titular three on talk shows and political round-tables. "Fire bad!"

* Parodied in ''[[Scrubs]]'' by the mighty Janitor -- "Me no understand! Can't eat soup!" while attempting to eat soup with a fork. JD accidentally implied he was stupid earlier in the episode, so the Janitor is mocking him. (Remove the "he was stupid" part by "something" and you basically have the set up for any given episode of ''Scrubs'' there.)

* Animal from ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' also uses this style of speech when he isn't just panting pensively or screaming unintelligibly.

{{quote|[[Mad Bomber|Jamie]] wants [[Stuff Blowing Up|big boom]].}}

** And then he ''gets'' [[Stuff Blowing Up|big boom]].

 

== Music ==

* [[Jonathan Coulton]]'s "Code Monkey" does this throughout the whole song, in character with its general protagonist.

 

== Pro Wrestling ==

{{quote|'''Khali:''' KHALI WANT CAKE! KHALI GO TO RING, SEE IF CAKE THERE!

'''Umaga:''' UMAGA IN RING! CAKE MAN FRIENDS WITH UMAGA? }}

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* Grond from ''[[Champions]]''.

 

== Video Games ==

* Similarly, Russell from the video game ''[[Bully (video game)|Bully]]'' starts out as a thug who only communicates in Hulk Speak, but after Jimmy impresses him by besting him in a one-on-one fight, he becomes both an ally and more coherent.

* ''[[Borderlands]]'' features the bandit boss Sledge, a very large, slow fellow who refers to himself in the third person.

* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' has Fujin, one of Seifer's flunkies, who speaks in single words and ALL CAPS (single kanji in the Japanese version). When she and fellow flunky Raijin (who ends all his sentences with [[Verbal Tic|"ya know?"]]) decide to ditch Seifer, she gives a long non-capped speech about how they can't follow along with his self-destructive behavior.

** Her single word sentences carry over to her portrayal in [[Kingdom Hearts II]]. She at least doesn't shout her words.

** [[Fridge Logic|Animals that can only speak poor English?]]

*** [[Fridge Brilliance|How do you think they navigated their own combat and menu screens?]]

* Many characters in the ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'' series, such as Gruntilda's assistant Klungo, Clanker the mechanical whale, and Mumbo.

* Gar from ''[[Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura]]'' is supposedly a "smart orc" who discusses some rather complex topics for an orc, all in Hulkspeak. It is revealed however that {{spoiler|Gar is actually a human (called Garfield Thelonius Remington III) from wealthy heritage who was born with a horrid similarity to an Orc, and is far more intellectual than he seems; specially if you discuss tea with him.}}

** Your own character adopts this trope with an intelligence stat of 4 or less, even in your written journal entries, e.g. "Law man wants me get rid of stinky thiefses on bridge".

* The cavewoman Ayla ([[Clan of the Cave Bear|Get it?...]]) from the Squaresoft RPG ''[[Chrono Trigger]],'' at least in the English text American version. In the Japanese version, she speaks in very simple sentences with plain-form verbs.

* Almost every Super Mutant in ''[[Fallout]]'' speaks that way. And if you play a character with less than 4 intelligence, he/she will, too. Amusingly enough, if a "Hulk" protagonist talks to another functionally retarded character (Torr in Klamath), their speech is subtitled. Example: "Me Torr. (Greetings, my name is Torr. How do you do?)" "You Torr. (Quite well, thank you. Do you know where I might find work?)"

** Fawkes is a notable exception / subversion—he speaks in the same grunt-like fashion as the other super-mutants, but because he is intelligent and has managed to become well-read he is actually quite articulate.

* If give your character in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' even slightly below-average intelligence, he or she talks like this in conversations.

* The ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' fandom tends to give the Heavy Weapons Guy Hulk Speak in fanfiction; in the official video his [[Lzherusskie|English isn't very good]] but it's nowhere near this level.

* In ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]'', Wei Yan talks...like...this.

* In ''[[Suikoden]]'''s <s>defiled</s> [[Blind Idiot Translation|horribly localized]] [[Suikoden II|second installment]], certain characters would lapse in and out of this.

* ''[[MadWorld]]'' features a massive Frankenstein (called Frank, imaginatively enough), whose only line of dialogue is a booming "FRANK SMASH!"

* The Giant Blacksmith in ''[[Dark Souls]]'' takes the odd route of combining this with a smattering of [[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe]].

{{quote|'''Giant Blacksmith''': "I hath shiny-shiny."}}

 

== Web Comics ==

* Thog in ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''. He refers to the twin brother of his boss, Nale, as "Not-Nale" and he has the classic line, "Thog not in this book. Thog sad." (Also, when breaking out of a prison, Thog becomes a darker green and yells "Thog smash puny prison!" as he obliterates the cell bars; once he goes back to his pale green, he wonders "How Thog's pants turn purple?") Apparently, this is a common trait for the orcish people, as seen (and lampshaded) [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0552.html here].

** His most awesome (and also longest) line of dialogue so far was:

'''Prison guard:''' ... pleading insanity, then? }}

* In the Fantasy plot of ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'', Draak (a lizard man in the party) is quite eloquent in his own language and arguably the smartest person in his party. However, his English is limited to monosyllables, though he's still able to occasionally express complicated thoughts.

* Thomas, from ''[[UG Madness]]''.

* In ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'', when Violet transforms into [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=95005 Shrinking Violent], her only comment is "ME HIT STUFF!" (a [[Shout-Out]] to another well-known [[Catch Phrase]]).

* ''[[MSF High]]'': Orcs, the main Redeemed race, tend to get this. In a subversion, however, in many cases they are just as intelligent as any other race. (See especially their card in the Card Game.)

** A special use is Urk, who is now a cute fairy girl. [[Oh Crap|With the strength of an orc.]]

{{quote|'''Berserker''': CRAP, PISS, KILL!

'''Red Mage''': I hope that's not a declaration of intent. }}

* Hamman from "Spontaneous Combustion" talks this way, particularly the third-person variety. "HAMMAN AM HAMMAN!"

* The [http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0156.html S&M Minotaur] from ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'', who was a [[Monster of the Week]] for Julie's group.

* {{spoiler|Tastefully averted}} in ''[[Frankie and Stein]].'' With references left and right, it's really anyone's guess whether the [[Frankenstein's Monster]] being created in the first chapter will be able to speak well or not.

 

== Web Original ==

 

== Western Animation ==

** The closest we get is his [[Catch Phrase]]: '''Hulk is strongest there is!''' Everything else is normal, or [[Deadpan Snarker|sarcastic/cynical]]. However, the more pissed off he gets, the more likely you are to hear Hulk Speak. (This, by the way, is when you want to ''[[Unstoppable Rage|run for your life]].'')

* Various ''[[Transformers]]'' characters:

** Abominus and Trypticon from [[Transformers Generation 1|the original cartoon]] suffer from similar problems, but unlike Grimlock and the Dinobots, "CRUSH METROPLEX" and "Computron think too much." is about the best than can do. Humorously in light of this, one comic series instead depicts Trypticon as an [[Affably Evil]] [[Genius Bruiser]] who spouts [[British Stock Phrases]].

*** Trypticon does say a few lines that are more fluent. In "The Ultimate Weapon" he says "Trypticon is all powerful! Nothing can stand in my way!" and "Trypticon turn Metroplex into slum!".

** Devastator from ''[[Revenge of the Fallen]]''; although he doesn't speak in the movie, there are large toys of the character with several pre-recorded phrases. Have fun with epic sayings such as "CRUSH AUTOBOTS!!!" and "I AM DECEPTICON!!!". We also get a shoutout to ''[[The Transformers The Movie]]'' from one toy, with "PREPARE FOR EXTERMINATION!"

** [[Transformers Armada|Tidal Wave]].

** Most G1 giant bots and combination bots talk like this, and it's seen with the good guys as well as the bad. With the combiners, it's generally held to be the result of a gestalt's mind containing only what all five members have in common. That pretty much leaves little ''but'' "Crush Autobots!" However, Predaking's five members are on the same page to the point that even though beast-bots and giant-bots in G1 ''generally'' have half the IQ of a box of rocks, Predaking - a giant bot made of beast bots - is ''very'' intelligent, and has a [[Spider-Man|Kraven the Hunter]]-like personality.

** The comics generally give them full intelligence, though Devastator is the first combiner, made before the process is perfected, leaving him as the only Hulk Smash-y one. A [[Marvel UK]] story has the Decepticons work on fixing this.

* ''[[Futurama]]'', "Amazon Women In The Mood": The Amazonians speak this way, with the "complicated issues" subversion.

** Later, this is hilariously used with a real hologram of [[Attila the Hun]] is facing Zapp Brannigan with a laser cannon:

* Caveman Og from ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', whose speech is a very subtle version of Hulk Speak in which he is soft spoken and somewhat refined, but can't seem to grasp speaking in the first person. "Look, me feel no agenda to meeting and vacuum in leadership position, so, me compose 10 points plan for good happy success."

* The Infraggable Krunk from the ''Justice Friends'' [[Show Within a Show]] in ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]''. Not just a parody of Hulk Speak, but a parody of the Hulk himself... [[Palette Swap|right down to the purple skin and green shorts]].

* Used jokingly by Hawkgirl in ''[[Justice League]]'' in a conversation with Grundy. For extra points, her last two words were, "Hawkgirl Smash!"

* Oonga boonga! How you forget [[Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels|Captain Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaveeeemaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn]]?!?!

* From the "Toy Palace" episode of [[Rugrats]]: "THORG HUNGRY! THORG WANT EAT!"

* The cave-people in ''[[Super Mario World (animation)|Super Mario World]]''.

* As a ''[[Tarzan]]'' parody, there's always ''[[George of the Jungle]]''.

{{quote|"George not know meaning of word fear." (villain pokes a gun in his face) "But George consider learning."}}

* Princess Pony Apehands and Patricia, from ''[[Spliced]]''. Notable in that the latter only does so when she's angry, and the former speaks in what can only be described as "Hulk Speak [[X Meets Y|meets]] [[Baby Talk]]" (no, seriously).

* Petrie from ''[[The Land Before Time]]'' and every single one of its sequels speaks like this. Somewhat of a subversion since he's very, very far from muscular.

* The neanderthals in ''[[Cro]]''. "That not funny! Not politically correct either!"

{{quote|'''Tantrum:''' No not Thomas! Thomas weak!}}

{{quote|''(from Shapshots 2: Wild Chalkzone!)'' Ohhh, Push stay in marshy-marsh, click-click buggy-blackies for tube-view, eh, clingy-Snap?}}

* ''[[MAD]]'' has a [[Parody Commercial]] for "Hulked on Phonics", which helps kids learn to read better by applying the principles of Hulk Speak to the process. Yes, they skip over a lot of the unneccessary words, but don't bug them about it, because that makes them angry...

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Self-Demonstrating Article]]