THE DOCTOR AND THE MISTER

[selfantagonized]

[ I N P R O G R E S S ]

[ fandom ] Marvel Cinematic Verse:

The Incredible Hulk The Avengers

[ canon point ] likely post-film



[ name ] Bruce Banner
[ gender ] Male
[ race ] Human
[ age ] Unspecified in film, but likely thirties-forties.

[ occupation ] Fugitive of U.S. Army, physicist with specialized knowledge in gamma radiations.
[ status ] M.I.A.

[ appearance ] Dr. Banner | The Hulk
- Looking like the everyday man, Bruce can be described as lean, healthy, and fit. His clothing consists of whatever is comfortable for him, not too over the top - something that won't get him noticed, but something that's also versatile. Each piece he wears has some thought put into it: a hat is used to hide his face, his pants need to fit him just in case he loses control and changes, but at the same time he has a sense of formality.

For example when in Calcutta, we can see that Banner dresses a little on the formal side, which hints that he may do so to keep his status as a doctor, or at least better identify himself as one to help others in need of his skills. When aboard the helicarrier, his clothing holes little difference, color schemes aside, but in this situation it may be to remind people that he is there only for research, not as The Hulk, not as anything else. He's still a person, not whatever others may think of him.

In the process of turning into the Hulk, all of his clothing is torn; thanks to the generic values of Superheroes, his pants stay on but get torn off at the knees, stretching to accommodate the sudden growth in his frame. Bruce's eyes are a dark color, but when his condition is trigger, they flash a bright, vivid green; as the Hulk, his skin is green, his muscles are more defined, more apparent, his hair changes even - he holds very little resemblance to Banner but they remain the same person.

[ abilities ]
as BRUCE BANNER
- world-renowned genius for work in gamma radiation / science in general
- capable of hiding / laying low when need be

as THE HULK
- super-strength (able to match strength of a demi-god on earth, capable of leveling buildings, can bound buildings in leaps, punch tanks)
- increased durability / resistance (can take bullets better than the average man, the angrier he gets, the stronger he gets, can take grenades and rockets)
- enhanced regeneration skills (skin is 8-10 times stronger than kevlar)
- thunder clap: create a shockwave by quite literally, clapping
- hand-to-hand combat fighter for the most part

More in depth analysis underneath THE DISEASE.

[ personality ]
Guarded and well-versed in hiding his emotions, Banner over the years has become a master of keeping himself composed. He can take surprises better than the average man due to the fact if he doesn't, bad things happen.

Banner's feelings towards his 'condition' change over the years he's had to live with it. Initially, as evidenced by the events that befall him, when things happen, Bruce adapts but he resists. After his first incident as the Hulk, Banner fled and fell off the grid. He doesn't enjoy having a second inhabitant in his head, and his time in Rio de Janeiro hints at that. He managed to hide for five years and even took breathing lessons to better control himself and prevent transforming, which displayed how the lengths he went to to look for a cure, to delay and avoid triggering the Hulk whenever possible.

Later on when he encountered his former lover, Betty Ross, she suggested that there was a way to control things when he transformed, that he was still there when he was the other guy. He denied it. He replied and was blunt, almost livid at her suggestion. He didn't want to find a way to control The Hulk, he wanted to get rid of him altogether, return to the way things were before he volunteered, was lied to. This shows his bitterness at what's happened to him, his mistrust of others because he was taken advantage of, thus Bruce doesn't sit well with others now, especially those who approach him with kindness.

Still, from The Incredible Hulk to The Avengers, there's a transition where Bruce finds compromise with the other guy - in the latter film, he's not as flighty, dodgy when it comes to the other guy. He's learned to relax, not break composure despite the surprises thrown at him (Tony's interaction with him in the lab). If someone is said about him that doesn't sit well with him? Dr. Banner can keep it together, act as if it didn't dent his armor at all.

Despite the abuse of trust he's had with strangers in the past, he approaches them with a guarded yet polite appearance. This can be drawn from when he offers to help a girl whose father is ill - it is revealed that the girl was only hired by SHIELD to drawn him to the edge of the city. Aboard the helicarrier, he's polite with the others, despite knowing that they're aware of his condition - he doesn't hold any bitterness toward them when they regard him as someone with a lit fuse. His nervousness around governmental types, despite his from General Ross and his past doings with Bruce. First impressions worry him.

At his age, Banner has learned to roll with the punches and rather than avoiding chaotic situations that can trigger a transformation, he's grown used to them, chosen to adapt by placing himself in the middle of that chaos. By choosing to be around people instead of in isolation (the transition from the end of The Incredible Hulk in British Colombia to being in Calcutta in the beginning of The Avengers), he can make use of the other skills he does possess, which includes being able to help and treat people who are unable to help themselves,

This allows distractions from other things in his life, such as the lack of relationships he possesses (Betty Ross), due to the fact that he needs to keep a low profile. Settling down isn't an option, and the time he's spent running has show him that he can't have what he wants, isn't allowed close friends or intimate relationships because of the other guy, even if it isn't his fault. This reflects itself in his personality as he is a quiet man more often than not, keeps to himself when he can because why should he try when it won't last long?

He tries to keep a positive demeanor despite things, possessing an odd sense of humor that is overlooked at times (Calcutta with Natasha - "Stop lying to me!! - I'm sorry, that was mean."). Likely, the reason for this is that those around him who know of his 'condition' are more worried that he'll transform, thus can't appreciate the small jokes he makes, or notice the self-depreciating comments he passes in the middle of conversation. Still, Banner remains a genius in his field and while at this point in life he's nowhere near where he imagined he would be, he keeps a level head, continues on as best as he can, him and the other guy.

[ background ]
MCU Wiki Page

[in progress]

[ samples ]
He can't sleep tonight.

Should be able to, but he can't. There's chaos around him, but a year in the middle of all of this should be enough; going to bed in the middle of shouting and waking up to busy streets and pushy vendors should hold little effect on him and to be honest, it doesn't. It's none of the people outside that manage to stress him out and cause this sense of restlessness in him tonight, however. No, it's one person on the inside and he knows just who it is.

Not that he wants to admit it, however. Because even if he did, what good would that do for him? Go to the local doctor (he is practically the local doctor in this part of the city) and tell them 'I need some medicine that will level a rhino because of the other guy living within him who can bring this place down with a single finger'?

That's not possible, he can't do that. That's just not within society norms and as ridiculous as it sounds to do something like that, it's definitely something that Banner would try if it meant no repercussions, no looks as if he was crazy, and definitely no officers being called to handle the crazy man hassling the poor clinic. So instead tonight, Bruce Banner turns on his side, faces the wall and thinks about things to calm himself down instead. He's done this more than a hundred times before, and it's worked before because he can't afford to have it not work. Not when there are people at risk, with children and families and things that he wants but can't have (Betty's face and voice flash across his mind for the briefest moment, and it hurts).

He can't afford to lose control again, so compromise is something he's grateful for at least. The idea of agreeing to disagree, to be allowed to be in a hectic part of the world like the lesser parts here where the people hardly sleep, the sick are always sick and no one gets help unless someone makes the effort to do so.

Bruce hears the other guy snort in the back of his head, wonder what it is that's still pushing him on. Is it to get rid of the Hulk, like he'd wanted to, because he can't stop out of self-preservation?

There are a dozen questions and a half swimming through his mind, each one going at a hundred miles an hour and he could write equations to answer each one of them, get himself a formula that would lead him to the solution but that would still have him up the river without a paddle and that's probably just what stings him the most.

So he settles for agreeing to disagree with the other guy, rolls onto his back and turns his eyes towards the ceiling. The couple above him with the little girl and boy are arguing again (something over the wrong kind of meat for breakfast) and the floor below them and above him creaks but he doesn't worry. He lets a smile reach his face, feels his heartbeat slow down and his body relaxes.

Finally despite the restlessness, Banner finds sleep that night.

[ further references ]

the incredible hulk (2008)

film wiki page
imdb page

the avengers (2012)

film wiki page
imdb page

generic reference

marvel-verse wiki page (for life pre-film; some speculation was used for birth-to-movie canon background with this as source, in regards to Banner's birth / childhood into becoming a dcctor).