Mark Ruffalo's Hulk is the best green, mean guy to smash the screens and here's why
After the staggering success of 'The Avengers (2012), 'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Avengers: Endgame', it seems impossible that a time existed where the Hulk was not played by Mark Ruffalo. But believe it or not, there was.
Ruffalo's Bruce Banner/Hulk was a tad more goofy and fun than Edward Norton's mean green machine. Both the actors brought something different to the table, and perhaps, had Norton spent more time with the character, he would have given his own special dark twist to the character. Yet, the journey wouldn't have been the same, and the relationships on the franchise would have been different.
Ruffalo's Hulk did the dab, brought tacos for Ant-Man and could give hilarious punch-lines to lighten the tension.
Fans will always remain divided on this casting choice: Some believe that Norton deserved to stay on as Hulk, others are more than happy that Ruffalo took over.
Recently, in an interview to Variety, Ruffalo revealed that he tried to talk Joss Whedon out of casting him for the role. "I said, ‘I don’t know if I’m the right guy, I’ve never done anything like this.’ Between Joss and Robert [Downey Jr], they were pretty convincing that I could do it. I was scared. I was really scared. I’m still scared. The technological aspect of it makes it really hard to work that way. I struggle with it all the time. But my motto is make fear your friend. Just keep pushing yourself into those places where you feel scared or challenged."
It hasn't been an entirely easy journey for Ruffalo. Apart from accidentally streaming 'Thor: Ragnarok' online, the actor has also received more than his fair share of hate from fans. Many fans have slammed him for 'bleak line delivery' and 'lack of facial expressions'. A fan on Reddit had once written,"Idk if it’s his bleak monotone line delivery or his lack of facial expressions but I can’t get on board with this guy. His performances are steadily going in the wrong direction. I have my theories as to why but wanted to see if this was just my own opinion or if others share the same feelings."
Others preferred Norton's angsty Hulk and wished that the MCU had taken the route. "Some characters should be more morose than others, and it gets boring when they're too much the same. Making Hulk fun and silly makes about as much sense to me as Snyder's brooding and angsty Superman," another fan wrote on Reddit.
A comment on Twitter read, "He is the Worst Hulk... of course he is looking for more work...!!!"
So you get an idea of the kind of hatred Mark Ruffalo has received for playing Hulk. But to be honest, he brought a new freshness to the role. He gave the Hulk so much more soul and character, rather than just being surly and angry. He fit into the MCU idea of playing Hulk — a character with an explosive temper, angry, and yet still perfectly balancing out the angst with the comedy scenes.
It's the little things Ruffalo's Hulk does, that show him as a broken man, who won the fight against the monster within him. His relationships with his team, be it his feelings for Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) or respect for Tony Stark, is what contributed to the heartbeat of the franchise. Norton did a great job with the role (not counting Eric Bana), but Ruffalo had the time to expand and grow with the character, and make him one of the most lovable members of the team.
So what we're saying is, that haters can hate all they want, but Mark Ruffalo's Hulk has been burnt into our minds.
