The Incredible Hulk (comic book): Difference between revisions

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The Incredible Hulk is a comic book character. He first appeared in ''"Incredible Hulk''" vol. 1 #1 (May, 1962), created by [[Stan Lee]] and [[Jack Kirby]]. His original series was rather unsuccessful, cancelled with issue #6 (March, 1963). He was used as a guest star in various series for the next few years. He got his second chance at stardom as one of the two features of ''"Tales of Astonish''". He was regularly featured there for issues #60-101 (October, 1964-March, 1968). The title was then renamed to ''"Incredible Hulk''" vol. 2. He appeared in issues #102-474 (April, 1968-March, 1999). He has starred in several relatively short-lived titles ever since. The Hulk has become one of the publisher's better known characters and is unlikely to be forgotten about.

[[Marvel Comics]]' poster child for [[Super Strength]], and the embodiment of [[Unstoppable Rage]] and, of course, [[You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry]], the Hulk stars in his own comic book, The Incredible Hulk (not to be confused with the [[The Incredible Hulk|TV adaptation]], or the [[The Incredible Hulk (Film)|second movie adaptation]].) The main premise behind the Hulk is that he is an emotionally repressed man, Bruce Banner, who due to [[I Love Nuclear Power|gamma radiation]], changes into a gigantic green muscle bound humanoid whenever he loses his cool. The main gimmick behind the Hulk is that he is super strong, and his strength and [[Nigh Invulnerable|durability]] increase the angrier he gets, often to [[Strong As They Need to Be|ridiculous levels]] ([[You Fail Physics Forever|somehow handling the core of a black hole, holding apart spheres of matter and anti-matter, holding together a collapsing planet, punching through barriers of spatial or temporal dimensions]], [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu|occasionally overpowering]] [[Cosmic Entity|cosmic entities]], etc.)

[[Marvel Comics]]' poster child for [[Super Strength]], and the embodiment of [[Unstoppable Rage]] and, of course, [[You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry]], the Hulk stars in his own comic book, The Incredible Hulk (not to be confused with the [[The Incredible Hulk|TV adaptation]], or the [[The Incredible Hulk (Film)|second movie adaptation]].) The main premise behind the Hulk is that he is an emotionally repressed man, Bruce Banner, who due to [[I Love Nuclear Power|gamma radiation]], changes into a gigantic green muscle bound humanoid whenever he loses his cool. The main gimmick behind the Hulk is that he is super strong, and his strength and [[Nigh Invulnerable|durability]] increase the angrier he gets, often to [[Strong As They Need to Be|ridiculous levels]] ([[You Fail Physics Forever|somehow handling the core of a black hole, holding apart spheres of matter and anti-matter, holding together a collapsing planet, punching through barriers of spatial or temporal dimensions]], [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|occasionally overpowering]] [[Cosmic Entity|cosmic entities]], etc.)

Needless to say, the Hulk gets into a lot of very violent fights, and runs up the biggest [[Hero Insurance]] bill in the whole Marvel Universe, but most of the people he beats up [[Asshole Victim|had it coming]] or otherwise made the mistake of provoking him. He doesn't actively seek out trouble, but the Marvel Universe being the [[Crapsack World]] that it is, trouble often finds him, for which he is inevitably mis-blamed. This doesn't do much to improve his disposition, as you might expect.

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Much of the modern characteristics of the Hulk were created by writer [[Peter David]] during his ten-year-long stint on the title. For instance, Banner's abusive father and multiple-personality disorder were explored in greater depth during PAD's run (elements that were originally introduced in a [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/triad2.htm Bill Mantlo story]), which also elevated Rick Jones from perpetual sidekick to a [[Crazy Prepared]] [[Genre Savvy]] [[Badass Normal]].

The Hulk was recently featured in a two-year-long epic, where a group of superheroes calling themselves [[The Illuminati]] (all of them [[Unfortunate Implications|white, male, powerful]], and wealthy except for Black Panther [[What the Hell Hero|who decided not to join as it was wrong]]) decide to send the Hulk away, to a planet with no sentient life but plenty of plant and animal life, tricking him into boarding a spaceship which they reprogram. However, they failed to take into account a few astral phenomena, and the planet he lands on is most decidedly ''not'' devoid of sentient life. It is a savage world, where slavery is common, and he is made a gladiator. With this as his jumping-off point, he soon {{spoiler|ends up ruling the world}}, with a group of fellow freaks and exiles at his side and a beautiful warrior woman as his queen, but as this is both [[Dysfunction Junction|Marvel and the Hulk]], happiness is elusive. Soon after his victory, the ship that brought him to the world self-destructs, killing the Hulk's wife and causing widespread ecological damage that will destroy the planet's ecosystem. Unknown to the Hulk, his unborn son survives {{spoiler|(and his wife manages to come back from the dead for a while)}}. Hulk blames the Illuminati, and enraged, he and his surviving allies prepare another spaceship... to take back to Earth. This part of the story is called Planet Hulk, and took place during the ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' (as trying to convince Hulk to either register or actively fight registration probably would have overshadowed most of the other stuff in the series).

The Hulk was recently featured in a two-year-long epic, where a group of superheroes calling themselves [[The Illuminati]] (all of them [[Unfortunate Implications|white, male, powerful]], and wealthy except for Black Panther [[What the Hell, Hero?|who decided not to join as it was wrong]]) decide to send the Hulk away, to a planet with no sentient life but plenty of plant and animal life, tricking him into boarding a spaceship which they reprogram. However, they failed to take into account a few astral phenomena, and the planet he lands on is most decidedly ''not'' devoid of sentient life. It is a savage world, where slavery is common, and he is made a gladiator. With this as his jumping-off point, he soon {{spoiler|ends up ruling the world}}, with a group of fellow freaks and exiles at his side and a beautiful warrior woman as his queen, but as this is both [[Dysfunction Junction|Marvel and the Hulk]], happiness is elusive. Soon after his victory, the ship that brought him to the world self-destructs, killing the Hulk's wife and causing widespread ecological damage that will destroy the planet's ecosystem. Unknown to the Hulk, his unborn son survives {{spoiler|(and his wife manages to come back from the dead for a while)}}. Hulk blames the Illuminati, and enraged, he and his surviving allies prepare another spaceship... to take back to Earth. This part of the story is called Planet Hulk, and took place during the ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' (as trying to convince Hulk to either register or actively fight registration probably would have overshadowed most of the other stuff in the series).

This leads into ''[[World War Hulk]]'', where the Hulk arrives on Earth with a mind to punish the Illuminati for not only sending him away, not only miscalculating and screwing up their own plan, but through their incompetence, ruining him even after he'd found some peace and done so much good. He learned a lot while on his world, and [[Tranquil Fury|his rage was possibly the most perfect it's ever been]], with even the mightiest telepaths unable to affect him. The promise of this setup lead to an [[Memetic Mutation|internet meme]], taken from one for ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' where fans could declare which side they were on: "Civil War: You're ''all'' fucked when Hulk gets back." In the end, however, Hulk's destruction was largely confined to New York City, and he didn't end up killing anyone, "just" causing a few billion in property damage and beating up some of the more prominent superheroes in the area. Which is hardly a "World War Hulk"; for the Hulk, [[But for Me It Was Tuesday|that's... Tuesday.]]

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* [[You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry]]

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=== This series provides examples of: ===

* [[All Amazons Want Hercules]]: Just ask Caiera and Thundra. And ''[[Foe Yay|Umar]]''.

* [[Animated Adaptation]]: The first came in 1966, as part of ''[[The Marvel Superheroes (Animation)|The Marvel Superheroes]]''. He's had two TV series dedicated to him (one in the 80's and one in the 90's) both [[Cut Short]], though both series retain small but faithful fanbases. Since then, he has had multiple appearances in DTVs and other Marvel TV series since then, most prominently [[Hulk Vs]], [[Planet Hulk]], and the new Avengers cartoon, ''[[Avengers ~~Earths~~ Mightiest Heroes (Animation)|The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]''.

* [[Animated Adaptation]]: The first came in 1966, as part of ''[[The Marvel Superheroes (Animation)|The Marvel Superheroes]]''. He's had two TV series dedicated to him (one in the 80's and one in the 90's) both [[Cut Short]], though both series retain small but faithful fanbases. Since then, he has had multiple appearances in DTVs and other Marvel TV series since then, most prominently [[Hulk Vs]], [[Planet Hulk]], and the new Avengers cartoon, ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Animation)|The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]''.

** A new one has been confirmed for [[Disney XD]].

* [[Anti Hero]]: Considering that the Hulk has a very "Hollywood version" of [[Split Personality|Multiple Personality Disorder]], with a heavy dose of [[Depending On the Writer]] on top, it shifts wildly from incarnation to incarnation, individual interpretations thereof, and even deliberate [[Character Development]]. However, roughly speaking, the incarnations go as follow:

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Considering that the Hulk has a very "Hollywood version" of [[Split Personality|Multiple Personality Disorder]], with a heavy dose of [[Depending On the Writer]] on top, it shifts wildly from incarnation to incarnation, individual interpretations thereof, and even deliberate [[Character Development]]. However, roughly speaking, the incarnations go as follow:

** Original Hulk: In-between type III and IV. A grumpy outsider looking for a fight and responding violently when attacked, but staying out of people's way beyond that, and never going to the murderous vigilante excesses characterizing even most current type III's.

** Savage Hulk: Type II, with a dash of III solely due to his temper. Extremely noble, well-intended, loyal, heroic, constantly persecuted without understanding why, only wants to be loved and have friends, but cannot understand the society around him, protector of all oppressed peoples around the universe, will be inconsolable after watching Bambi or seeing a dead bunny, and strictly a force for good as long as somebody (like his former father figure [[Doctor Strange]], or own, as opposed to Banner's, "greatest love of his life" queen [[Friend to All Living Things|Jare]][[Pillars of Moral Character|lla]]) gives him a comprehensible direction. Basically the most pure-hearted and genuinely heroic version, and currently seen in [[The Super Hero Squad Show]], but non-constructively constantly hunted like an animal due to his sheer scale of power without the maturity to handle it properly. Nowadays, tends to usually be treated more kindly by other heroes when he shows up (due to seeming very tame by current standards, and inherent extremely [[Unfortunate Implications]]).

** Mindless Hulk in the crossroads: Type IV. A wild animal, but not inherently malevolent, and capable of instinctive loyalty or empathy.

** Joe Fixit: Type V. A largely amoral and hedonistic mob enforcer [[Villain Protagonist]] who mainly fought other villains, much like plenty of others within this trope. He also grew some conscience, such as [[Pet the Dog|grudgingly helping some children celebrate Christmas]], turned loyal and protective of his friends, and towards the end apparently avoided using excessive force against army officers or similar attackers.

** Merged Hulk: Type II to III. Possibly the most well-adjusted incarnation, and genuinely proactively well-intended, actively dedicating himself to helping the world, without going to murderous extremes, and playing reasonably well with others. However, he had a [[What the Hell Hero]] Wolverine-style psychotic rage episode in issue 400, wherein he accidentally killed the Leader, supposedly the leftover "truly mindless Hulk", which briefly bumped him to type IV.

** Merged Hulk: Type II to III. Possibly the most well-adjusted incarnation, and genuinely proactively well-intended, actively dedicating himself to helping the world, without going to murderous extremes, and playing reasonably well with others. However, he had a [[What the Hell, Hero?]] Wolverine-style psychotic rage episode in issue 400, wherein he accidentally killed the Leader, supposedly the leftover "truly mindless Hulk", which briefly bumped him to type IV.

** Bannerless Hulk: Type IV. Part of his mind was split from his body, and he started to largely act as the first Hulk did, although to a greater extreme, such as taking over an island for no particular purpose, although without harming anybody. Still, the army colonel pursuing him got wise on that this particular Hulk was different from the previous versions, was actually simply looking for attention, and actually caused less damage if the army stopped attacking him, so [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu|she told him off to his face]] "left him alone" as he didn't really wish, and it actually worked out pretty well.

** Bannerless Hulk: Type IV. Part of his mind was split from his body, and he started to largely act as the first Hulk did, although to a greater extreme, such as taking over an island for no particular purpose, although without harming anybody. Still, the army colonel pursuing him got wise on that this particular Hulk was different from the previous versions, was actually simply looking for attention, and actually caused less damage if the army stopped attacking him, so [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?|she told him off to his face]] "left him alone" as he didn't really wish, and it actually worked out pretty well.

** Green Scar: Roughly a type III on Sakaar/basically a more responsible version of the original. Views are split about whether he was provoked into type IV or V during World War Hulk (compare a sovereign nation being annihilated, and then strictly retaliating by going after those responsible, without any Hiroshima or civilian casualties involved), although due to extremes of very inconsiderate property damage, and still less bloodthirsty than the majority of type III's. Currently type III/largely similar to a "less touchy-feely" "merged Hulk" in viewpoint and approach due to a symbiosis with the Banner persona, but seems to be heading for the worse going by the previews.

* [[Asshole Victim]]: Practically all of the people the Hulk beats up typically brought their fates on themselves.

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** And as we are including extended family members, Betty also has a daughter, the benevolent mystical entity ''Daydream'', due to being raped by ''Nightmare'', but although the demon keeps up his creepy "children fathered through rape" tendency with ''Trauma'' and ''Dreamqueen'', nobody has had an interest in reintroducing her yet.

* [[Barbarian Hero]]: Most especially the Green Scar incarnation, but most versions of Hulk have shades of this at least.

* [[Bare Fisted Monk]]: The Hulk is so big and strong that his fists are pretty much all the weapons he needs.

* [[Bare-Fisted Monk]]: The Hulk is so big and strong that his fists are pretty much all the weapons he needs.

* [[Battle Aura]]: Introduced with the Worldbreaker level of Hulk's strength.

* [[Battle Couple]]: Hulk and Caeira. [[Depending On the Writer|Occasionally]] Hulk and Red She-Hulk (Betty Ross).

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** ''Chaos War'' would have Jarella and Red She-Hulk.

* [[The Big Guy]]: The 1990s [[Animated Adaptation]] sometimes portrayed him as a type 2; Joe Fixit was a type 3, while in some of his more intelligent incarnations he qualifies as a type 5.

* [[Big Screwed Up Family]]/[[Dysfunction Junction]]: [[Badass Family|As badass as they may be]], most of the core family members featured of late ''still'' have some serious psychological issues. '''Especially''' [[Broken Bird|Betty]].

* [[Big Screwed-Up Family]]/[[Dysfunction Junction]]: [[Badass Family|As badass as they may be]], most of the core family members featured of late ''still'' have some serious psychological issues. '''Especially''' [[Broken Bird|Betty]].

* [[Bill Mantlo]]: Had a lengthy run as writer in the early 80's which included the Crossroads Saga, as well as the first mention of Banner's abusive father.

* [[Black Comedy Rape]]: [[The Vamp|Umar]] turned the Hulk into her personal sex slave in a [[The Defenders|Defenders]] miniseries. She was too much for him at the time, and the encounter left Banner without the necessary... enthusiasm... to Hulk Out. When they met again, he was in full Worldbreaker mode and equal to the challenge.

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** Also, Adam Warlock's crucifixion and resurrection on Counter-Earth actually took place in a Hulk title.

* [[Deadly Dodging]]: The Hulk's pulled this trick a couple of times, most notably against the Constrictor and the Absorbing Man. The first one was electrocuted when his metal whips struck an electric streetlight, and the second one shorted out when he was charged with electricity and the Hulk goaded him into hitting a large pool of water.

* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu]]: It happens every now and then. Some examples:

* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: It happens every now and then. Some examples:

** Hulk overpowered and punched [[Crisis Crossover]] [[Big Bad]] Onslaught (at the time on a level with a [[Cosmic Entity]]) so hard that it destroyed his physical body and caused a dimensional rift.

** During [[World War Hulk]], he also managed to beat Zom, arguably the most powerful known demon in the [[Marvel Universe]], although later issues somewhat retconned this by stating that [[Doctor Strange]] was holding it back. He also matched the full power of the [[God Mode Sue]] [[The Sentry]].

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** That's because she doesn't have to deal with multiple personalities.

** There's also his daughter Lyra.

* [[Distinguished ~~Gentlemans~~ Pipe]]: Bruce Banner smoked a pipe in his first appearance, in The Incredible Hulk #1. In [[The Nineties]] when Hulk had Bruce Banner's brain he also smoked a normal sized pipe, which for him was very tiny.

* [[Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe]]: Bruce Banner smoked a pipe in his first appearance, in The Incredible Hulk #1. In [[The Nineties]] when Hulk had Bruce Banner's brain he also smoked a normal sized pipe, which for him was very tiny.

** A one-shot character in the ''Hulk'' series was a brainy college student based very loosely on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb Richard Loeb]; he smoked a pipe as part of his "smartest guy in the room" persona.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything]]: Umar capturing the Hulk...by using a giant, magic tongue to wrap around him, pulling him into a portal that looks like an open pair of lips. [http://www.comicbookresources.com/prev_img.php?pid=9307&pg=3 See for yourself.]

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Umar capturing the Hulk...by using a giant, magic tongue to wrap around him, pulling him into a portal that looks like an open pair of lips. [http://www.comicbookresources.com/prev_img.php?pid=9307&pg=3 See for yourself.]

* [[Do Not Call Me Paul]]: The Hulk ''hates'' being called Bruce. Though, it's justified in that they actually are separate entities inhabiting the same body.

** This seems to be a recurring theme with Gamma mutates. The Leader also hates it when people call him Samuel Sterns.

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* [[The Good King]]: During his time as the ruler of Sakaar.

** Also during his time as King of Australia during the [[House of M]] storyline, where he overthrew the mutant government and turned it into one of the last bastions of human freedom.

* [[Hair Trigger Temper]]: While he's not exactly a bad guy, this is the reason he tends to get into so many battles with other superheroes. It takes very little to piss him off, so you're basically walking on eggshells when he's in your presence for the entire time.

* [[Hair-Trigger Temper]]: While he's not exactly a bad guy, this is the reason he tends to get into so many battles with other superheroes. It takes very little to piss him off, so you're basically walking on eggshells when he's in your presence for the entire time.

* [[Half Human Hybrid]]: Skaar and Hiro-Kala.

* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]: Skaar and Hiro-Kala.

* [[Healing Factor]]: As mentioned above. Oh, and his healing factor is another power that increases in intensity with his rage.

* [[Heroic Neutral]]: HULK JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!

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{{quote| Every '''Male Chauvinist Pig''' in the world will '''Tremble'''...when he sees the '''Hulk''' hurled to his '''Death''' -- by a '''Woman'''!}}

* [[Hot Blooded]]: The Hulk pretty much defines this trope.

* [[Huge Guy Tiny Girl]]: Hulk and any human-sized love interest.

* [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]]: Hulk and any human-sized love interest.

* [[Hulk Speak]]: ''Hulk [[Trope Namer]] for [[Hulk Speak]]!''

* [[Hulking Out]]: [[Trope Namer]] again, any time Bruce's stress level gets too high. [[Hulk Smash]]!

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** Thor: Goldilocks, in [[Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]].

* [[Interrupted Suicide]]: Banner's tried to kill himself a few times in the past; Hulk will always force a transformation to prevent it, however.

* [[~~Its~~ Personal]]: The Hulk is usually one of the Marvel heroes most averse to actually killing anybody. The demon [[Anthropomorphic Personification|Nightmare]], however, is an exception. What did the villain do you ask? Well, in order, he drove Hulk mad and exiled him from humanity after finally being accepted; later killed his unborn child and raped his wife; later still turned his existence into nightmarish reality-distortions for years. The last time they met Hulk ripped off his head and stuck it on a spear.

* [[It's Personal]]: The Hulk is usually one of the Marvel heroes most averse to actually killing anybody. The demon [[Anthropomorphic Personification|Nightmare]], however, is an exception. What did the villain do you ask? Well, in order, he drove Hulk mad and exiled him from humanity after finally being accepted; later killed his unborn child and raped his wife; later still turned his existence into nightmarish reality-distortions for years. The last time they met Hulk ripped off his head and stuck it on a spear.

* [[Jack Kirby]]: Co-creator with [[Stan Lee]].

* [[Jekyll and Hyde]]: Hulk has this trope all over, but the relationship between Joe and Bruce has much more in common with the original tale.

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{{quote| '''Hulk:''' ''The world'll get it. Like it always does. But you can go to hell.''}}

* [[Knockout Gas]]: One of the most consistent ways of defeating the Hulk, at least on those occasions when he doesn't remember that he can hold his breath for hours. As the Hulk isn't all that bright, this is not infrequent.

* [[Last Name Basis]]: With more intelligent versions of the Hulk, he tends to be on this with people he doesn't nickname. This is especially common with [[Fantastic Four|the Thing]], who he calls Grimm, and General Ross, his own father-in-law. In [[World War Hulk]], he was on [[Last Name Basis]] with ''everybody'' except the Sentry. He also generally calls Wolverine "Logan".

* [[Last-Name Basis]]: With more intelligent versions of the Hulk, he tends to be on this with people he doesn't nickname. This is especially common with [[Fantastic Four|the Thing]], who he calls Grimm, and General Ross, his own father-in-law. In [[World War Hulk]], he was on [[Last-Name Basis]] with ''everybody'' except the Sentry. He also generally calls Wolverine "Logan".

* [[Let's You and Him Fight]]: Various heroes have been unlucky enough to cross the Hulk's path, including [[Spider-Man]], [[Daredevil]], [[Iron Man]] and the heroes who make up part of his regular rogues' gallery (see below). It's not an experience any of the other guys would care to repeat.

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: For roughly half of the 90s.

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* [[Power Limiter]]: Almost always strongly on, except against certain high-level [[Cosmic Entity]] characters, as othervise he could accidentally ignite reality-spanning destruction.

* [[The Power of Love]]: It turns out that since Hulk's power is emotion+based and quasi-mystical in nature, the love he felt for Jarella makes her even more powerful after dying than his father's spirit turned from his rage. His mother also said that she by far prefered his [[Pillars of Moral Character]] wife Jarella to his other wife, the [[Blood Knight]] Red She-Hulk.

* [[Really Gets Around]]: Although far less than [[She Hulk|his cousin]], Hulk does get more affairs than expected for a giant, hulking ball of pain. From [[Ugly Guy Hot Wife|Betty]], [[Friend to All Living Things|Jar]][[Pillars of Moral Character|el]][[Undying Loyalty|la]], [[Green Skinned Space Babe|Be]][[Doing It for The Art|re]][[Reality Warper|et]], [[Spy Couple|Kate]] [[Hot Scientist|Waynesboro]], [[Valley Girl|Marlo]], [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Caiera]], and [[Forgotten Childhood Friend|the college girlfriend]] [[Undying Loyalty|that he saved from being unlawfully contained]] in an ''Amnesty International'' condemned US prison; to being desired by [[Straw Feminist|Thundra]], the other college fling [[Evilutionary Biologist|Monica Rappacini]] and [[Eldritch Abomination|Umar]] (''TWICE'')... Not to mention [[The Hedonist|Joe Fixit]] who probably had ten times as much sex as all the other incarnations put together. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Red She-Hulk, in those [[Exact Words]].

* [[Really Gets Around]]: Although far less than [[She Hulk|his cousin]], Hulk does get more affairs than expected for a giant, hulking ball of pain. From [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife|Betty]], [[Friend to All Living Things|Jar]][[Pillars of Moral Character|el]][[Undying Loyalty|la]], [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|Be]][[Doing It for The Art|re]][[Reality Warper|et]], [[Spy Couple|Kate]] [[Hot Scientist|Waynesboro]], [[Valley Girl|Marlo]], [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Caiera]], and [[Forgotten Childhood Friend|the college girlfriend]] [[Undying Loyalty|that he saved from being unlawfully contained]] in an ''Amnesty International'' condemned US prison; to being desired by [[Straw Feminist|Thundra]], the other college fling [[Evilutionary Biologist|Monica Rappacini]] and [[Eldritch Abomination|Umar]] (''TWICE'')... Not to mention [[The Hedonist|Joe Fixit]] who probably had ten times as much sex as all the other incarnations put together. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Red She-Hulk, in those [[Exact Words]].

* [[Resist the Beast]]: Banner, especially in cases where Hulk is portrayed the most destructively and as a huge detriment on his life, does so regularly.

* [[The Rival]]: [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]] will always be the big one, as they are Marvel's two heaviest "[[Iconic Characters|Big Name]]" hitters, and sometimes one of them wins, sometimes the other, but usually it somehow ends up as a draw. Basically Hulk has a lot more raw power and durability, so he should have the edge in pure close combat, despite a considerable skill disadvantage, but if Thor ever started to use all of his myriad powers in ways Hulk couldn't counter (hit him with multiple planet-shattering blasts from the other side of the solar system, teleport his brain into a black hole etc) then there wouldn't be much that Hulk could do about it. Still, the thing is that Thor and Hulk actually get along swell with each other when not fighting, or when watching each other's back, starting back in the first ''[[Secret Wars]]''.

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* [[Strong As They Need to Be]]: Hulk basically has this ability as an actual power. In one moment he's punching out a cosmic entity, and the next he has trouble with [[Popularity Power|Captain America or Wolverine]].

** Memorably displayed during Marvel's ''[[Secret Wars]]'' limited series, when the heroes are trapped under ''a mountain range'' with the Hulk (barely) keeping them from being crushed. As the Hulk starts to weaken, Reed Richards begins insulting him for being useless [[Dumb Muscle]], which irritates the Hulk to become stronger. Of course, considering that he nowadays ([[Rule of Cool|somehow... look he can punch through reality, just go with it]]) holds together collapsing planets even when calm.

* [[Super Not Drowning Skills]]: According to [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Hulk_(Bruce_Banner) his profile on Marvel.com], the Hulk has a gland in his lungs that requires very little oxygen to function. This is not only why [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|he can hold his breath for a long time in space]] (in fact, he can TALK in space when he needs to), but he can also extract enough oxygen from water to ''breathe under the water's surface!''.

* [[Super Not-Drowning Skills]]: According to [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Hulk_(Bruce_Banner) his profile on Marvel.com], the Hulk has a gland in his lungs that requires very little oxygen to function. This is not only why [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|he can hold his breath for a long time in space]] (in fact, he can TALK in space when he needs to), but he can also extract enough oxygen from water to ''breathe under the water's surface!''.

* [[Super Prototype]]: In a way, the Hulk is this for the other gamma mutants. Hulk is the first, even though he was created by accident. The others (Leader, Abomination, Madman, Ravage, [[Red Hulk]]) were created either by recreating that accident or copying his dna. Some, such as Abomination and Ravage, have higher base-line strength than the Hulk, and most other gamma beings retain their intelligence(though not necessarily their full personality) while transformed, which could be considered improvements, but the Hulk's potential strength and secondary powers, as well as a somewhat intangible quality that makes the Hulk seemingly impossible to permanently cure, has shown that the Hulk, while flawed, is the most powerful gamma being created.

* [[Super Strength]]: The only time his upper limit was actually measured, by [[God Is Evil|the Beyonder]], it literally rated as having "no finite limit" by 3-dimensional standards, after which the entity stated that he considered Hulk as a fellow infinite being.

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* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: The poster boy. "The longer Hulk fight, the madder Hulk get! The madder Hulk get, the stronger Hulk get!" Subverted in that, again partially due to the issues with his dad, both Hulk and Banner are constantly terrified of accidentally hurting any innocent or defenseless "little people", especially children. Being put in a situation wherein he has to, or does so unintentionally, as with [[Complete Monster|Hiro-Kala]], is one of the worst things that can happen to him. Inanimate objects and seriously evil people who can take the punishment, on the other hand, are perfectly fair go.

** His daughter Lyra, on the other hand, is an inversion. The angrier she gets, the ''weaker'' she gets. This issue is later resolved with a nanomachine treatment that Bruce gives her.

* [[Villainesses Want Heroes]]: [[Never Live It Down|As has been mentioned elsewhere on this page]], [[The Hedonist|Umar]] [[Did You Just Romance Cthulhu|considers the Hulk extremely attractive]] to the degree that the [[Black Comedy Rape|Hulk got exhausted from the effort...]] [[Take Our Word for It|although at least that sort of thing has happened more frequently to Thor]].

* [[Villainesses Want Heroes]]: [[Never Live It Down|As has been mentioned elsewhere on this page]], [[The Hedonist|Umar]] [[Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?|considers the Hulk extremely attractive]] to the degree that the [[Black Comedy Rape|Hulk got exhausted from the effort...]] [[Take Our Word for It|although at least that sort of thing has happened more frequently to Thor]].

** [[Evilutionary Biologist|Monica Rappacini]] was also interested at one point.

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Truly Mindless Byrne Hulk, physically separated from Banner: An unconsciously mass-murdering force of destruction, with only the body remaining, and the Hulk himself literally not responsible for its actions.

* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]: At one point Banner had taken complete control of the Hulk's powers, and was able to shift between his basic human form and that of the Hulk at will. There is also his "Joe Fixit" personality, where he would be Bruce Banner by day, and "Mr. Fixit" Hulk by night.

* [[Well Intentioned Extremist]]. The "merged Hulk" was an extremely light version, with the best of dedicated altruistic aims, kept relatively very clean and non-extreme in his methods, and having much greater positive than negative effects, to the degree that it is highly arguable whether he was in the right or not. A major story arc during the era involved him joining (and eventually leading) the Pantheon, an organization of good-will that spent their time researching cancer cures and invading countries to depose cruel dictators. During this period, the Hulk got into conflict with other heroes not just because of his anger issues, but also because of conflicting moral outlooks.

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]. The "merged Hulk" was an extremely light version, with the best of dedicated altruistic aims, kept relatively very clean and non-extreme in his methods, and having much greater positive than negative effects, to the degree that it is highly arguable whether he was in the right or not. A major story arc during the era involved him joining (and eventually leading) the Pantheon, an organization of good-will that spent their time researching cancer cures and invading countries to depose cruel dictators. During this period, the Hulk got into conflict with other heroes not just because of his anger issues, but also because of conflicting moral outlooks.

** The Leader also falls under this; his goals are usually to take over the world and use his genius to create a utopia. At the expense of a hell of a lot of lives, that is.

* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: Your gender doesn't matter to the Hulk. If you're posing yourself as an opponent or if you piss him off, you'll get what's coming to you. Just ask [[Power Incontinence|Va]][[Psycho for Hire|por]], [[The Vamp|Moon]][[Manipulative Bastard|stone]], [[Make It Look Like an Accident|M]][[Useful Notes/Suicide|e]][[Bizarre Alien Biology|r]][[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|c]][[Depending On the Writer|y]], or [[Double Agent|Ani]][[Gender Bender|mus]]! There are times when even [[She Hulk]] has found out the hard way.