Warning: This article contains discussions of depression and suicide.

Throughout the first phases of the MCU, The Hulk's biggest hurdle is his own mental health, and the Avengers completely ignore it whenever it comes up. In his only solo film, before Marvel Studios was producing all of its own movies, Bruce Banner was sequestered in Brazil, trying his best to work on his own mental health before learning to control The Hulk to a reasonable degree. He even worked with a specialist that helped him focus on his breathing at the beginning of the film. To help him control his bouts as The Hulk, Banner also wears a heart rate monitor so that he knows when to calm down before becoming the chaotic green monster. Through the end of the film, Banner learns to accept The Hulk and starts seeing him as an asset, even if he can't fully control his own mind.

The next time the Marvel audience sees Bruce Banner is during the first Avengers movie, where he is alone in another country again, this time going more than a year since his last incident as The Hulk. S.H.I.E.L.D. sends Natasha Romanoff to recruit him as part of the mission that is described as needing Bruce Banner. However, by the end of the movie, it is clear that Nick Fury wanted The Hulk. This is despite S.H.I.E.L.D. knowing that Banner had spent years of his life actively fighting against becoming The Hulk by working on himself through meditation, yoga, and low-stress environments.

Related: Every Actor Who's Played Marvel's Hulk In Live-Action

All of the mental health concerns that Bruce Banner could be facing seem to be of no consequence to Fury, as he rips him out of his safe haven so that he can help fight the looming alien threat. In fact, throughout the MCU, the Avengers usually need The Hulk, not Bruce Banner, so it is actually a part of their relationship that they use Banner for what he considers to be his worst trait. Banner, as a character, is always shown minding his mental health because his "superpower" is the very collapse of that work. Through his early years with the Avengers especially, it is somehow understood that Banner has to live a life of losing control. Dealing with the kind of strain that goes into living with relapses is expected of him, normalizing the mental health setbacks Banner has to experience every time he becomes The Hulk.

The MCU Never Allowed The Hulk To Find Peace

The Hulk and Natasha Holding Hands

Bruce Banner shows signs of suicidal depression throughout his appearances in the MCU. He isolates himself away from people, which can be a tried-and-true sign of depression, and he is forced to live his life between episodes of poor mental health. He even said, around other Avengers, that he once tried to kill himself, but that "the other guy" just spit out the bullet, demonstrating that he can't escape from his fate as The Hulk; it has a hold on him that he can't shake. Banner's admission of his suicide attempt should have been cause for concern for anyone who cares about him, but nobody ever tries to help him or ask him whether he willingly wants to become The Hulk ever again. They just keep using him.

Bruce Banner hasn't been treated fairly as a person with signs of suicidal depression and is shown no empathy because of how much other characters want to use him for his ability to turn into The Hulk. Banner never got his own movie, partially because the rights for the character still belong to Universal, so it is no surprise that he hasn't been treated fairly or given the right amount of time and dedication that would go into helping someone with his condition. The Hulk's mental health is shown but never cared for in the movies that he's in, not even by the people who call him a friend. The darkest parts of his character are kept off-screen, and it does a disservice to Bruce Banner, the Avengers as a team, and the audience.

Next: The MCU Has Only Used Marvel's Real Hulk Once

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