an existential discussion on the Hulk

crash41

Ok, admittedly, I haven't read Hulk comics in a long time, but even when I DID read Marvel, the Hulk wasn't one of the books I collected, so your knowledge may be more comprehensive than mine...:
Has the Hulk ever actually referred to anyone as "puny human"? If so, does that mean the Hulk does not consider himself to BE human? And if THAT'S the case, what does the Hulk consider himself to be, if not human?
This should spark a pretty healthy debate... :)>-
aaaaaaannd... GO!

fredzilla

Interesting question. I do think that simply because he calls men and women "puny human" does not mean that he is not human himself. It could just be that he is stating a fact or observation that he is superior to the humans he's dealing with.

I found this doing a quick search. It's from The Incredible Hulk #1

bralinator

Could it be sort of like saying someone is a "weak man" or a "little man" to belittle or intimidate someone? Maybe the Hulk either didn't know what he was, thought he was a superior human, or just chalking it up to poor writing...

WetRats

Hulk is.

Hulk need know no more.

Peter

Anyone have Hulk issue 393 handy? There was a great text piece on the psychology of the Hulk (by Peter David through the voice of Doc Samson I think) that could help with the question.

My guess is he might think of himself as a monster of sorts. How did Hyde think of himself in Jekyll & Hyde?

RickM

Bah! Puny humans just talk all the time!

Chuck_Melville

Hulk discourse!!

Brack

Peter said:

Anyone have Hulk issue 393 handy? There was a great text piece on the psychology of the Hulk (by Peter David through the voice of Doc Samson I think) that could help with the question.

My guess is he might think of himself as a monster of sorts. How did Hyde think of himself in Jekyll & Hyde?

Hyde considered himself to be more of a man than Jekyll was. Hyde is the part of Jekyll that he tried to suppress and the serum frees. Hyde is a younger, smaller man than Jekyll not the hairy hulking beast he tends to get depicted as in adaptations.

So if you look at the Hulk that way, Banner is puny for not indulging his whims the way the Hulk and Hyde do.

fredzilla

Brack said:

Peter said:

Anyone have Hulk issue 393 handy? There was a great text piece on the psychology of the Hulk (by Peter David through the voice of Doc Samson I think) that could help with the question.

My guess is he might think of himself as a monster of sorts. How did Hyde think of himself in Jekyll & Hyde?

Hyde considered himself to be more of a man than Jekyll was. Hyde is the part of Jekyll that he tried to suppress and the serum frees. Hyde is a younger, smaller man than Jekyll not the hairy hulking beast he tends to get depicted as in adaptations.

So if you look at the Hulk that way, Banner is puny for not indulging his whims the way the Hulk and Hyde do.

Jekyll is Hyde with no moral--or social--inhibitions. If you've* never read the actual book you should try. It's not very long at all. It was quite remarkable.

*and by "you" I don't mean @Brack‌ or @Peter‌ specifically but anyone who reads this post. ;)

DennisCuzinski

I think it's a matter of emphasis, yeah? If it's puny human, then he is stating how small and weak the human is. If it is puny human, that emphasizes the otherness of the person as a human, not a Hulk

Peter

Since he used Puny God in the Avengers movie, does that add to the notion that the emphasis could be on the being? God. Human. And that Hulk is other?

DennisCuzinski

Peter said:

Since he used Puny God in the Avengers movie, does that add to the notion that the emphasis could be on the being? God. Human. And that Hulk is other?

Hm. Interesting point. As catchphrases go, it's pretty flexible for a two-word utterance. I think this boils down to writer's intent: some would imagine that he emphasizes the one word, some the other. Mr. Whedon clearly had one thing in mind, while some of the comic writers might have had something else in mind.

nweathington

Hulk liked to call people “puny insects” or just plain “puny” as well. I seriously doubt Stan Lee was thinking about it with any depth when he wrote Hulk’s dialogue. I think he wrote “puny humans” simply because it sounds good. And because it sounds good, other writers kept “puny” around as one of Hulk’s favorite adjectives.

In those first few stories, Stan borrowed much more from Frankenstein than from Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde both in terms of Hulk’s personality and the basic plot lines. In the novel, the Frankenstein creature saw himself both as a man and as a monster, but I’d wager Stan was looking more to the movie version than to the novel for inspiration, so I don’t know that you could really apply the novel’s characterization to the Hulk.

Again, Stan was just making this stuff up as he went along. You can really see that in the first six Hulk stories, where the Hulk’s personality and appearance change with almost every issue—sometimes he’s mean and/or crafty, sometimes he’s like a newborn child. It’s those stories that provided the inspiration for Peter David’s take on Banner/Hulk’s psychological disorder. David created order out of Lee’s chaos. And that’s the beauty of the comic book medium. Years later, another writer can come in and take an early fun throwaway adventure story and layer it with new context and meaning.

WetRats

nweathington said:

Hulk liked to call people “puny insects” or just plain “puny” as well. I seriously doubt Stan Lee was thinking about it with any depth when he wrote Hulk’s dialogue. I think he wrote “puny humans” simply because it sounds good. And because it sounds good, other writers kept “puny” around as one of Hulk’s favorite adjectives.

Let's not forget Peter "Puny" Parker.