This morning, I am watching The Hulk

[giandujakiss]

For completeness, before I see The Avengers. (Stop spoiling me, Tumblr!)

So far, I am mostly amused by the sheer number of references to the TV series.

I loved Bill Bixby, once upon a time.

Hey, comics fans, I have a question - in the comics canon (don't say anything about the movie, please!) did Banner ever get the Hulk under control? Like, was he ever able to make the Hulk manageable, and still do normal life things?

Comments

[tazlet]

Like, was he ever able to make the Hulk manageable, and still do normal life things?

Not my favorite character but there were various books in which he was able to be Hulk+Bruce Banner. I 'think' - it's been forever - there was an another dimension (not an AU) where he was married to the queen of the land and be Hulk the Hero to the people there, and periods with the Avengers, and in his own book, where he was Hulk with Banner's brains - required scientific intervention or magic. There were also stories in which, as Hulk, he could relate to individuals who did not 'see' him as a monster - children, the gentle people of the other dimension, or the literally blind.

[giandujakiss]

So you mean, he was temporarily able to get things under control, but there isn't a permanent solution?

[tazlet]

Yes, it can never be a permanent solution in the books - there's always a new fan-boy come along to reboot it.

[tazlet]

Wikipedia has a Hulk Comic entry that shouldn't spoil you for the movie'

[giandujakiss]

Oh, great - thank you!

[onyxlynx]

In the comic, occasionally he would Hulk out but still have Banner's brain. Which was interesting, but I suspect the writers love the duality/archetypicality of the situation, so it doesn't happen often.

[fairestcat]

These days in comics canon The Hulk and Bruce Banner are very distinct, separate personalities. Actually, these days they are physically separate as well, but that's...complicated, and I don't really know enough about it.

The Hulk is a very different person from Bruce, and while much more volatile when provoked, he is not a mindless beast and does indeed have his own level of control, particularly with people he knows/trusts.

[grammarwoman]

I believe that when he was the gray Hulk, he was able to retain his Banner brain with the Hulk bulk.

[ide_cyan]

You're watching the one with Edward Norton, right?

[giandujakiss]

Yup, that's the one that's part of the same 'verse.

[ide_cyan]

*nods* That one's called "The Incredible Hulk", whereas the non-continuity one is just "The Hulk", which makes for ambiguous references.