History YMMV / IncredibleHulk

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* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Re-reading the original Lee-Kirby issues of Hulk from a certain point of view, it can be easy to interpret Banner as being gay, and the Hulk as straight. Banner's heterosexuality has been firmly established in the decades since, but still. This illuminates the way General Ross keeps calling him a milksop, why Banner seems indifferent to Betty but the Hulk is obsessed with her, and why Banner ''really hates'' being transformed into a caricature of he-man heterosexuality.
** Where does the Hulk's hatred of humans come from? Is it because he hates Banner, either for containing him or being weak, and sees humanity as an extension of him? Is it because of the mistreatment Banner suffered throughout his life? Is it just because he is different from them? Or is there [[http://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Igor_Drenkov_%28Earth-616%29 a more specific reason stemming from his origin story]]? [[note]]Banner only became the Hulk because while attempting to rescue Rick Jones, he ordered his colleague to halt the countdown, but said colleague was a Soviet spy and tried to indirectly kill him with the bomb. Given that the Hulk regards the bomb as an attempt to kill him, and the cause for much of his misery, rather than his "creator", it would be understandable why he'd come to hate everyone involved in its creation, including Banner, and the incident that led to his emergence. [[/note]]
*** In ''Immortal Hulk'', Rick Jones raises the possibility that the Hulk hates even ''being'' human, that he's something non-human forced into human form (which also [[FridgeLogic raises the question]] of why he's ''in'' human form in the first place, given what gamma mutation can do - does he blame Banner for viewing him that way?).
* ArcFatigue: The mystery of who Red Hulk was dragged on for roughly two years; by the point the arc was finished, nobody really cared.
* AuthorsSavingThrow: Jeff Parker got a ''lot'' of good stories out of the Ross family after Loeb left the books.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: Considering all the different incarnations of the Hulk, who in RealLife terms would be very different separate types of people, those who first came into contact with a particular aspect of one incarnation recurrently strongly dislike very contradictory versions.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
** An early issue has the Hulk getting sent to a BadFuture by a ray-gun, whereupon he's attacked by a futuristic army working for someone. After a brief fight he's transported back to the past, and this strange sequence of events is never mentioned again.
** When the Hulk was infected by a Wendigo and became the Wendi-Hulk.
* BrokenBase: The fandom generally falls into two camps. The first group likes the Earth's Mightiest Mortal aspect of the character, and like stories which concentrate on the Hulk fighting enemies that only he can defeat, and using his physiology to perform near-impossible feats (for instance, the Hulk can get anywhere on Earth by jumping there). The second group likes the character of Bruce Banner and how the Hulk represents his shattered psyche. The broken base is best exemplified by the two Hulk films that were made in the 2000s. The Ang Lee one was made by and for people in the second group; ''The Incredible Hulk'', on the other hand, was made for people in the first.
** Also Bruce Jones's run as writer. Some love it for being wonderfully atmospheric, others hate it for its disregard for previous continuity. Peter David all but [[CanonDiscontinuity removed it from canon]] when he returned as writer by announcing Nightmare had been messing with Bruce / the Hulk's perceptions during that time.
** And finally, which version of the Hulk do you like best? Savage Hulk, Devil Hulk, Smart Hulk, and Joe Fixit are usually the top contenders.
* CantUnHearIt:
** Chances are you're reading Hulk stuff (including the SelfDemonstrating [[SelfDemonstrating/IncredibleHulk page]]) in Creator/FredTatasciore's Hulk voice. Creator/LouFerrigno is another candidate. For Banner himself, there's Creator/GabrielMann (''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''), Creator/EricBana (''Film/{{Hulk}}''), Creator/EdwardNorton (''Film/TheIncredibleHulk''), or Creator/MarkRuffalo (the greater Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse).
** Chances are you would read the Red Hulks lines in either Creator/SamElliott or Creator/WilliamHurt's voices, or even Creator/ClancyBrown for either identity.
* CompleteMonster:
** [[ArchnemesisDad Brian Banner]] regularly beat [[DomesticAbuse his wife Rebecca]] and [[AbusiveParent their son Bruce]], eventually killing Rebecca when she tried to leave him. He forced Bruce to lie in court that Brian hadn't done anything to hurt either of them, but was arrested after drunkenly bragging about having gotten away with murder at a bar. Brian returned to murder Bruce years later after his release, [[NeverMyFault blaming his own violent actions on Bruce]], who killed him in self-defense. After being resurrected by the Chaos King, Brian, transformed into the Devil Hulk, would try to kill his resurrected wife a second time along with his son Bruce, now known as the Hulk, and grandson, Skaar. During the events of ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'', Brian aids the One Below All in his attempt to enter the physical plane so he can completely destroy the Marvel Multiverse, planning to use his own son Bruce as a host to allow the One Below All entryway.
** The ComicBook/{{Maestro}} is a [[FutureMeScaresMe future version]] of the Hulk. Ninety years [[AfterTheEnd after the world is devastated by nuclear war]], the Hulk has changed his name to the Maestro and builds a city state called Dystopia out of the wreckage of New Year City. [[EvilMeScaresMe The Maestro]] rules as a [[EvilOverlord dictator]], taking whatever he wants from his subjects and hoarding almost all the food and resources for himself. When Maestro sees a woman he fancies, he forces her to become his [[SexSlave slave]]. The outside of his palace is littered with corpses of those who have defied or displeased the Maestro. The Maestro has his SecretPolice patrol the streets, killing anyone who would oppose him. After the Maestro's forces have captured one of Rick Jones's rebels, the Maestro [[MindRape subjects the rebel to a machine which forcibly scans a person's mind, which puts him in a vegetative state]]. When Rick Jones uses Dr. Doom's TimeMachine to bring the Hulk to the future to defeat the Maestro, the Maestro takes one of his slave girls hostage to force Hulk to surrender to him, before paralyzing the Hulk by breaking his neck and forcing one of his slave girls to [[RapeByProxy perform sexual acts on him]] without the Hulk's permission. The Maestro even murders an elderly Rick Jones, the man who was once his best friend, for opposing him. The Maestro also tells the Hulk he prefers his harem of slaves to his former wife Betty Ross, because his slaves don't talk back to him or have opinions of their own.
** ''Franchise/TheIncredibleHulk: What Savage Beast'', by Creator/PeterDavid: The ComicBook/{{Maestro}} is a corrupt future version of the Hulk and the [[EvilOverlord dictator]] of a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic world]], killing anyone who opposes him and taking any woman who catches his fancy as a SexSlave. Maestro kidnaps Skooter, a freedom fighter who works for an elderly Rick Jones, and [[MindRape forcibly scans Skooter's mind]] to learn the location of Rick's encampment, where he kills everybody there. Maestro then breaks Skooter's legs and performs taxidermy on Rick for defying him, and takes from Rick a gem called the Timeond, which he uses to visit a different dimension, where an intelligent Hulk lives with Betty Ross in secret. Maestro, [[KillAndReplace as elderly scientist Amos Trotter]], offers to cure the Hulk, in order to get close to Betty, who is about to give birth. Betty gives birth to a child named Brett and Maestro reveals his true colors, kidnapping Brett and returning to his own dimension, where he raises Brett to be as cruel as he is. When the Hulk comes to the Maestro's dimension and gets help from another rebel encampment, Maestro orders everyone in the rebel camp to be slaughtered. Maestro has been using the Timeond to recruit Hulks from various timelines to become his army and plans to go to the Hulk's dimension to ravage it, [[OmnicidalManiac killing millions in the process]]. When Brett opposes this genocidal scheme, [[OffingTheOffspring Maestro tries to kill him]].
** ''ComicBook/OldManLogan2016'''s "Days of Anger" & "King of Nothing" arcs: The ComicBook/{{Maestro}}, a corrupt version of the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk from an alternate future, stands out as a particularly vile villain. Maestro arrives on Earth and takes over Hulk's brood of inbred children after Logan killed this world's version of Hulk. Maestro has the Hulk Gang take over a military base in the Yukon territories, killing all the guards there. Maestro also has one of the Hulk Gang, Billy Bob, [[YouHaveFailedMe killed for his incompetence]]. Maestro uses the base's resources to create several nuclear bombs. Maestro plans to use the Hulk Gang as [[SuicideAttack suicide bombers]] and [[NukeEm have them blow up several major cities]], destroying most of humanity. Maestro promises the Hulk Gang they will survive the blasts, but that is a lie, they will die along with most of humanity so that Maestro can rule over a [[AfterTheEnd post-nuclear-holocaust]] world. After Maestro's genocidal scheme is foiled and he is confronted by Logan and Hawkeye, Maestro attempts to set off a nuke, to take out everyone in the area, out of spite. After that defeat, the Maestro reappears later, having conquered a small Northern Canadian town, where Maestro kills anyone who opposes him and turns the women of the town into his [[SexSlave sex slaves]].
** ''YMMV/PlanetHulk'' gives us Angmo-Asan, the Red King. See that page for more details.
* CreatorsPet: The Red Hulk under Creator/JephLoeb. Shortly after being introduced he beat Odin-forced Thor with his own hammer, punched out the Watcher, killed the Grandmaster (who is immortal), casually killed off the whole Defenders (including the '''ComicBook/SilverSurfer!''') and much more. Luckily, he got depowered when Parker took over, and every hero that has been beaten by him before [[LaserGuidedKarma returned]] to [[CurbStompBattle return the favor]] in some very satisfying ways.
** [[CurbStompBattle His getting casually owned by Galactus]] at the height of his wankery was pretty satisfying as well.
* DorkAge: Many readers regard the period after Peter David first left the book, or even after Paul Jenkins' run, as this leading up until just before Planet Hulk. There was a clear lack of direction of where the Hulk was going, and every shift made to the book would be undone as soon as the next writer came on board. It got so bad that when PAD came back, [[ArmedWithCanon he pretty much erased the run of three different writers with a single line up until the time he first left]]. Which was six years prior.[[note]]Al Ewing subsequently brought two of them back by having the Hulk CallBack to the events of Paul Jenkins' run, confirming that it, and by extension John Byrne's run, had happened, leaving only Bruce Jones' run CanonDiscontinuity.[[/note]] Likewise, Jeph Loeb's run on the book is often regarded as one: mainly known for relegating the Hulk into a ''guest character'' in his own book, a Villain Sue EvilCounterpart running around beating up half of the heavyweights in the MarvelUniverse, before ''killing'', reviving, then de-powering the Hulk (in a ''MilestoneCelebration'' of all things), a number of Hulk derivatives abounding (even putting aside Red Hulk), a random FaceHeelTurn of Doc Samson, and every one of them receiving as much an explanation for the twists and turns that occurred during Loeb's run. Which is to say not much of one. Eventually, Greg Pak, the writer of ''Comicbook/PlanetHulk'' and ''Comicbook/WorldWarHulk'', was brought alongside Loeb to write a concurrent book building on Loeb's storylines, but in reality, [[AuthorsSavingThrow likely to try to make sense]] of the sheer insanity that Loeb brought in his run.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Rick Jones, after Peter David made him into a CrazyAwesome NiceGuy who worked perfectly as Hulk's best friend.
** The Devil Hulk. He only appears once in a blue moon, but whenever he does, it's ''horrifyingly'' memorable. He's frequently mentioned as one of the Hulk's most terrifying enemies. [[spoiler: [[BreakoutCharacter He even ended up getting his own new ongoing]] in ImmortalHulk and his portrayal in there only made him even more popular.]]
** The Gray Hulk/Joe Fixit.
** Jim Wilson. Although he's been dead and rarely mentioned for decades, his death storyline and his friendship with the Hulk is well-remembered to this day.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** In 2011, [[Series/TheColbertReport Colbert]] joked about the possibility of a Chinese/Asian Hulk (while commenting on [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan Miles Morales]]). And guess what? A couple of years afterwards, Marvel announced Amadeus Cho as the new Hulk!
** The Hulk series has a tendency of introducing characters who are basically prototype versions of future ones. The Metal Master was one for Magneto and somewhat Molecule Man, while Blossom from issue 217 was one for Big Bertha, the Blob's SpearCounterpart.
** The Red Hulk, despite not being... well, red, made his debut as a ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' story. [[http://www.comicvine.com/homage-covers/12-43734/incredible-hulk-1/108-7074/23113-homage-covers/105-120310/ Here, have a laugh.]]
* HoYay:
** There are some instances between Banner and Namor, and the exchanges between them at times look like SlapSlapKiss. In one issue of the PAD series Namor complimented Banner on being muscular.
** During the "Circle of Four" arc in ''Venom'', Red Hulk and Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) quickly found common ground because of their military background.
-->'''Comicbook/GhostRider:''' I swear, you two are just a hair away from kissing each other.\\
'''Venom:''' Don't ask; don't tell.
* InformedWrongness: Writers have a habit of painting anyone who reacts negatively to the Hulk's destructive temper as being in the wrong. Thaddeus Ross is the most frequent victim of this but even other superheroes aren't immune:
** ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'': The decision of the Illuminati (Iron Man, Mr Fantastic, Blackbolt, Charles Xavier and Dr. Strange) [[ComicBook/PlanetHulk to shoot the Hulk into outer space]] is treated as an unforgivable crime and a terrible betrayal of a close friend, ally and hero. Except the impetus for the Illuminati's decision was the Hulk going on a rampage which killed about 22 people. This was also a period in which [[ComicBook/CivilWar anti-superhero political forces were just LOOKING for an excuse to enact registration laws.]] Exiling him was being pretty lenient and arguably doing him a favor since "Leave Hulk alone" is one of the Hulk's catchphrases. That's not even getting into the fact that the Illuminati [[spoiler:were innocent of planting a bomb in the ship Hulk was in which was the reason for the Hulk's RoaringRampageOfRevenge in the first place.]]
** ''Giant-Size Hulk #1'': The story "Green Pieces" has the Champions of Los-Angeles (Black Widow, Iceman, Hercules, Darkstar, Ghost Rider and Angel) about to be recommended for freeing the U.S from the mind control of Dr Doom in an older story when they receive word that Banner is back in town. Knowing what tends to happen when the Hulk is around, they scout the city for him. Angel encounters him first when Banner [[HulkingOut hulks out]] in the middle of a traffic jam. The Hulk throws a car door at Angel who has to intercept it from hitting a nearby couple. The other Champions arrive and engage the Hulk until he decides to leave for a hospital and turn over a woman who was in the car to the doctors. This woman turns out to be Jennifer Walters, Banner's cousin and after her surgery she explains that Bruce was trying to get her to the hospital after her appendix burst. When Hercules asks why the Hulk did not simply explain his troubles, Jen responds that the Champions never tried to ask him what his problem was. The story tries to make it look like the Champions jumped to conclusions and attacked the Hulk without cause but the Hulk did not make himself look sympathetic by attacking the first person who approached him and endangering nearby civilians. Hell, considering that Jen was ''in the car'' when Banner hulked out, it's a miracle she was still alive when he got her to the hospital.
** Skarr, Son Of The Hulk, was hit with this really hard throughout his entire miniseries. The narration and tone constantly informed us that he was pure evil. And while he certainly did a few [[WellIntentionedExtremist morally dubious things in his quest to stop the slavers and slaughterers rampaging across the planet]], they were phrased in such overblown ways to make them seem worse than they were that it just seemed melodramatic (with one of his "worst" offenses being a ''bluff'' of PayEvilUntoEvil). This culminated in Skarr being wrong for ''not wanting Comicbook/{{Galactus}} to eat his planet'' because, apparently, Galactus eating the planet was for the greater good... keep in mind, Earth superheroes regularly bluff Galactus with '''destroying the entire universe''' to make him leave Earth alone, which means he just goes off and eats someone else's planet.
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: Banner being permanently rid of the Hulk and his subsequent death at the hands of Hawkeye were immediately undone when [[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} The Hand]] brought him back to life.
* MemeticBadass:
** In the Fall of 2013, a website, [[http://famousmonsters.com/brawl Famous Monsters of Filmland]], held a tournament between various comic characters from DC and Marvel where fans would vote to determine the outcome. In the final match, Hulk defeated '''Batman'''.
** It's generally accepted by fans, that like Batman and his prep-time, given enough time for the Hulk to get mad enough, he could take down a huge amount of characters.
* MemeticMutation:
** '''HULK SMASH PUNY LANGUAGE'''!
** HulkSpeak good for DumbMuscle, show lack of smarts while still making point.
** "HulkingOut" describes someone driven to rise up and wail on everyone, especially if one wouldn't expect them to have it in them.
** "Puny X!", borrowing Hulk's oft-phrased reference to humans as "[[PunyEarthlings Puny humans!]]" This meme was elderly until ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' rejuvenated it with the Hulk's ''only'' line of dialogue.
--> '''Hulk''' (flinging Loki's unconscious, battered body to the floor): Puny god.
** A good one was during ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', where fans would state "I'm with [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony]]" or "I'm with [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve]]". A third camp popped up, stating "You're all fucked when the Hulk gets back!", a reference to Hulk's imminent return from the then-ongoing ''ComicBook/PlanetHulk'' storyline.
** Ross' [[BadassMustache mustache]] and its incredible abilities.
* MoralEventHorizon:
** The Abomination almost murdering Betty Ross by giving her cancer.
** The Leader detonating a gamma bomb in the middle of a small town of five thousand people in an attempt to create more gamma-powered superhumans. This worked for about one in a thousand. The rest were ashes.
* MyRealDaddy:
** Peter David wrote the book for over ''12 years'' and pretty much shaped the mythos, cast, and central traits of the Hulk. Like Chris Claremont for the X-Men, nearly every run of the Hulk builds off what PAD started.
** Jeff Parker, the writer on the red Hulk's solo title, has done an amazing job of rebuilding and redeeming the character.
* OlderThanTheyThink:
** The coloration of the Red Hulk is hardly anything new. The Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno Hulk series has a WhatCouldHaveBeen of changing the Hulk to red instead of green since red is more associated with anger than green is.
** ComicBook/NineteenSixtyThree Hulk-based character N-Man is red in color as well.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Once [[MyRealDaddy Jeff Parker replaced Loeb as the red Hulk's writer.]]
* RootingForTheEmpire: Zeus gained quite a lot of MemeticBadass Internet credibility due to beating the Hulk, despite hardly being the best person himself.
* SeasonalRot: While most of Peter David's run on the book is pretty iconic, readers agree that 1995-1996, the first two years after the "Pantheon" era ended, were the low point with David not at his best. The book took a darker turn mostly shifting away from the balanced comedy-drama writing David was known for, the artwork started to get real hit or miss, and then it got mixed up in the whole ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' and ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' business which resulted in Hulk and Bruce Banner getting separated. It got back on track in 1997 around the time Adam Kubert took over as artist, with the title shifting back to its "dramedy" style and Banner returning a few months later.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: In ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', the Illuminati get a number of "WhatTheHellHero" speeches from other characters for [[ComicBook/PlanetHulk shooting the Hulk into outer space]] and allegedly planting a bomb in his ship that killed Hulk's wife and child. The latter is unforgivable but the former can be excused by the impetus for the decision being Hulk's rampage in Las Vegas which got about 22 people killed. This was also a period in which [[ComicBook/CivilWar anti-superhero political forces were just LOOKING for an excuse to enact registration laws.]] Exiling him was being pretty lenient and arguably doing him a favor since "Leave Hulk alone" is one of the Hulk's catchphrases. And the Illuminati only end up looking even more like [[DesignatedVillain designated villains]] when it is revealed [[spoiler:that the bomb that killed Hulk's wife was not planted by them but by loyalists of the Red King who wanted revenge against the Hulk for overthrowing their leader and that Miek, one of Hulk's new friends, knew about this but didn't tell Hulk because he wanted him to become the [[PersonOfMassDestruction Worldbreaker.]]]]
* TakeThatScrappy: Once the Red Hulk makes a HeelFaceTurn, Thor and Galactus decide to beat him up in retaliation. The moment where Red Hulk wields Mjolnir is handwaved in that he picked it up in space where there is no gravity and turns out he can't lift it on the surfaces of planets.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Regarding Jim Wilson's death from AIDS, one letter regarding the issue felt that the subplot ultimately amounted to this, as right after Jim was revealed to have the disease he was injured and hospitalized thanks to the supervillain Speedfreak, and then wasn't even mentioned in over thirty issues (outside a cameo at Rick Jones' wedding) before finally [[BackForTheDead showing up again where his death occurred]]. As they stated, "It's not enough to ask us to feel for Jim Wilson because he had AIDS, especially when we could (and should) have felt for him because he was a three-dimensional character we had grown to love."
** [[spoiler: After establishing Amadeus as Hulk in 616, showing Banner accepting his new state of being Hulkless in issues 7 & 8 of Totally Awesome Hulk and potentially becoming the ZenSurvivor mentor to Amadeus, he's promptly and brutally executed in ComicBook/CivilWarII.]]
* {{Wangst}}: Sometimes his whole 'Leave Hulk alone' shtick can get quite tedious, especially at times where he actually ''manages'' to be left alone, but then starts crying about how he has nobody close to him.
* TheWoobie:
** In some ways Bruce Banner is very unfortunate, given all of the abuse, isolation, and mental illness he has suffered from.
** The ''ComicBook/PlanetHulk'' storyline proves that [[DiabolusExMachina neither the Hulk nor Banner are allowed to have a happy life]]. He's exiled all the way to another planet, where he manages to overthrow the corrupt government and become a hero and the new king, finally finding a place where he can belong. He even manages to find a wife, and has a child on the way. Then the shuttle that brought him to the planet explodes, killing her and destroying the entire city.
** Before that, there was Jarella, a WarriorPrincess from the Microverse who was not only an ideal mate for the Hulk ''and'' Banner, but loved them both equally and unconditionally. Every time it seems like they would be able to be together, Hulk was forcibly pulled back to the macroscopic world, until finally, Jarella was brought to Earth with him, and they looked set to have an idyllic, carefree life together. Their very first day out as a couple, she was [[DroppedABridgeOnHim crushed by falling rubble]]. Jesus.
** Betty Ross's life has not been a happy one either. Her relationship with Bruce has been repeatedly beset by obstacles caused her father and Bruce's enemies, she has suffered a miscarriage and has been mutated three times against her will.
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** Chances are you're reading Hulk stuff (including the SelfDemonstrating [[SelfDemonstrating/IncredibleHulk page]]) in Creator/FredTatasciore's Hulk voice. Creator/LouFerrigno is another candidate. For Banner himself, there's Creator/GabrielMann (''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''), Creator/EricBana (''Film/{{Hulk}}''), Creator/EdwardNorton (''Film/TheIncredibleHulk''), or Creator/MarkRuffalo (the greater Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse).

** Chances are you're reading Hulk stuff (including the SelfDemonstrating [[SelfDemonstrating/IncredibleHulk page]]) in Creator/FredTatasciore's Hulk voice. Creator/LouFerrigno is another candidate. For Bruce himself, there's Creator/GabrielMann (''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''), Creator/EricBana (''Film/{{Hulk}}''), Creator/EdwardNorton ('Film/TheIncredibleHulk''), or Creator/MarkRuffalo (the greater ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'').

* CantUnHearIt: Chances are you're reading Hulk stuff (including the SelfDemonstrating [[SelfDemonstrating/IncredibleHulk page]]) in Creator/FredTatasciore's Hulk voice. Creator/LouFerrigno is another candidate. For Bruce himself, there's Creator/GabrielMann (''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''), Creator/EricBana (''Film/{{Hulk}}''), Creator/EdwardNorton ('Film/TheIncredibleHulk''), or Creator/MarkRuffalo (the greater ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'').

* HoYay: There are some instances between Banner and Namor, and the exchanges between them at times look like SlapSlapKiss. In one issue of the PAD series Namor complimented Banner on being muscular.

* MyRealDaddy: Peter David wrote the book for over ''12 years'' and pretty much shaped the mythos, cast, and central traits of the Hulk. Like Chris Claremont for the X-Men, nearly every run of the Hulk builds off what PAD started.

%%* RelationshipSue: Jarella. A strong, beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman who not only could make both the Hulk and Banner happy, but also loved them both equally and unconditionally, regardless of Banner’s weakness or Hulk’s savage nature. Unlike most examples she was very popular with fans, just [[FirstGirlWins not as popular as Betty]]. Despite strong fan support, and the writer’s original intentions to eventually bring her back, she had largely stayed dead, probably because an idyllic romance for both personalities at the same time would strip out most of the angst.

** [[EvilMeScaresMe The Maestro]] is a future version of the Incredible Hulk. 90 years in the future after [[AfterTheEnd the world is devastated by nuclear war]], the Hulk has changed his name to the Maestro and builds a city state called Dystopia out of the wreckage of New Year City. In Dystopia, the Maestro rules as a dictator, taking whatever he wants from his subjects and hoarding almost all the food and resources for himself. When Maestro sees a woman he fancies, he forces her to become his [[SexSlave slave]]. The outside of his palace is littered with corpses of those who have defied or displeased the Maestro. The Maestro has his SecretPolice patrol the streets, killing anyone who would oppose him. After the Maestro's forces have captured one of Rick Jones' rebels, the Maestro [[MindRape subjects the rebel to a machine which forcibly scans a person's mind, which puts him in a vegetative state]]. Afterwards, Maestro kills him with his own hands, because the rebel had insulted him earlier. When Rick Jones uses Dr. Doom's TimeMachine to bring the Hulk to the future to defeat the Maestro, the Maestro takes one of his slave girls hostage to force Hulk to surrender to him. He then proceeds to paralyze the Hulk by breaking his neck and forces one of his slave girls to [[RapeByProxy perform sexual acts on him]] without the Hulk's permission, all apparently for his own sick amusement. The Maestro even murders an elderly Rick Jones, the man who was once his best friend, for opposing him. The Maestro also tells the Hulk he prefers his harem of slaves to his former wife Betty Ross, because his slaves don't talk back to him or have opinions of their own. The Maestro is devoid of anything that made the Hulk sympathetic and is considered by the Hulk to be one of the most detestable foes he ever had to contend with.

* InformedWrongess: Writers have a habit of painting anyone who reacts negatively to the Hulk's destructive temper as being in the wrong. Thaddeus Ross is the most frequent victim of this but even other superheroes aren't immune:

* CantUnHearIt: Chances are you're reading Hulk stuff (including the SelfDemonstrating [[SelfDemonstrating/IncredibleHulk page]]) in Creator/FredTatasciore's Hulk voice. Creator/LouFerrigno is another candidate. For Bruce himself, there's Creator/GabrielMann (''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''), Creator/EricBana (''Film/{{Hulk}}''), Creator/EdwardNorton ('Film/TheIncredibleHul''), or Creator/MarkRuffalo (the greater ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'').

* CantUnhearIt: Chances are you're reading Hulk stuff (including the SelfDemonstrating [[SelfDemonstrating/IncredibleHulk page]]) in Creator/FredTatasciore's Hulk voice.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Zeus gained quite a lot of MemeticBadass Internet credibility due to beating the Hulk. These people apparently forget that Hulk generally does far more good than bad, whereas Zeus is a torturer, a rapist, and a pompous tyrant willing to commit genocide for petty reasons.

* MagnificentBastard: The Joe Fixit Hulk loves to fight. Oh, and he loves to fight dirty. And there's the Leader during the ''Ground Zero'' arc. Bruce Banner does his best to qualify when absent the Hulk in Greg Pak's run ... and from the perception of everyone good and bad, he succeeds ... magnificently.

** Before that, there was Jarella, a WarriorPrincess from the Microverse who was not only an ideal mate for the Hulk ''and'' Banner, but loved them both equally and unconditionally. Every time it seems like they would be able to be together, Hulk was forcibly pulled back to the macroscopic world, until finally, Jarella was brought to Earth with him, and they looked set to have an idyllic, carefree life together. Their very first day out as a couple, she was [[DroppedABridgeOnHim crushed by falling rubble]].

* RelationshipSue: Jarella. A strong, beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman who not only could make both the Hulk and Banner happy, but also loved them both equally and unconditionally, regardless of Banner’s weakness or Hulk’s savage nature. Unlike most examples she was very popular with fans, just [[FirstGirlWins not as popular as Betty]]. Despite strong fan support, and the writer’s original intentions to eventually bring her back, she had largely stayed dead, probably because an idyllic romance for both personalities at the same time would strip out most of the angst.

* RelationshipSue: Jarella. A beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman who not only could make both the Hulk and Banner happy, but also loved them both equally and unconditionally, regardless of Banner’s weakness or Hulk’s savage nature. Unlike most examples she was very popular with fans, just [[FirstGirlWins not as popular as Betty]]. Despite strong fan support, and the writer’s original intentions to eventually bring her back, she had largely stayed dead, probably because an idyllic romance for both personalities at the same time would strip out most of the angst.

** [[ArchnemesisDad Brian Banner]], regularly beat [[DomesticAbuse his wife Rebecca]] and [[AbusiveParent their son Bruce]], eventually killing Rebecca when she tried to leave him. He forced Bruce to lie in court that Brian hadn't done anything to hurt either of them, but was arrested after drunkenly bragging about having gotten away with murder at a bar. Brian returned to murder Bruce years later after his release, [[NeverMyFault blaming his own violent actions on Bruce]], who killed him in self-defense. After being resurrected by the Chaos King, Brian, transformed into the Devil Hulk, would try to kill his resurrected wife a second time along with his son Bruce, now known as the Hulk, and grandson, Skaar. During the events of ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'', Brian aids the One Below All in his attempt to enter the physical plane so he can completely destroy the Marvel Multiverse, planning to use his own son Bruce as a host to allow the One Below All entryway.

** [[ArchnemesisDad Brian Banner]], Bruce Banner's father, regularly [[AbusiveParents beat him]] and [[DomesticAbuse Brian's wife, Rebecca]], eventually killing Rebecca when she tried to leave him and forcing Bruce to lie in court that Brian hadn't done anything to hurt either of them. Arrested after drunkenly bragging about having gotten away with murder at a bar, Brian returned to murder Bruce years later after his release, [[NeverMyFault blaming his own slip up on Bruce]]. After being killed and resurrected by the Chaos King, Brian, transformed into the Devil Hulk, would try to kill his resurrected wife a second time along with his son Bruce, now known as the Hulk, and grandson, Skaar. During the events of ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'', Brian aids the One Below All in his attempt to enter the physical plane so he can completely destroy the Marvel Multiverse, planning to use his own son Bruce as a host to allow the One Below All entryway.