The Hulk: Despite All My Rage, What Makes Me Cool is Still Hard to Gague

To show how directionless he was from the get-go, he was even conceived as grey!

 Two things that the comic book superhero has always has, a contribution to, or measure of, their success, are iconic-ness, and world-building. There are plenty of examples of the latter lacking the former. After all, one does not need to necessarily be a huge success in order for the author to come up with ideas. Although continued and expansive publication will certainly allow for that opportunity. The Hulk, however, is an interesting case where he is definitely iconic. Any given non-comic reader could name him, even before the superhero media boom of the 2000's. The "Hulk Hands" were the most popular toy of 2003. However, he has always been a character with a very low expansion rate. Spin-offs are extremely rare. In a time where even Adam Warlock could somehow sustain two titles, it's always been difficult for the Hulk, even though the character has rarely been in danger of cancellation. Likewise, while he had a well-known (but perhaps not frequently rerun) television series, his other media incarnations have been dubious. Two aborted attempts at a movie franchise...he was only seen as being done "right" onscreen with this summer's Avengers. How is it we have a character that can't quite be a cash cow, but manages to thrive as a...cash oxen?

It's probably not that hard to figure out, really. After all, a character who spends the story as either an impotent weakling or mentally dull brute does not offer the most variety for storylines. In fact, the comic book seems to be the most interesting when the formula is broken. Usually he's given Banner's intellect, and sent into a microscopic universe, a space gladiator, a freedom-fighter for an organization named after characters from "The Odyssey", or a mob enforcer. Sometimes they'll really throw us for a loop with giving us a gray Hulk or a red Hulk. Writers manage to do the most with the character when they throw our expectations for a loop. He is in "deconstruction mode" for 80% of the time. It's just somewhat fortunate that the formula, is so well known, even to those who aren't comic book aficionados, that they don't have to worry about building up what they're tearing down. Most people know who the Hulk is going in, so almost every story can be "Everything you know about the Hulk is CHANGED", although we are soon given a snapback to the original premise.

Ferrigno has actually had a part to play in every live-action Hulk incarnation

It probably doesn't help either that the Hulk, as a superhero, is remarkably limited in his power set. In addition to not being a particularly smart character in his powered identity, the only thing he is...is strong. Punching can be a lot of fun, but offers limited ways to take things. It's almost the equivalent to professional wrestling. It has its ardent fans, but for those who want more than muscles, (Especially in today's media, which seems to emphasize finesse more than brute force), it can offer scarce little. The Hulk is the "strongest one there is", which means very little physical threat. This has affected the popularity of characters like Superman, Thor and many others. But at least those characters have a wider variety of settings, maneuvers, and inner monologue. In his purest form, the Hulk can't be physically bested, but he also has very little motivation. Therefore, one has to go to great lengths to make the adversary interesting, and unfortunately, writers have largely missed the ball on it.

A lot of these factors did not hurt the television show at all, (Which jettisoned a large, large part of the character's "mythology", which probably says how integral it all was.) for several reasons. One was a large party of Bill Bixby's appeal as a television leading man. Another is simply how different the television climate was at the time. Television was allowed to be a lot more formulaic at the time. The "failure is the only option" premise was fairly common in television. Likewise, the largely rotating "person to person" cast seen in shows like The Fugitive and Highway to Heaven was perhaps a boon to viewers, who had less opportunity to catch up on reruns. Television today, much like comics for decades, rely on a loyal fanbases who eat up the storyline and demand a constantly undulating narrative. Prime time television did not really focus on serial storytelling like comics had at the time. Hence a the success of a character simple enough for the medium, but dark and poignant enough for the seventies.

She-Hulk, one of the few "spin-offs" that caught on.

                                                       

And it is a poignant concept. An incredibly poignant one. The concept of a gentle man who, when losing his temper becomes an uncontrollable monster is so simple, so primal, it's amazing it is not a well-known, centuries old fairytale. The Hulk idea draws a lot from previous stories...Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Beauty and the Beast, various werewolf tales...but somehow they all came together in something even simpler. Perhaps this is only really effective fable in a world that post-dates The Enlightment and Psychology. In a world more mental than physical, the horror of losing control strikes a deeper chord. Nevertheless, even without a great deal of powers, archenemies, or supporting cast that garners a large collection of Wikipedia articles, we have a character that has become the very shorthand for anger. (In practice, Banner turns into the Hulk under duress more than anger, but never let the details get in the way of a good icon.) Thus the character remains popular enough maintain a series (With shakeups every now and then to keep readers and especially writers from getting bored), but without inspiring too many different premises one ostensibly needs to justify another book. The major exception being She-Hulk, with a witter, more light-hearted personality, allows her to be more proactive in her own stories, as well as partake in teams, almost perenially, in contrast to the usually lonely male counterpart.

The journey to the screen has been a hard one. It's perhaps likely the Hulk might have done better in the 90's, and the disaster movie craze found in it. Large explosions, military trappings, and long talking between the money shots. This was a cultural fabric the Hulk probably fits more squarely into. But the quick, snarky ensemble franchises of the last ten years or so was a different kennel of fish. It probably didn't help that Ang Lee made a film that was perhaps a lot, lot more avant garde than it needed to be. (And used a lot of strange comic book style-framing that was really unnecessary for a character more inherently cinematic than a lot of his funnybook compatriots.) After another attempt in 2008 that was largely deemed "perfunctory", the Hulk was, of all things, deemed the breakout of 2012's The Avengers. This was especially ironic considering he wasn't even a very prominent member of the team in the book's nearly 50 year history. But perhaps with the movie being much looser in its format than the comic has to be, we don't need to deal with the minutiae that would bog down long-form storytelling. The Hulk's "third time's the charm" circumstance itself owes to a few things. Perhaps Mark Ruffalo was just better suited as a more gentle contrast to the beast, (as opposed to the colder Bana, and more intense Norton.) Or maybe without him driving the story, the crew could focus what was fun and compelling about the character. In any case, it shows that even though creative types don't know what to do with the character, the Hulk, as an idea, is one that has a lot of appeal to the masses.

Kids will always find visceral appeal in playing a raging monster.

 In fact, the character took a couple years to even catch on in the comics. Launched as a solo title, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby meandered giving the Hulk different triggers for transforming every issue, or even giving him the ability to fly for one story! After being canned for one issue, the character become a recurring guest star/sparring partner, and being part of the launch for the Avengers comic series. It was only collaborating with Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko to Lee find a groove that fit. So in some ways, his cinematic outings are history repeating itself. Will writers take the comic version into even stranger directions? Does Avengers give faith in continuing solo outings with the Hulk? Who knows. But it's perhaps a testament to how enduring comic book icons can be. This is a character that has seen highs and lows, derision and applause. He's an interesting case study on the difference between having an extensive mythology, and being a compelling myth.