Hulk’s Sudden Control Was Not Convenient!

I want everybody to stop talking about how ‘convenient’ it was for Dr. Bruce Banner to have control of his Hulk powers in the final act of The Avengers.

This is the internet, so that’s never going to happen but here’s the inconvenient truth I saw about Banner’s story arc in this film.

Okay, so the Bruce Banner we got in the Avengers film was not one we got in either the 2003 Hulk or the 2008 The Incredible Hulk. So the fact that the story telling immediately clues you in that Mark Ruffalo, a stranger on the screen next to Samuel Jackson and Scarlett Johansson, is the Hulk is pretty great in of itself. It also immediately establishes that this is not a Hulk from any continuity we, the audience, saw in previous movies. Yes the film is designed so a newbie could sit down and enjoy it without having to see the million* prequels that predated it, but unless you were living in a cave I think it’s pretty easy to spot Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, etc.

So new kid on the block gets one scene to establish a character and he’s hiding out in a third world part of the planet being a doctor. He’s being a humanitarian for pete’s sake, you don’t get more super hero than that. Nor do you get more opposite of Tony Stark who just lit up his big egotistical sign on his phallic shaped home and workshop.

Ruffalo plays Banner as this easy going guy who merely sighs when this little girl leads him to an empty building, not finding a sick man like he was led to believe.

But let’s not be fooled: he’s actually mad. He is. Why? Because he says so at the end of the movie: I’m always angry. That’s his secret.

This is not the body language of a calm man, so why isn’t he green?

Here is a mad Banner knowing he’s gotten trick and sure enough a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent pops up. All the worst situations are popping through his head. But Agent Natasha Romanoff speaks softly and calmly, assuring him they’re alone and she just wants to talk.

During the course of this conversation Banner acts angry, snapping and slamming a hand down on the table. And Natasha pulls a gun on him! Come on, Banner tells Tony later in the movie that he once tried to kill himself but ‘the other guy’ spit out the bullet. Clearly, despite Banner’s control, if he is very much in actual danger he will Hulk out and it sounds like it’s his Hulk personality that makes that final decision.

Banner is in enough control of the Hulk at this point to mentally say ‘easy buddy, if she sees we’re not turning green she won’t shoot.’ And she doesn’t. Banner laughs and makes a comment about the dozens of agents that swarmed the location at the first sign of anger.

Lest you be fooled: he really is angry! Wouldn’t you be? All of this is stuff that would make a normal human being mad. Honestly, Bruce Banner is as normal as humans come except for the gamma radiation that makes him turn big and green sometimes. All those emotions and mental functions are perfectly human.

But just like any person can be mad and not show it, Banner has learned to internalize it as well. Save it for when he needs the big guy.

Which if he had his way would be never. Which is where Tony’s poking in the hellicarrier comes in. Everybody’s blood pressure goes up around Tony Stark, Banner is no exception and Tony goes out of his way to try and irritate Banner. To goad him.

But he also goes out of his way to go ‘geez, dude, you’re a hero! That’s who you are. The turning into a green guy, that’s just what you can do. Why not use that to be the hero that you are?’ Usual conversation for that conflicted person that thinks their power is a curse and not a gift. It’s cliché as all hell, but it is true.

And Tony manages to be irritating about it.

Hulk Smash!

“But what about his uncontrolled Hulk fit during the bad guy attack?”

For starters… the movie had certain boxes to check and no movie with the Hulk in it is complete without an uncontrolled Hulk fit.

Also, that weird loopy camera angle clearly showed that the staff was affecting everybody in that room to irritate them and drive them up the wall. It definitely seemed to be affecting Banner the most because he picked the thing up.

Still, it wasn’t until the explosion and fall through metal floors and shit that Banner gets enough shock to his system to rage out. It was also pointed out prior to this that Hulk unwillingly transforms Banner when Banner is in danger of dying. Explosions seem like a possibility of Banner death. Throw in some more excuses about how the fall knocked Banner unconscious so he had no way to exert control over Hulk and boom, we have Hulk terrorizing Black Widow until Thor swoops in to kick some unhappy customers out of the plane.

Yet Hulk isn’t a bad guy. Maybe in his infancy he was, but he’s gotten to spend a lot of time sharing head space with Banner. The good doctor has rubbed off on Hulk. He likes this saving people thing. So when he’s falling out of the plane he makes sure to land, as well as he can, where there are no people. Which a conveniently placed old man tells Banner about when the good doc wakes up, not remembering a thing.

It’s that detail that clinches to Banner what Tony was telling him. Yeah, Bruce, you Hulk raged out and probably hurt quite a few people. But your alter ego didn’t really want to hurt people. He’ll channel all that rage you’re keeping pent up if you let him.

So after stealing a motorcycle and joining up with his buddies, he finally releases his pent up anger and Hulks out on command.

There is nothing convenient about it. It was something that was being built up for the entire movie!

Now don’t get me wrong, The Avengers is by no means a complicated story. And there plot holes and pit falls of convenience the size of the Bifrost.

Just… Bruce Banner having control of his Hulkness is not one of those things.

Of all of the characters in this movie, I most related to Banner. I didn’t go into it expecting to as I have never felt much kinship to Hulk before. But I really tend to connect with characters that must keep their emotions to themselves for some reason or another. I was always a very quiet kid and I got picked on often. My usual defense mechanism was to stay quiet and pretend like it wasn’t happening. Eventually, though, all of that teasing would build up and I would explode, freaking people out, not just the teasing kids.

Because that’s what happens when people keep things locked up inside: eventually it all bursts out. Just because the first hundred times the emotions don’t appear outwardly doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Maybe we don’t recognize them in ourselves or we feel a need not to let on to the people around us. Whatever the reason, an explosion is always bound to happen.

This is what Bruce Banner came to figure out during his time alone (something that, frankly, would not make an enjoyable film so even if we had gotten a preceding film, this new found control would still be new to The Avengers movie) and his why he – mostly – Hulks out on command.

I know this will in no way stop people from pointing out that scene and going ‘Really?’ But it’d still be nice if people would acknowledge that this is something built up during the entire movie. And this is why Joss Whedon is amazing. Because likely the story boarding/check mark boxes included ‘and Hulk conveniently has control of powers for final battle!’ But then Whedon, in his genius, came up with an understandable, definable reason why Banner only Hulks out when the script requires him to.

Beat that Christopher Nolan and Bryan Singer.

       

 

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

*Obviously an exaggeration