In 1962, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created a new character whose origins came from classic Universal horror monsters rather than the superheroes that they brought to life in the pages of Fantastic Four.
Hulk was one of Marvel Comics first creations, arriving months before Spider-Man made his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 and the year before names like Iron Man and the X-Men arrived on the scene.
Since that debut, if there is one thing that is consistent about Hulk, it is that Hulk is not consistent and things have changed constantly throughout the run of the Big Green Goliath. There were even times when he wasn't even green anymore.
That is only part of the problem with The Incredible Hulk, a superhero that has similar traits to many villains but always remains a good guy because he is the one usually fighting for honorable reasons.
Despite this, there are many reasons why Hulk can't be considered a superhero -- reasons that most fans ignore because they have a connection with both the monster and the man within.
There are also a lot of inconsistencies in his character and his story, both in the pages of the comics and on the big and small screen as well.
Here are the 20 Things Wrong With The Hulk Everyone Chooses To Ignore.
HIS FEAR IN INFINITY WAR
Hulk is arrogant, whether he is the brutish Hulk who simply says "Hulk smash" or the one that has a little more upstairs such as the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok.
In the comics, television cartoons, and movies, Hulk makes sure that everyone knows that Hulk is the strongest there is.
In Avengers and Thor: Ragnarok, Hulk proves that he is willing to fight anything -- even the giant demon Surtur.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Hulk proves this when he charges into the battle with Thanos. This fight did not go well, though, and Thanos won a fist fight with Hulk.
Hulk was launched to Earth and then he was Banner again and refused to come back. The idea is that Hulk was scared but why?
Nothing in Hulk's history shows he fears anything and this entire situation made no sense.
HIS CLOSEST FRIEND DOESN'T TRUST HIM
Hulk is a hero and a member of The Avengers. However, at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hulk stole a Quinjet and took off to parts unknown, which ended up as Sakaar.
Why would Hulk leave his friends and allies? According to Hulk, he knew that no one on Earth liked him and wanted to get away from those people who feared and hated him.
It makes sense, too. Hulk did so much damage to Earth that he had no reason to earn trust from anyone.
Bruce Banner's closest friend was Tony Stark. What did Stark do? He created armor called the Hulk Buster because he didn't trust his friend.
Stark also teamed up with Thunderbolt Ross against Captain America -- the same Ross who wanted to dissect Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.
When Hulk's closest friend has such a low opinion of him, why shouldn't anyone else?
HE'S TOO OVERPOWERED
When people read comic books, they want to see their favorite superheroes beat the villains that threaten their world.
However, what makes all good fiction interesting is when the villain is more powerful than the hero and the good guy has to fight really hard to win the battle. The massive alien invasion in the first Avengers movie is a good example because the heroes have to overcome the odds.
However, when it comes to Hulk, he remains so overpowered that it is impossible to ever fear for him.
He is basically immortal and never perishes, as he's always returning.
His healing factor is even stronger than that of Wolverine and he can regenerate in seconds.
His strength is unlimited and his body adapts to everything. When a character is this overpowered, they are a force of nature and that is not interesting at all.
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH NATASHA
In Hulk and The Incredible Hulk, it was shown that Bruce Banner's true love was Betty Ross. The two had a romantic relationship that played strong in the two movies.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it looked like Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers might be hitting it off. Then, in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Natasha and Hulk had a relationship that seemed to come from out of nowhere.
They did have an interesting first meeting when Natasha was sent to bring in Banner at the start of Avengers. However, their relationship was changed in Age of Ultron and that was still evident when they saw each other in Avengers: Infinity War.
The entire situation is murky and it is one of the areas of the MCU that was just thrown onto the screen with no explanation whatsoever.
HE ALWAYS EMITS GAMMA ENERGY
Hulk is a very dangerous creature. For much of his career, the monster was reckless and caused more damage than anything when he rampaged into a town and ended up battling one of his many villains.
However, there is something very wrong with Hulk that he can't control and it seems very dangerous for anyone around him.
Hulk received his powers when Bruce Banner was caught in an explosion and was flooded with massive amounts of gamma energy.
As a result, Incredible Hulk #103 reveals that his body is a gamma battery and is always creating and radiating gamma energy.
Anyone who is around him for long periods of time is in danger from this and it is something Marvel Comics never seemed worried about.
THE FACT THAT HE CAN SEE GHOSTS
The Incredible Hulk was created due to a gamma explosion and that is what causes Bruce Banner to become a monster when he is angry or stressed.
Hulk then has massive strength and durability, which makes sense based on his body's changes after the metamorphosis. However, what isn't explained is the fact that Hulk can see ghosts.
This was originally shown in one specific manner. Hulk saw Doctor Strange when he was in the astral form -- which is supposed to be invisible to anyone in the real world. Why this happened is unknown.
There is no reason that explains why Hulk has this power.
It was loosely explained as Hulk setting a self-defense mechanism in case the ghost of his dad came to haunt him, which makes no sense at all.
HULK'S BODY IS ALWAYS CHANGING
Hulk seems to always be able to survive anything that the world throws at him.
In World War Hulk, Nick Fury explains to someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. that they have researched Hulk extensively and they have data that proves that Hulk can survive any environment because his body will adapt to anything.
This instance was when Hulk was in outer space and his body adapted to the lack of oxygen and he survived.
In Hulk #77, Hulk went deep underwater and his lungs started to fill with pressure. Suddenly, his body developed the ability to breathe underwater like a fish, and now Hulk can't drown.
What is the problem with this? It is deus ex machina, and no matter what happens to Hulk, his body will adapt to protect him and that gives fans no reason to ever fear for his safety.
HIS BLOOD MAKES FLOWERS GROW
Hulk has proven in the past that his blood has special powers. This was really hammered home in Savage She-Hulk #1 when his cousin Jennifer Walters received a blood transfusion and became the She-Hulk.
However, his blood seems to have even more miraculous powers. It can create life on a planet where there was none before.
In World War Hulk, the planet of Sakaar had lied dormant for years with nothing but dirt and horrible living conditions for those there.
The beings who lived on the planet had a prophesy that a savior would come and free their world, saving those on Sakaar.
When Hulk bled, his blood caused a single flower to grow on the planet for the first time in many years. The idea is that the radiation from Hulk's body mixed with a radiation-heavy planet, but that is really stretching things in the story.
HOW DESTRUCTIVE HE IS
Hulk as a hero is problematic. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hulk was able to help the Avengers but when he went on a rampage, he destroyed an entire town which resulted in the Sokovia Accords fracturing The Avengers.
In the animated Ultimate Avengers movie, Hulk saved the day but then The Avengers needed to stop him before he destroyed their world.
Shockwaves from Hulk just stomping his foot can cause earthquakes and clapping his hands together can cause a tidal wave bigger than the strongest hurricane.
Wherever Hulk goes, destruction follows and much of it is all his fault -- yet he somehow remains a hero while leaving innocent people's homes destroyed at the same time.
Hulk is a menace and maybe General Ross had it right all along.
HIS RAGE PROBLEMS
When Hulk was helping The Avengers battle the forces of HYDRA in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he went into a berzerker rage and it was Natasha Romanov -- the Black Widow -- that had a way to talk him down.
Hulk has rage problems because of his childhood. Bruce's father, Brian Banner, abused him as a child because he felt that Bruce was too smart.
His dad also took the life of Bruce's mother.
When Jennifer Walkers became She-Hulk, she kept her brains and mentality.
However, it was childhood trauma that created a split personality in Bruce way before he ever became The Hulk.
This split personality disorder means that, while Hulk is a hero, he is also a danger to anyone around him -- even innocent civilians.
THE FACT THAT HE'S GREEN
The real reason why Hulk is green has to do with problems in the creation of the comic books themselves. Stan Lee wanted him to be grey but printing errors caused the change so Lee chose the color green since it was different than all other superheroes at the time.
However, why would Bruce Banner turn green from a gamma explosion when he changed into the Hulk?
Gamma rays are not green. In fact, they actually have no color at all.
Gamma rays would not turn a human into a Hulk and would instead give them severe radiation poisoning or incinerate them on the spot.
Marvel Comics chose to have it turn beings green or in the case of Red Hulk -- red.
According to a Stanford biologist, the reason might be that Hulk's body is one giant bruise and that explains the color, buth this doesn't explain Doc Samson's hair.
HE TURNED HIS COUSIN INTO SHE-HULK
For years, Bruce Banner felt like he was cursed because he was the Hulk and could not control what his green-skinned other half did -- or the destruction he caused.
Bruce was also a scientist who knew more about gamma radiation than anyone. Banner knew what it was and what it caused and he hated himself since he could not cure himself.
However, when his cousin Jennifer Walters was barely holding on after an attack, Banner chose to give her a blood transfusion from himself to save her life.
Sure, Bruce did not want her to pass away, but he is a scientist and therefore knew that giving her his blood would give her gamma poisoning and possibly turn her into a rage monster like he was -- yet he donated his blood to her without a second thought.
HIS ORIGIN CHANGED FOR NO REASON
Why did Bruce Banner become The Hulk? The idea of changing origin stories is rare in comic books.
Captain America was the super soldier and Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider. However, Hulk's has changed more than once.
Originally, Hulk saved Rick Jones when he saw the kid in an area about to test a gamma radiated bomb. However, thanks to the classic TV series, Banner instead became Hulk when he experimented on himself.
He even had a different name on TV, known as David Banner.
Why they changed his origin -- which stuck for the MCU -- is unknown, but it changes the entire reason the character exists.
In the movies, he was reckless, but in the comics, he was heroic. That is a huge change for the character.
THE CAUSE OF HIS TRANSFORMATION
As Hulk's origin story has changed more than once, the entire idea of what Hulk is has changed as well.
The main idea when it comes to the history of Hulk is that he changes from Bruce Banner into the Green Goliath when Banner is injured, stressed or angry.
However, in Avengers, Banner said that he controls the change now because he is always angry, although he never appears angry.
It wasn't always this way, though. When Hulk was grey, he was more like the classic werewolf transformation where Banner would change at nightfall and then change back to human when the sun came up.
When Banner tried to take his own life, Hulk showed up in Incredible Hulk, but when Banner rushed into battle against aliens in Avengers: Infinity War, Hulk refused to show up.
At the end of the day, what causes the transformation changes depending on which way the wind blows.
CHOOSING TO DEPOWER ALL OTHER HULKS
Bruce Banner has always felt tormented by the fact that he was The Hulk. He could not control his big green split-personality and considered it a curse.
However, there was a point where Banner gained control of Hulk and Doc Green was born. With Banner's brains in the giant green superhero, though, he set out to do something very controversial.
Rick Jones was A-Bomb. Jennifer Walters was She-Hulk -- due to Banner giving her his blood. General Ross was Red Hulk and Betty Ross was Red She-Hulk. Hulk even had a son named Skarr who was born with his genes and superpowers as well.
Hulk decided that he was the only one who had the right to be a Hulk and set out to forcefully depower all of the others against their will.
The question is: what gave him the right to be the judge, jury, and executioner?
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREEN AND GRAY HULK
When Stan Lee created Hulk, he wanted to make him grey. However, due to a printing error, the skin tone of the monster did not come out the way he had hoped.
As a result, Lee said that he looked through the various heroes and decided on the color green since at the time there were no green heroes and he wanted something that was unlike any real-life looking heroes.
However, throughout the history of Hulk, he has changed -- over and over again. Hulk soon became grey and became Mr. Fixit. He became a different shade of green and kept Banner's mental awareness.
Why Hulk changes his powers and intelligence when he changes colors is just accepted by most fans, but it makes no sense at all.
HIS DISAPPEARING EX-GIRLFRIEND
In Hulk, Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) was the girlfriend of Bruce Banner when he became The Hulk. She ended up as the only person who could help calm him down and keep him under control.
He went into hiding but then ended up meeting up with Betty again later (this time Liv Tyler) and she once again was there to help calm him and help him.
By the end, Hulk helped stop Abomination and saved Liv and her father Thunderbolt Ross.
Then, Hulk showed up in Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War and Betty Ross is not only absent but has never been mentioned.
Her dad is even a key character in Captain America: Civil War, but there is still no mention of her.
What happened to Bruce Banner's true love and why are the movies simply acting like she no longer exists?
HIS PANTS NEVER TEAR
There have been a lot of jokes about Hulk's pants over the years, but they still make absolutely no sense.
Look at the comic books, the classic TV show, and the movies and see a small Bruce Banner (or David Banner on the TV series) who gets angry and loses control, turning into The Hulk.
His shirt rips off, his feet burst through his shoes, and he becomes a raging, gigantic monster... but his pants remain intact.
Of course, this happens because they can't show a clothless Hulk running around.
When Hulk turns back into Banner, the pants are now way too big for him -- but why did the pants grow with Hulk to begin with?
There are even moments where Hulk gets bigger and bigger the angrier he gets and his pants keep growing with him.
Stan Lee said that Reed Richards made him elastic pants, but he didn't exist in the TV or movie worlds.
BRUCE NEVER CONTINUES HIS RESEARCH
The big plot point in The Incredible Hulk that kept the story moving was that Bruce Banner was conducting research to cure himself of The Hulk.
This was the entire purpose of him returning to the United States since he was hooking up with Samuel Sterns to figure out if the blood samples they were conducting experiments on could cure him.
Sterns proved that the serum that he concocted did allow the transformation to halt for a short time.
By the end of the movie, Banner was on the run again. He was doing his yoga and then proved by turning his eyes green with a smile that it was working.
Then, in The Avengers, he said he could control Hulk because he was always angry.
There has been no mention of this research and no reason given why Banner gave up his research for a cure.
BRUCE'S INABILITY TO CONTROL THE HULK AFTER AGE OF ULTRON
Ever since The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner has been working on finding a way to control his transformation into The Hulk.
At the end of the movie, he showed that he had some control over it.
By the time Hulk showed up in The Avengers, he showed everyone that he could transform into Hulk at will without stress or injuries when he jumped into battle against the Chitauri.
In Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hulk showed that he could still lose control of his rage and need someone to bring him down to get him under control.
However, in Thor: Ragnarok, Bruce Banner said that he lost control of Hulk for two years and had no memory of that time.
Why did Banner lose control, even when Hulk was at peace in his suite with a hot tub? Hopefully, Avengers 4 reveals that secret.
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Can you think of any other confusing facts about The Hulk that everyone chooses to ignore? Sound off in the comments!