Hulk is one of the most beloved characters in Marvel’s entire history. He was one of the first creations of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he’s appeared in almost every animated series, he’s starred in his own incredibly successful TV show, and he’s had two theatrical movies before smashing his way into the MCU.

He is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic characters in the Marvel pantheon. Because of this, people assume a lot of things about him and those things are not always correct.

It’s easy to get facts mixed up when it comes to the jade giant. He’s such a huge part of pop culture that most things people hear are taken as the truth and everyone feels like they’re at least something of an expert on the character, even when they usually are not.

With that in mind, we’re counting down the biggest things that everyone gets wrong about the Hulk, from the comics to the movies and more.

Here are the 25 Details About The Hulk Everyone Gets Wrong.

25. He’s Not Simply The Angry Half of Banner

From the TV show and the movies, especially the 2003 Ang Lee movie, most casual fans have the idea in their minds that the Hulk is simply a manifestation of all of Bruce Banner’s pent up rage and aggression.

This is a man who spent his life holding his anger at bay, and so after the accident, it all comes pouring out of him at once when he gets too angry. However, that’s not entirely true.

Some parts of them do exist in the other, yes, but the Hulk is a totally separate entity.

24. He Wasn’t Always Green

Grey Hulk vs Green Hulk Comic

He’s the jade giant. He’s known for being an enormous green rage monster, but that’s not actually how Hulk got his start.

In that first issue created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Hulk was actually gray. That was originally planned to be the color of his skin, but there was an issue once the comic was actually printed.

Because of the quality of the ink, the Hulk would be a very different shade of gray in almost every panel.

Given this, Lee and Kirby decided to go another route.

23. He’s Not Always Angry

One of the most famous moments in The Avengers is the scene in which Banner unveils that his secret to remaining calm is actually that he’s always angry.

However, there are some different shades to the emotional range that make things less black and white than that.

Most people believe that Hulk has to be angry all the time, otherwise he would just turn back into Banner.

Hulk as his own entity has shown a wide range of emotions, though. There are times when he’s in the wilderness alone and is completely at peace.

22. He’s Not Dumb

Another one of the things that people are quickest to point out about the Hulk is that he’s a big, dumb idiot. This is not the case, though.

Hulk is smart, and even tactical in his own way.

He’s a fighter and a warrior and has always been able to learn and develop more and more the longer he spends occupying his body without transforming back into Banner.

When he first was able to speak, Hulk spoke very much like a child and developed more functional language skills over time.

21. He’s Lost Several Fights

When kids are arguing about which superheroes could beat up which other superheroes, the Hulk is a tough one to beat.

When the two comic book companies combined for Marvel vs. DC in the ‘90s, Hulk was stacked up against Superman, that’s how powerful he is considered to be.

However, just like the Man of Steel, Hulk has suffered some devastating defeats in the past.

He’s been outsmarted by Ross and the government, he’s been stomped by Thanos, Abomination, The Thing, and was even beaten by Spider-Man.

20. He Could Potentially Live Forever

Hulk prepares to leave at the end of Avengers Age of Ultron

Although Hulk has met his untimely demise once or twice in the comics, he’s one of the most powerful characters ever to grace the pages of comics.

It’s possible that he could never be beaten permanently. Because of the nature of his body and his constantly changing form, not to mention his astonishing regenerative capabilities, he's extremely durable.

Hulk’s power might genuinely have no limits and even after decades of comic book history, his abilities are still constantly being tested.

19. He’s Not the Only Hulk That Banner Has Turned Into

Even though the Hulk is a separate entity, for the most part, there are different Hulks that Banner has been able to turn into over time.

During Peter David’s exceptional run on the series, which cemented much of Hulk’s overall mythology, a gray hulk was introduced.

It was revealed that other aspects of Banner’s personalities could manifest themselves as different Hulks.

The Grey Hulk was more self-aware and referred to himself as Joe Fixit.

He spent an extended period of time as Joe Fixit, even holding down a job as a bouncer at a casino. The introduction of Fixit also made it easier to explore the relationship between Banner and his main, green Hulk persona.

18. He Might Be More of a Hero Than Bruce Is

Over time, the question has been raised again and again in the comics as to whether or not Hulk might actually be a better person than Bruce is.

While Bruce definitely wants to do right, he’s always been unstable and very selfish, struggling to control his anger long before Hulk came into his life.

Hulk, meanwhile, doesn’t want to hurt anyone and simply wants to be left alone, lashing out only when he feels threatened.

This echoes the Frankenstein Monster, which was the inspiration for Hulk in the first place. In that iconic story, the question is always at the center as to who the real monster actually is.

17. He Has Never Had the Trust of The Avengers

Hulk punches Hulkbuster in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Contrary to popular belief, Hulk was not one of the founding members of The Avengers.

He was actually the threat that brought them all together, when he was under Loki’s mind control and they were the heroes who showed up to stop him.

He’s never totally lived down that introduction. For most of the Avengers, Hulk has always been a little too unstable to be totally trusted as a member of the team.

The most extreme example came during Civil War, when they didn’t even trust Hulk on the planet.

16. He Was Shot Into Space When He Became To0 Great of a Threat

Iron Man knew that something was going to happen that would divide the superhero community and tried to make his fellow heroes aware of it.

When the Superhero Registration Act was imminent, Stark knew that he needed to do anything he could to keep public perception positive and that meant incapacitating the Hulk.

When Hulk crashed, he was on a planet called Sakaar where he was forced into slavery and became a gladiator.

Eventually, Hulk made allies on Sakaar, including the likes of Korg and the Silver Surfer, leading a revolution against their oppressors.

15. He Blamed Earth’s Heroes for the Loss of His Family

World War Hulk Doctor Strange Hands Smash

After learning to accept Sakaar as his new home, Hulk even came to find love. He had a wife, who was a fellow warrior like himself, and he even had a child.

He had friends who looked up to him and people who respected him. These were all things that Hulk had never had on Earth, where he was constantly met with persecution.

Unfortunately, this happiness was cut short when Sakaar was nuked. Hulk sought vengeance on the ones responsible, only to learn that they were the heroes who had betrayed him and launched him into space in the first place.

14. He Gets More Powerful as He Gets Angrier

This could genuinely be one of Hulk’s most important traits. It’s one of the things that makes him such a unique and incredible character.

His strength truly knows no limits. Even once he is Hulk, he is technically still constantly transforming. His body is in a total state of flux.

When Hulk actually manages to take a beating, it just makes him angrier, and that’s the key to opening up Hulk’s greatest power.

It turns out that the madder Hulk gets, the bigger he gets. The more he takes a pounding, the more he actually strengthens.

13. His Healing Abilities Rival Wolverine’s

Wolverine fights The Incredible Hulk during his first appearance in Marvel Comics.

In addition to just getting bigger and stronger as he gets more infuriated, Hulk also has an astonishing level of regenerative power.

This, coupled with his amazing strength, is what makes the Hulk virtually impossible to defeat. It’s also why so many people see him as a walking natural disaster, a storm that can’t be controlled, while others want to utilize that power and harness it so that they can use it for themselves.

Even if Hulk didn’t want to live forever, he very likely wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.

His skin is impossibly thick, but if it does manage to get penetrated, he can heal the wound almost instantaneously.

12. He’s Immune to Psychic Attacks

This power is one that Hulk developed over time. Initially, it wasn’t hard for a psychic mind like Professor X to try and subdue the Hulk when he was on a rampage.

However, as time went on, Hulk became immune to any kind of mental attack. For Professor X in particular, this became an enormous problem as he had been a part of the group that had elected to launch Hulk into space even though he didn’t sanction the decision.

When Hulk encountered him, Professor X found himself completely defenseless, as Hulk had become immune to even the strongest psychic mind on the entire planet.

11. He Can Literally Smash His Way Into Other Dimensions

Superman Versus Hulk

Hulk is so strong that he can actually punch a hole in the fabric of space and time. Obviously, this is not something he uses often or that he is even consciously, completely aware of.

However, in the past, Hulk has actually been able to smash his way through the barriers of reality itself and into a completely different world.

Given that the main Marvel Universe is only part of a vast multiverse, Hulk should be wary of this power. I

f he were to ever do this again, there’s no telling where he would wind up.

10. He Can Survive In Space

Planet Hulk Comic in Thor Ragnarok

With the amount of times Hulk has made his way into space, it’s almost redundant to say that he can survive there. However, he can.

This is a talent that very few Marvel characters possess, even most of the many alien races. However, Hulk can somehow manage to survive in space.

It’s possible that his regenerative powers make up for the lack of oxygen.

There’s nothing he can do to avoid floating aimlessly, he has no momentum in space even with all of his strength, but he can survive. It’s not even precisely known how long he could survive in the vacuum of space if he had to.

9. He Can Be Very Gentle

While he is almost always thought of as a rage monster or as a savage beast, being a kind and gentle giant is one of the Hulk’s definitive qualities.

Hulk has gone on some extremely devastating rampages, but he doesn’t like to see innocent people get hurt.

He’s saved Rick Jones’ life countless times. He’s always looking out for animals and children and things that can’t defend themselves because he knows that he has the strength to protect them.

He’s always persecuted for his attempts to help, though, which is a long-running theme in Marvel. It’s basically the defining trait of the X-Men.

8. He Does Actually Have Friends

Rick Jones sitting in a chair in Marvel Comics

Hulk is a loner, for the most part. He’s spent extended periods of time in the wilderness, living among nature and trying to keep himself away from humanity, as they so often try to hunt him and hurt him.

Despite this attitude, though, Hulk does have friends. Chief among them has always been Rick Jones, who served as a sort of sidekick and travel companion to Hulk back in the comic’s early days.

Betty Ross has also been a great ally of Hulk’s, in addition to being the love interest of Bruce Banner.

7. His TV Series Was a Huge Success For the Time

For some people, this one will be obvious, but it’s worth mentioning because so many people think of Hulk’s classic TV show as hokey and cheap.

However, for its time, it was a massive success.

For many people, this is still what they think of when they think of Hulk, even after so many years of comics and movies.

Series star Lou Ferrigno has continued to make cameos in the movies, notably in 2003’s Hulk as well as 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.

The show ran for five seasons, had numerous television specials and spawned three made-for-TV movies after its cancellation.

6. He Has Super Speed

Hulk isn’t just one of the strongest creatures imaginable. He’s also incredibly fast. While his speed doesn’t rival that of someone like Quicksilver and doesn’t qualify him as a speedster, he absolutely possesses a degree of super speed.

Part of this is due to his massive size and strength. Anything that big and powerful can move pretty fast when he wants to.

At the same time, it’s surprising that all of that bulk does not slow him down. Much of that power has to do with the gamma radiation in his system, which fundamentally changed him from the very first time Bruce Banner ever transformed into the Hulk.