While the Hulk
Often blamed for his and Bruce Banner's violent outbursts, Banner isn't exactly the model of pacifism. Sure, he does his best to keep things under control, but Banner is just as much of a Hulk as the rest of his alters. Behind his docile nature, there is a cruel man with a talent for torture. Where the Hulk is fiery rage, Banner is chilling sadism.
It's worth understanding
the nature of Banner's Hulks
to see why he's no different from his gamma-ray-powered alters. Bruce's father, Brian Banner, was a violent abuser who viewed Bruce as a monster.
Brian hated Bruce's intellect as a child, often taking out his anger on Bruce and his mother. In this stress, two Hulk alters were born. The first is the Devil Hulk, a fatherly figure who protects Bruce, but with Brian's hate. In second place is the Savage Hulk, Bruce's childish anger. Then there's Bruce Banner, the last Hulk. Born of fear and anger too, but in a third form: cruelty.
Bruce Banner tortured the abomination
This is far from the only example of Bruce's cruelty
Marvel often adopts Banner's darker tendencies; they are just hidden by the Hulks' destructive personalities. In a recent reddit post from Apprehensive_Mix4658, the user shared a scene from Incredible Hulk #25 (2001) by Paul Jenkins and John Romita Jr. - which highlights this part of Bruce. After Emil Blonsky poisoned and killed Betty Ross, Bruce, Thunderbolt Ross, and all of the Hulks banded together to hunt down Blonsky. After capturing Blonsky, Banner locked Emil in a specialized prison cell. Immobilized, Emil was forced to witness his final interaction with his wife before he leaves and
became the Abomination
on repeat.
Banner doesn't yell, scream or break; He doesn't even smile. As Emil cries and begs Bruce to stop the video, the cruel scientist simply leaves vomiting more apathetic resentment. Unfortunately, this is far from the only example of Bruce's cruelty. During Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley Hulk (2021) series, Bruce walks away from the peace he had just made with his alters and happily traps the Hulk, turning him into a battery of rage. Even in
the latest Incredible Hulk series
- by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein - Bruce still calls himself a monster.
Hatred and cruelty are in your blood
Bruce Banner is his own kind of Hulk
Of course, it is a quality that depends exclusively on the writer. However, when this quality is repeated enough over time, it becomes a character trait. In fact, your first real
act of violence like Bruce Banner
It was a defining moment for the character. Return to Incredible Hulk #312 (1985) - by Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola - Bruce and Brian finally fought physically equal. The confrontation is visceral as they spill blood in a cemetery. Brian is kicked backwards, falling into Bruce's mother's grave, splitting his head open. Although it was always assumed that this was accidental, Bruce insinuated that it was on purpose.
Banner doesn't pretend to have a pacifist nature to contain the Hulk; he does this to contain himself.
At that moment, he realized that he was no different from his Hulks. The Hulk doesn't contain all of Banner's anger; the Hulks were born from this. Banner's hatred, resentment, apathy, and fear they are the defining emotions that redefined his delicate psyche. Hatred and cruelty are in your blood. Brian Banner's abject inhumanity will always define Bruce, no matter what series or writer. Whether he is afraid of himself or accepts his true nature does not change who he is. Banner does not intend to have a pacifist nature to
hold the Hulk
; he does this to contain himself.
Bruce Banner is a “pacifist” to contain himself
Your resentment fuels your cold fury
The point is that, thinking “an eye for an eye”, Banner justifies his own cruelty. When Bruce lashes out the hardest, it's after moments when he's been betrayed or broken. During the World War Hulk plot, Bruce and
the Destroyer of Worlds Hulk
they were equal in their war path of revenge. Years later, during the Original sin event, Bruce mistakenly believed that Iron Man tampered with the original gamma bomb, thus creating the Hulk. Bruce orchestrated a meticulous chain of events to destabilize Tony while creating a new, more intelligent alter-Hulk named Doc Green.
This kind of resentful cruelty is Bruce Banner's specialty. After killing his father, every instance of Banner unleashing his rage was defined by an eerily cold callousness. He meticulously plans his revenge plans, often relying on psychological manipulation to do so. When his plans come to fruition and his victims crumble under his machinations, Bruce smiles in victory, happy to crush his enemies. His pacifism is a disguise because, in reality, Bruce Banner knows he is a Hulk.
Source: Apprehensive_Mix4658