C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A LT H E H U L K
R O B E R T B R U C E B A N N E R ♦ S C I E N T I S T ♦ M O B I L E ♦ S . H . I . E. L . D .
C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
"The thing is…I’m always angry."
Scientist Bruce Banner has had a hard life. Born to an abusive father who would ultimately kill his mother, Bruce had trauma from a young age. Spending most of his youth in foster care, Bruce would pour himself into academics. Attending university with a full scholarship, Bruce would spend his life studying gamma radiation and its potential uses. However his experiments would be taken over by the military, who wanted to explore gamma radiation uses as a weapon.
It was under this military leadership that an accident occurred, as massive amounts of gamma radiation was released in the facility. It was during this accident that Bruce absorbed a huge amount radiation as he saved the life of intern Rick Jones. Bruce would fall into a coma, doctors believing that he was on death’s door. But then he awoke, but not as Bruce Banner, but rather the Hulk. Breaking out of the hospital, the Hulk ran away from the military. He would spend the next year hiding from the military, switching between being Bruce and the Hulk.
Eventually the Hulk was captured and taken to a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. It was there that Bruce began to have some control over the Hulk. Eventually Nick Fury trusted him enough to allow him to work with the newly formed Avengers, as a probationary member. Now Bruce is working to come to peace with the Hulk, while working for S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent and scientist.
C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:
So the Hulk is a very tortured character, more so than just being angry. I’ve always found his psyche very interesting. And as someone who struggles with mental illness myself, I’ve always gravitated toward stories exploring that. I can tell you that mental illness is very difficult without having superpowers, much less being possibly the strongest being on Earth. The Hulk, with his shattered mind and different identities within it, can make for some interesting character interactions, even with only technically one character present.
I also want to address the horror associated with being the Hulk. The idea that you unintentionally changing into a raging monster and you can’t stop it. Also I’ll introduce some body horror elements to this Hulk, similar to the Immortal Hulk title, or even something like the film the Fly. Basically the Hulk form is not the end point of the radiation based transformations going on in Bruce Banner.
As for an initial story arc, I’m planning to have Bruce working for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a probationary member. He is then sent to stop an attempt at replicating the accident that created the Hulk. A big point of that would be Bruce questioning why anyone would want to make another monster like the Hulk.
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Betty Ross: Bruce’s true love after meeting in university. She now works as a communications agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Gen. Thaddeus Ross: General in charge of capturing the Hulk until he helped the Avengers save the world. Currently keeps a close eye on the Hulk. Betty’s father.
Dr. Leonard Samson: Bruce’s appointed psychiatrist and psychologist by S.H.I.E.L.D. Is an expert in dealing with super-powered beings.
Rick Jones: Friend of Bruce after he saved his life at the gamma accident. Is now a junior agent at S.H.I.E.L.D. and a big advocate for the Hulk.
Dr. Walter Langkowski: A fellow gamma radiation researcher from Canada. Currently works close alongside Bruce Banner at the S.H.I.E.L.D. science division.
Gen. John Ryker: Corrupt army official in charge of the Gamma Corps, a military unit that is experimenting with gamma radiation as a weapon.
Capt. Emil Blonsky: A Russian immigrant, Emil joined the army as soon as possible. As been assigned to the Gamma Corps.
Pvt. Benjamin Tibbets: A fresh young army recruit. His first assignment was with the Gamma Corps.
Dr. Geoffrey Crawford: Bruce’s old professor. Joined the Gamma Corps to possibly find a cure for his terminal disease.
The clock ticked again, meaning another minute had passed without talking. Bruce Banner was comfortable in silence, it brought a kind of peace to him, a lull in the storm. Perhaps Doctor Samson realized that as well as he had been very patient with him. Bruce tended to avoid looking Samson in the eyes, as he did so with most people. For he feared that if he stared in anyone’s eyes long enough, he would see the abyss within himself and the monster that lived there.
But with Samson in particular, there was another reason for Bruce to not look at his face. The government appointed psychiatrist had a neutral expression adorn his face, but Bruce could see the slight kind smile. It was a look he had first seen in his mother Rebecca’s face. It wasn’t overt happiness, but rather an acceptance of the situation and extending some kindness to those around them.
As Bruce thought of his mother, his mind drifted to other early memories. Soon his mind was spiraling down the tube of trauma, his childhood boogeyman laughing at him as he fell into the darkness. Fear swelled across Bruce’s body, that fear quickly turning into anger. There was a visible change in Bruce’s demeanor, his pupils dilating, his breathing accelerating, his fists clutching the sides of the chair with great strength.
“Bruce, is there something you would like to talk about?” asked Dr. Samson calmly.
Bruce continued to grip the chair, slowly causing it to warp. He then managed to say, “It’s the anger. It’s back. It wants me out of here.”
“You mean the Hulk?” questioned Samson, “If he wants to say something, why don’t you let him?”
“There’s no reasoning with him. If I give him an inch, he’ll take a mile, replacing me in this body,” explained Bruce.
“But you have managed to speak to him in the past,” stated Samson, “Making some kind of deal, like when you helped the Avengers.”
“He only went with that because it gave him things to smash,” scoffed Bruce.
“Then give him things to smash. As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. they do provide you with missions, missions that have bad guys to beat up. You’re both sharing a body, so compromise is necessary,” explained Samson, “And I would like to try an exercise, one to help attune your mind.”
“Alright, what do I have to do?” asked Bruce.
“Just close your eyes,” answered Samson, “And listen to what I’m saying.
Bruce did so, his grip on the chair loosening as he was surrounded in darkness. Doctor Samson then began to talk, telling Bruce to imagine a relaxing place and focus on it. Bruce’s mind wandered to places he wished he could go to. The beaches of Hawaii immediately came to mind.
Before the accident, before he became the Hulk, Bruce had plans to marry Betty Ross, their ideal honeymoon in Hawaii. But that didn’t happen, and yet now in his mind, Bruce stood on the beach. It was exactly like he pictured it. Except there was somethings wrong. Instead of being a perfect sunny day, the sky was filled with black and purple storm clouds, electricity visible above. That and the ocean itself was a bright green in color.
And standing about twenty feet away from shore stood the Hulk, the green water up to his knees. Bruce then looked up and down the beach, only to see it abandoned save himself and the Hulk.
“You shouldn’t be here puny Banner,” said the Hulk as he turned to Bruce.
“We’re supposed to talk,” explained Bruce, “And we could start with what this place is?”
“Bad place,” answered the Hulk, “It’s a green world. Full of Hulks.”
“Hulks, plural?” questioned Bruce.
“Yes. Even you a Hulk puny Banner,” stated the Hulk.
Bruce was bewildered by this statement, wondering what it meant. But his body seemed to react to his confusion, as he felt his flesh ripple. Before Bruce could process what was going on, a face formed in his right palm. As Bruce looked at it, he immediately recognized the face of his father.
“You idiot,” shouted the father face, “You’re broken. You went and shattered your mind. You could never do anything right.”
“Shut up!” shouted Bruce as he slammed his left hand on his right hand, but the face moved, now placed on top of Bruce’s forehead.
“Look, they’re coming to see you,” said the father face.
And sure enough, as Bruce gazed at the ocean he saw figures rising from the green water. Some looked like him, others like the Hulk, but all of them were warped in some way. Bruce’s heart began to race as these deformed beings neared the beach.
“Hulk still strongest!” screamed the Hulk as he threw himself at the deformed Bruce and Hulk figures.
The battle was bloody, the Hulk tearing into these malformed copies. It was all too much for Bruce, who had a wave of anxiety rush over him. He then fell backwards, ending up on the beach.
Bruce closed his eyes, wishing the horror away. And when he finally opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor of the conference room, his chair next to him.
“Bruce are you alright? Did you just have a seizure?” asked Doctor Samson as he helped him to his feet.
“No, just a weird vision,” said Bruce, his throat dry.
“Well, you should go to the infirmary,” suggested Samson.
“No, I’m fine,” replied Bruce, who then glanced at the clock, “And it seems that our session is done for today.”
“Alright, but if you feel unwell in any way, call me or any of the other medical staff,” stated Samson.
Bruce just nodded as he left the conference room. Even though the presence of the Hulk had receded, Bruce was uneasy. The green beach was probably some kind of hallucination, a side effect of being bombarded with radiation. But it had seemed like he was really talking to the Hulk, which would mean that those misshapen creatures were real.
The notion scared Bruce, having all these creatures existing in one’s mind. But like most times that Bruce felt overwhelmed with emotion, he turned to food. Bruce hoped that they were still serving lunch here in this S.H.I.E.L.D. facility’s cafeteria. As Bruce headed for the cafeteria, he was glad that feeling hungry was much easier to deal with for him than being angry.
