Should the MCU Do Scarier Hulk Stories?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a Hulk problem for years. From the film rights agreement with Universal over the character to the way the MCU has used the Hulk, fans of the strongest Avenger have never really gotten the kind of Hulk-centric movies they’ve craved. That’s a shame, because the Hulk has had some amazing stories over the years, many that would fit beautifully into the MCU and give fans the kind of gamma irradiated action that they’ve been wanting ever since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk debuted in theaters. The Hulk has a very vocal fan base, and they deserve to see their hero at his best, but also at his absolute scariest.

The interesting thing about the Hulk is that his best stories, like the 50-issue series The Immortal Hulk, aren’t exclusively action comics, they’ve had a heaping helping of horror within them. While the MCU has used the Hulk as a smashing machine, they’ve missed the best parts of what the Hulk truly is. MCU fans want more Hulk stories, and this raises an important question — should the MCU start doing scarier Hulk stories? There’s a very interesting argument about why the answer should be yes.

The Hulk Is a Horror Character

Most MCU fans probably don’t think of the Hulk as a horror character, but anyone who has read the comics or watched the late ’70s/early ’80s The Incredible Hulk TV show knows the truth. The Hulk is ostensibly a sci-fi character — Bruce Banner was a nuclear physicist who created the most powerful nuclear weapon of all time and his powers come from gamma radiation — but looking at the early Hulk stories, including the cover to The Incredible Hulk #1, it’s easy to see the horror elements of the character. Marvel basically advertised the Hulk as a continuation of their old school monster comics, and Stan Lee added a heaping helping of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde into the character.

The early Hulk was a curse on Bruce Banner, one who came out at night, just like Mr. Hyde, and caused mayhem. His stories showcased him fighting against other monsters, but there was no doubt that the Hulk himself was one of them. Of course, the first series of The Incredible Hulk only lasted for six issues before folding, so fans of the 1960s seemingly weren’t into this more monstrous type of superhero. Eventually, Marvel found the perfect niche for the character and the Hulk become one of the more popular Marvel characters. That niche involved playing with the monstrous nature of the character, often pitting an out of control Hulk against other heroes, and bringing the horror aspects of the characters back.

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Bruce Banner’s struggles with the Hulk have taken a psychological aspect as the years went by, which truly brought the character to the next level. Banner’s DID and the way it affected the Hulk was the perfect way to show how the multiple beings inside Banner worked, showing the horrors of a man who would never have complete control of himself. The Hulk is a monster through and through, and his affect on the world and Bruce Banner’s life fit nicely into the psychological horror niche. Many great Hulk stories made the coming of the Hulk a horrific moment, using the fear of this rage monster’s actions to make even readers nervous when the Hulk would show up.

The Hulk is also an example of body horror, something that is completely on display in The Immortal Hulk and the current The Incredible Hulk series as well. Bruce Banner’s transformations into the Hulk were rendered in all their grisly detail, showing off the physical effects of the transformation. The Immortal Hulk in particular went all in on revealing how the disparate aspects of the Hulk’s history show that he’s a horror character, taking multiple moments and showing how easily they fit into horror tropes. It’s the perfect example why the Hulk is Marvel’s best horror character.

The MCU Needs More Variety and Hulk Horror Stories Can Give Them That

The MCU has gotten a bit stale in recent years, which can happen to any bit of serialized fiction. Superhero comics have proven to be just as punishing, and it’s hard to keep a story that never ends fresh. Now the MCU is learning this the hard way and Marvel fans are constantly trying to figure out how to bring back the MCU of old. One of the problems with the MCU is that formula became the standard over the years, and no one at Marvel Studios seems ready to let it go. However, it’s definitely about time that they try to expand the scope of cinematic superheroes, and a great way to do that is embracing the horror side of the Hulk.

While the fact that Marvel would have to pay Universal to use the Hulk is a problem, they’ve made that kind of deal for Spider-Man already. Everyone would get rich off a great Hulk movie, and using that film as a vehicle for a scarier kind of Hulk story is the way to go. Horror is a rich part of the superhero genre that the MCU hasn’t tried very much, and using the Hulk for it has the potential to pay off big time.