The 1962 Marvel comic character the Hulk is based on losing his temper. The otherwise mild-mannered Bruce Banner gets angry and his gamma-ray-infused blood fills him with rage.
Banner lives in a state of conflict between his scientist and Hulk selves. Through the comics and MCU, audiences have seen Banner gain a stronger ability to control his rage.
How does Bruce Banner stay calm and control the Hulk? He has done it through several stages that ultimately led to a Smart Hulk.
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The Hulk’s Rage
Bruce Banner has been the “alter ego” of the Hulk since the first comic about this superhero. Since Banner was exposed to gamma-ray radiation, his Hulk self comes out when he gets really angry.
In the early comics, the Hulk’s rage was initially tied to the nighttime, and his emotions did not fuel his strength. But eventually, his emotions came to play a dominant role.
The situation evolved into Banner losing control of when the Hulk comes out, and the Hulk is fueled by such emotions as hate and fear.
Once the Hulk is unleashed, villains (and anyone else) beware. His uncontrolled rage is incredibly powerful and destructive.
The Hulk is a force to be reckoned with, stronger than anyone on Earth and with an unlimited top strength level.
As we can see from this clip of the first Hulk movie from 2003, once Banner gets angry enough, the Hulk takes over with house-destroying power.
The Hulk in the comics provides the basis for this kind of rage. When Banner is transformed into the Hulk, his blood is overpressured with radiation that turns his skin green.
The Hulk is usually shown in the comics and on-screen as a raging, uncontrollable force. Yet, he has also emerged in different forms, from a tactical soldier to a brilliant scientist.
How Does Bruce Banner Calm Down?
We should remember that Bruce Banner is a nuclear physicist and biochemist first. So, he wants to return to that state of things. He spent years living in obscure parts of the world to avoid his transformations and try to find a cure.
The Hulk does calm down eventually on his own. Yet, Betty Ross is one person who helps him do so.
Ross is Banner’s main love interest who helps reel the Hulk back in. She is a scientist who has helped Banner search for a cure for his Hulkness.
In the MCU, audiences discovered another source for calming the Hulk–the Black Widow.
Banner engages in a relationship with Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, and that helps with calming down. In particular, Black Widow uses a lullaby in Avengers: Age of Ultron to soothe the Hulk.
She lightly touches the Hulk’s hand and says “the sun’s getting real low.” This means of calming the Hulk is unique to the movies, yet may connect with the comics.
As others have described, this is a “hypnotic suggestion” along with a hand movement that may be based on the comic idea that the Hulk originally came out at night.
Thus, the Hulk can calm down on his own or with help from Ross or the Black Widow. He also discovered long-term ways to deal with his anger.
How Does Banner Stay Calm and Control the Hulk?
The Incredible Hulk movie from 2008 revealed how Banner began to control his anger through meditation and breathing exercises.
Following the Duel of Harlem where the Hulk battled the Abomination, Banner pressed further for ways to calm down. By way of meditation, he focused on gaining control over the Hulk.
These are real-life methods used to control emotions and anger. For example, slow controlled breath helps lower heart rates and slows down emotions. Hence, the Hulk is drawing on Earth practices to stay calm.
By the time of the Avengers movie in 2012, the Hulk has evolved and circumstances also play a big role in how he controls his anger.
At one point in the film, audiences see the out-of-control destructive Hulk. Yet, later we witness a controlled Hulk that takes the lead of the Avengers. This latter Hulk emerges because Banner has found a means to channel his anger.
When the Chitauri attacked New York City, Banner could summon his anger and direct it to defeat this enemy.
What has occurred is the development of Two Hulks, one that is out of control and one that is not. As Marvel fans have expressed, the latter Hulk is a matter of choice in the Avengers movie.
That means the Hulk can still be provoked into an uncontrollable rage, but he can also anticipate and control when to elicit that anger to fuel his power.
This character evolution in the MCU goes further too.
How Does Smart Hulk Control the Hulk?
Marvel fans remember Thanos’ Snap in Avengers: Infinity War from 2018, and how it wiped out half the universe. Once this happened, Bruce Banner traveled to Mexico and worked with Tony Stark to create a Smart Hulk.
This Hulk merged Banner’s thinking and consciousness with the Hulk’s massive body. The Smart Hulk was instrumental in Avengers: Endgame (2019) in restoring the lives taken out by the Snap.
This Smart Hulk shows a different type of Hulk altogether, one that is in control of the rage that had informed most incarnations of the Hulk.
Now we see a Hulk that co-exists with Banner, and vice versa, and blends physical strength with top intellect. Yet, Smart Hulk has lost “the rage factor” from the previous characters and some of that destructive force power.
Smart Hulk stays in control because Banner is in control and has his full intelligence operating. Hence, the Hulk’s previous reckless power was lost in the remake.
This merged Hulk has connections to real-life anger management. Many people struggle with controlling anger and, as with the Hulk, have to find ways to manage it, not avoid it.
Smart Hulk thus provides a lesson along with a character progression.
Banner and the Hulk Controlling Anger
The Hulk we have traditionally known is filled with uncontrollable rage. Yet, with some help, the Hulk found ways to calm down.
In the 2008 MCU movie, the Hulk took active steps to control his anger through meditation and channeling his anger.
By Endgame, we see a completely in-control Smart Hulk. Bruce Banner is in charge and calm, but always angry still.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.