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Why the Hulk was an Avenger

There are two ways of considering the Hulk's motives for consenting to be an Avenger way back in volume 1 #1. The first to is examine the motives and history that were evident to readers of the time. The second is to consider what we now know of the Hulk and Bruce Banner given thirty years of hindsight, and especially a decade of excellent Peter David characterisation.

Taking the then-contemporary material first: The Incredible Hulk was cancelled with #6 in March 1963, seven months before the debut of Avengers #1. In his last appearance in his own title the Hulk, now with Banner's intellect but a rather gruff and sneaky personality - akin to PAD's grey Hulk - saved the world from the menace of the Metal Master and gained a pardon for his crimes. Banner had control over his transformations, which were usually done with the help of a gamma-ray machine, although this was a dangerous and unpredictable process.

Yet Banner's life was far from perfect. Still linked with the Gamma Bomb project, subject to the contempt of Thunderbolt Ross, unsure of his relationship with Betty, he remained unhappy and uncertain of himself. Strangely in Hulk #6 it is Bruce's greenskinned alter ego who relates well to Rick Jones' teenage friends, who confidently defeats a powerful menace. Bruce is mothered by Betty, looked after by his cooler young friend Rick and bullied by Thunderbolt Ross. The Hulk for his part is disenchanted with the lack of recognition for his heroic deeds and by the readiness of the world to assign the worst of motives to him.

Despite being ostensibly "cured" of being the Hulk, Banner still found occasion to become his green-skinned other self. Avengers #1 opens with one such occasion, when Loki's illusions lead the Hulk to be accused of sabotage and sest in motion events which will lead Greenskin into combat with Thor. Again the Hulk is accused by a world too quick to judge. Again Bruce is helpless in circumstances beyond his control.

And then the Hulk has his chance. The heroes are forming a team. All of these heroes have reputations, fame, public adoration. Iron Man is the new corporate symbol of the dynamic reborn Stark Industries. Thor is a noble and "classy" Asgardian god. Even Ant-Man and the Wasp had a far higher public profile back then than they enjoy today. Suddenly the Hulk had a chance for recognition, for acceptance, and for companionship.

It didn't work of course. Like the attention-seeking misbehaving child who has to test the limits, the Hulk immediately antagonises his teammates. Sadly, he also finds them as quick to judge and to condemn as the rest of the world. One adventure is enough to show the Hulk that he does not fit in the Avengers any more than he does anywhere else. Banner is again the outsider, the kid nobody picks for their team. In this sense the Avengers failed the Hulk, whose desire to be an Avenger was both compelling and genuine.

Later revelations from Peter David's tenure as writer of the Hulk fill in more gaps. Bruce, abused by his father, socially inept, painfully shy despite, or perhaps because of, his intellectual brilliance, would seek companionship and the acceptance of his peers. The Hulk, despite his oft-repeated plea to simply wanting to be left alone, also wants friendship and recognition (which he occasionally finds with Rick, or the original Defenders, or as Mr Fixit in Las Vegas - the happiest occasions in his life).

Bruce is also terribly guilty because he has unleashed the gamma bomb on the world. In some sense he sees the Hulk as his punishment for that act. In joining the Avengers, in trying to accomplish some good with the evil he has wrought, Bruce is trying to prove to himself that he hasn't committed such an unforgivable crime. Perhaps he is trying to prove that he did the right thing in creating the gamma bomb after all.

Perhaps the Hulk, that strange mix of simplistic, optimistic child and bitter cynical monster, had secret hopes about being an Avenger. Sadly, for this one candidate, those dreams were quickly shattered. And so a true monster was unleashed upon the world...

Follow-up reply to debate: It seems to me that the Hulk's suitability as an Avenger varies depending on which version of the Hulk it is.

The traditional green dumb Hulk probably wouldn't fit in as well with that team as he did with the Defenders. They're too high profile and much more disciplined than Sword-Girl, Bird-Nose, and Magician were.

The Banner-brained Hulk actually did team up with the Avengers against the Leader somewhere just before #300. He didn't make that much impact, in my view. Strangely milksop Banner doesn't have the assertive personality to run with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, whereas the Hulk does.

Clearly the savage, mindless Hulk isn't a very good candidate. I'm not even that keen on him fighting the team. This is usually done to either (a) establish how powerful the Hulk is at the cost of the Avengers, or (b) establish how powerful the Avengers are at the cost of the Hulk. And we've seen it all before.

The grey Hulk might have been interesting, especially during his Fixit days. I can just see a pin-striped Hulk leaping into battle with the Avengers, diamond-studded cane in hand.

And the combined "Robert Bruce Banner, the Incredible Hulk" from Peter David's glory days might have been interesting as well. If the Hulk was able to make an impact on and even lead the Pantheon he should have had a reasonable chance of making it as an Avenger - even standing for Chair! I can just see it now. "The Hulk's leading them? The Hulk!? Isn't he dumb and stupid and wanted as an outlaw? How can he be ploughing through my best troops with those accursed assemblers?"

I don't believe the Hulk is long-term Avengers material. But a dozen issues or so would at least let us see how it might have been.

And another follow-up: The Hulk quit the Avengers in Vol 1 #2. He appeared as the antagonist along with the Sub-Mariner in #3 and then as a very reluctant ally in #5. After that he didn't appear in the book except in cameo until #88 and #100, and then as a Defender during the Avengers/Defenders clash in #116-118. Hulk didn't really consider himself an Avenger even in #100, when anyone who had ever been an Avenger was summoned by magic.

Somewhere about the time that the Hulk messed up his first Presidential pardon (which he received in Hulk vol 1 #6 and had blown by Tales to Astonish #61) the Avengers had stopped trying to re-recruit him. Their last serious attempt was in Vol 1 #17.

At some unspecified point after that but presumably before Avengers #92 the team had clearly decided that the Hulk was a menace and had removed him from their roster. We learned in Avengers Vol 3 #4 that Cap was "voted in" as a founder (the original members who retain special but never really defined privileges) at the time the Hulk was removed from the charter. I say it must have been before #92 because that was when three Skrulls disguised as Thor, Cap, and Iron Man appeared and ordered the then-regular team of Goliath II, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the Vision to disband.

The team's relationship with the Hulk has varied from trying to help him (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2) to hunting him (Hulk #311, for example) to an alliance with him against the Leader (circa Hulk 280ish but my memory's going). They all managed to sit quietly next to him without a fight at Rick Jones' wedding (and indeed, his stag night).

As for the Hulk's being contacted in Avengers Vol 3 #1, the team had worked out that all former Avengers had been targeted, and therefore contacted all of them. Nobody seemed to be trying that hard to recruit the Hulk back onto the squad.

I believe the definitive Hulk and the Avengers story has yet to be written. I look forward to reading it when it is.