A rare moment. Betty Ross sharing a laugh with the Hulk. The Incredible Hulk #373 Cover

But of all the guy superhero girlfriends and wives, I thought that Betty Ross is the most resilient for her man because she could never have a “normal” household relationship with Dr. Bruce Banner.  The Hulk is a brute with Banner having just a modicum of control.  And whenever he’s sighted, the US Army, the Avengers, or other superheros / supervillains will come gunning for him.  So it’s not like the Hulk will come home to Betty after a hard day’s work and cuddle with her in bed or on the couch.  In the 2008 movie, Bruce Banner can’t even have sex for fear of becoming the Hulk in the middle of love throes.  But still, she stuck with Bruce (at least in mind and heart), even when she married Major Glenn Talbot.  Eventually, she married Bruce Banner after Major Talbot’s demise.  Now that’s a love story.

In the movies, Betty Ross was played by two hot babes, Jennifer Connelly and Liv Tyler.  I’ve always given a slight edge to Jennifer Connelly as a preference.  Curiously enough, there was no character named Betty Ross in the 70′s The Incredible Hulk TV series.

Need more reasons? He’s a misunderstood and complex persona. People are afraid of him and he doesn’t like ‘em much. But fans do like seeing him pissed off and kicking ass. But when he’s enraged, all he really wants is to be left alone. More times than not, he tries to runaway from a fight. But when he gets boxed in or cannot escape … well, we know that he gets stronger as he gets madder.

There are other sides to the Hulk. Yes, I said “sides”. Those who do not follow the comic books only know him as a giant green brute who springs from an angry Dr. Bruce Banner (David Banner in the 70′s TV series). As anger subsides, he transforms back to Dr. Banner. This happens when the Hulk is finally at rest and left alone in peace, usually after a successful escape from harm,

What I find intriguing about the Hulk and Dr. Banner personalities is that they are not alter egos such as Superman / Clark Kent, Batman / Bruce Wayne, or Spiderman / Peter Parker. One does not complement the other. Within the same being, there is an inner struggle between the two personas– Dr. Banner tries to suppress his anger to the detriment of himself so that the Hulk is not set free to destroy and the Hulk tries to get out whenever possible, most times to the chagrin of the Dr. Banner.

There was a short period when the two were fully separated. Doc Samson managed to extricate the Hulk from Dr. Banner and the two were completely separate beings. This was an extremely terrible time in the Marvel universe because without Dr. Banner to reign in the Hulk, the green brute’s boundless rage made him a bigger menace. In order to control the Hulk, Dr. Banner reluctantly agreed to merge with the Hulk again. This time, however, the intricate process formed two more personalities within the Hulk/Banner being, namely the gray Hulk, a.k.a. Joe Fixit, and a very smart “Professor” Hulk.

As the Professor Hulk, he has Dr. Banner’s intellect and, at the same time, the green Hulk’s body and strength. This one is kinda bizarre to read, especially after getting used to the Hulk as a dumb brawn who smashes things to solve problems. He’s the one carrying a machine gun in the picture above. The Hulk using a weapon?! There’s something going on there…

As the gray Hulk, he walks around in a tailored suit and a fedora, not unlike a mafioso. Hey, gangsta!

It can be tough keeping up with the Hulk. If all you know about him only comes from the movies, TV series, and perhaps cartoons, then you only know half of his story, just Banner and the green Hulk. This blog will attempt to explore the many sides of the Hulk, touch up on his friends, and anyone in the Hulk universe. And that includes bad guys.