The Hulk: How Much Of A Mindless Beast Is He?

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The Hulk

The Hulk - Marvel's Green Goliath, the raging monster or, as Loki would put it, the "mindless beast" neither friends nor foes can reason with!

Describing the Hulk in this words has become commonplace. But is he really so out of control? Is he a monster both allies and enemies should fear? Does he completely lack a sense of allegiance?

What I will try to point out here is the Hulk is not without a moral compass or without sentiment. He can be reasoned with. He can be turned into a friend. And I mean not as Bruce Banner, but as the Hulk proper.

And I'll reference here certain moments of The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers and Age of Ultron that have stuck with me: they clearly refute the cliché we've grown so fond of, that the Hulk is nothing but a muscle-bound freak who's beyond reason and humanity.

Hit the jump to see my 6 arguments! "˜Cause the Hulk is actually"¦ incredible!

1. He can be tamed. He can be reasoned with

Black Widow taming the Hulk in Age of Ultron

Black Widow taming the Hulk in Age of Ultron

And no, I don't mean the Hulkbuster, which is a means of containment. I mean something else.

In The Incredible Hulk, there is this epic scene with the Hulk and Betty Ross in a cave - after he rescues her from the attack ordered by General Ross.

First slapped by Betty and then anguished by thunders, the Hulk is really not in his comfort zone - if this notion is at all applicable to the Hulk. But Betty manages to calm him down: "It’s ok, it’s just the rain".

Also in The Incredible Hulk, after defeating the Abomination, the Hulk listens to Betty and doesn't apply the death stroke, leaving the monster unconscious (???). He refrains from killing him, which is more than enough to show he's as receptive as it gets in order to do the right thing.

Then there come the two lullaby scenes in Age of Ultron. The Black Widow is the team's Hulk whisperer. And whatever her words ("the sun is coming down") mean to the Green Goliath, they work.

Clearly, Betty Ross and Natasha Romanoff are privileged from this point of view. I dare say they can pacify the Hulk only due to their romantic - however vague - involvement with Bruce Banner.

2. The Hulk is unselfish. He cares

The Hulk saving Iron Man in The Avengers

The Hulk saving Iron Man in The Avengers

This sounds a little mushy, right? But the Hulk clearly has a soft spot for the weak. Or for whoever is in danger. Having doubts? On top of the above, let's remember the following.

Three epic moments from The Incredible Hulk come to my mind. He saves Betty Ross twice (once when she's thrown to the ground and when a chopper is about to crash on her) and then he blows the explosion away, thus saving Betty again, general Ross and whoever is in the crashed chopper.

In The Avengers - and this is perhaps the most emotional of all moments of Whedon's first installment - the Hulk saves Iron Man after he falls from the hole in the sky where he diverted the bomb. Then he bawls at Iron Man to come back to his senses.

Then in Age of Ultron he saves the Black Widow and carries her to the ship. These several emotive moments are enough of a reason to state the Hulk is not as plainly inhumane as we sometimes like to believe.

He, like all commonsensical ogres - you saw what I did there, right? - has layers. And the fact he knows when to jump in to save the person in danger is all the more amazing for an established beast.

3. The Hulk is a team player. He takes orders

The Hulk and his fellow Avengers

The Hulk and his fellow Avengers

Sure he loses control: most of The Avengers is based on that assumption. Loki counts on the fact that after he turns green, the Hulk will trample anything in his way without consideration for who's the friend and who's the enemy.

But the Hulk, apparently, learns.

Indeed, he eventually learns to tell between ally and opponent. The NY battle of Age of Ultron is relevant in this respect. When the Hulk returns to the battlefield, Natasha Romanoff serves this line to Banner: "We could use a little worse".

And then he turns and smashes the bilgesnipe. What does that mean? It means he discerns. The Hulk knows the side he's on. Plus, he takes orders!

When Captain America assigns each Avenger's role in the final fight, well, his task for the Green Goliath is "Hulk, smash!", remember?

Then, the final scene with all the Avengers menacing Loki in Stark's tower: you remember how the Hulk doesn't go crazy. Instead, he fits in. He does what the other do.

Three moments in Age of Ultron can also be cited. After Banner is tossed by the Black Widow into the rift, he turns and Natasha urges him: "Let's finish the job". Which is exactly what they do. There's also a scene then when the Hulk climbs up the rift carrying Natasha on his back.

Again, there's one moral push from Natasha: "go be a hero". And, of course, there is the final team fight, with all the Avengers surrounding and defending the core of Ultron's device. The Hulk fights in line with his friends - "like the old men said: together", in Cap's words.

4. The Hulk speaks. Articulately

Betty Ross and the Hulk

Betty Ross and the Hulk

Yeah, from an alleged mindless beast, this might come as a surprise. But he does utter - rarely, in truth - occasional phrases.

In The Incredible Hulk, after he turns green, he warns the soldiers: "Leave me alone". On top of the fact his warning bears a moral concern - the concern he might hurt the weak - the sentence is clear.

Also in The Incredible Hulk, during his confrontation with the Abomination, he says: "Hulk, smash", as if to voice his plan of attack. Eventually - and this one is the height of all soppy scenes involving the Hulk - he wipes Betty's tears and says her name.

Sure, there is the hilarious "Puny god" phrase he spits out after he crushes Loki in Stark's tower in The Avengers. That's a funny goofy line that will always make me laugh. Or at least put a smile on my face, depending on my mood.

5. The Hulk thinks. He infers what's right

The Hulk and the Abomination

The Hulk and the Abomination

It's not all about smashing around. If this is his ultimate "strategy", the Hulk also, well, reasons. In The Incredible Hulk, when he goes after the Abomination, he is selective. He doesn't hurt other people, his goal is set.

Then he cracks the police car in two in order to make a pair of mitts of sorts, to serve him in his confrontation with the Abomination.

Moving on to Age of Ultron, the same selective killing can be noticed: he strives not to make casualties, and he clearly knows who the enemy is. Well, at least in some of the scenes.

However, the height of all things morally correct the Hulk did so far is his decision to leave the team. I for one don't think his excuse - "where in this world am I not a threat" - actually works, given all of the above.

But his choice reflects the fact he can tell, in his own way, what's right and what's wrong. And, as far as moral lessons from a beast go, the moment when he pushes the Abomination in front of General Ross in The Incredible Hulk - as if to say "there you go, there's your experiment" is supreme!

6. Plus, the Hulk is reliable

Tony Stark proud to have the Hulk on their side

Tony Stark proud to have the Hulk on their side

Yeah, you can feel that in the second part of The Avengers and throughout Age of Ultron. Regardless of the collateral damage he does, his fellow Avengers know they cannot rule the Hulk out.

Remember when Stark, threatened by Loki, proudly says "We have a Hulk" towards the end of The Avengers? That's not random. This is in fact the proof they trust the Green Goliath.

No, what do you think, guys? Do my arguments fly? Is the Hulk more than a mindless beast? Isn't he truly incredible, all the more he proves to have the deeply humane qualities I pointed out above? Have your say below and stay tuned! We'll bring you the hottest scoop on all things Marvel!

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