Does anyone find the Hulk a bit overpowered?

[unstoppable]

anyone?

 

[Mutagen]

Sure, maybe,but I like his abilities more than I hate them.

I also find it humorous when obviously weaker characters are thought to be able to win.

 

[unstoppable]

Sure, maybe,but I like his abilities more than I hate them.

I also find it humorous when obviously weaker characters are thought to be able to win.

but in Hulk's case that's everyone

 

[SuperFerret]

No, it's only the most fanatical fans who think that his strength and anger are limitless that think he's over-powered. He's fairly balanced for a character of his power-level.

 

[Chris Wallace]

anyone?

Nope.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

anyone?

No.

 

[Fantasyartist]

Overpowered_ the Hulk??? How ridiculous can you get- virtually the mightiest entity on the face of the Earth( exceeding even immortals such as Thor or Hercules), as the then Crimson Dynamo notes in #HULK 258, he has defeated not just individual heroes but whole teams such as the combined powers of the Avengers AND Fantastic Four!!!

Terry

 

[Chris Wallace]

No. "Overpowered" would be suggesting that he can do something ridiculous like move planets.

 

[unstoppable]

Overpowered_ the Hulk??? How ridiculous can you get- virtually the mightiest entity on the face of the Earth( exceeding even immortals such as Thor or Hercules), as the then Crimson Dynamo notes in #HULK 258, he has defeated not just individual heroes but whole teams such as the combined powers of the Avengers AND Fantastic Four!!!

Terry

that's my point

 

[Captain Useless]

yes.
A lot.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

yes.
A lot.

Amen.

 

[Mr. Green]

Amen.

What?

He's really strong, sure. But he's no more overpowered than Thor.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He's really strong, which translates into being able to punch time, casually kick the crap out of unbelievably powerful magic entities, see ghosts, spontaneously develop new organs, etc. The Hulk is almost as bad as Superman for randomly gaining new powers, and they're all at obscenely high levels. It's no wonder there are so many Hulk fanboys; the writers just keep ratcheting up his powers and justifying their fanboyism. Most people say "Batman could beat anybody!" and people shrug and snicker. The guys saying "the Hulk could beat anybody!" are often the ones writing the character.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

I dunno, i mean; even back in his earliest days, the combined might of the Avengers AND Fantastic Four (including Thor) couldnt stop him....i think with that in mind the character has been pretty consistent since the beginning...

I mean, what upgrades has he recently had, other than the gill thing, and reaching into the Astral Plane? The Strength, regeneration, ghost-seeing, and invulnerability have been around for quite awhile....

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Just because they've been around for a while, doesn't mean they're less annoying. But the Hulk bores me in general, so whatever.

 

[Chris Wallace]

That's how I feel about Supes.

 

[Dread]

Hulk being overpowered is kind of why I usually find it hard to get into him. Nothing can physically challenge him. There is no threat, either via magic or science that Hulk cannot overcome just by getting madder and charging forward. And while that's fun for people who like those sorts of characters, for everyone else it gets a little simplistic and boring. People complain about Superman, but you can at least physically challenge him with Kryptonite or Magic. The Hulk can punch through practically any demigod or cosmic being if he gets angry enough. Only plot convenient contraptions like a "Hulk Killing Gun" in some stories can challenge him, but, hey, they really don't in the end anyway.

The only way to weaken the Hulk is to drain gamma radiation from him. Far too few threats bother to exploit this.

And it isn't so much that Hulk is overpowered, but it is combined with various threats choosing to fight him in the dumbest ways possible. They usually always seek to fight the Hulk on HIS terms, not trying to cater to his own strengths. Iron Man could try to out manuever around Hulk, exploit his dependence on Gamma Rays with a draining type engine. Instead he gets a slow, bulky HULKBUSTER armor to try to punch Hulk out, which of course always fails. Thor has a multitude of powers to use at his disposal, but against Hulk he does nothing but swing his hammer and then act stunned when Hulk can withstand a single blow, as if Thor never fought anyone stronger than himself ever. Hulk fights to me are more interesting when the enemy is using their own advantages and then Hulk has to adapt, or not.

It all comes down to writing, and too many writers are anything but objective.

 

[random_havoc]

He's really strong, which translates into being able to punch time, casually kick the crap out of unbelievably powerful magic entities, see ghosts, spontaneously develop new organs, etc. The Hulk is almost as bad as Superman for randomly gaining new powers, and they're all at obscenely high levels. It's no wonder there are so many Hulk fanboys; the writers just keep ratcheting up his powers and justifying their fanboyism. Most people say "Batman could beat anybody!" and people shrug and snicker. The guys saying "the Hulk could beat anybody!" are often the ones writing the character.

Completely agree. And this whole "unlimited strength" thing makes no sense. He's supposed to get stronger as he gets angrier, well, anger isn't unlimited. Once someone gets into a rage, that's about as angry as you can get.

Ultimate Hulk's explanation in Ult Hulk/Iron Man (forget the proper title) made a lot more sense. They talked about Hulk instantly adapting to situations> eg when they put him in a Mars environment his body suddenly grew whole new layers of muscle to adapt to the gravity, etc. (don't remember if that was the planet they used or what).

 

[BrianWilly]

I really don't mind Hulk's powers so much as the people he manages to fight and win with that power, almost always with the dumbest reasons. He's so strong he punches magic! He's so angry he can't be mind-controlled! He's so secretly brilliant he's never actually mindlessly killed anyone while he was mindlessly rampaging!

 

[Chris Wallace]

To me, the Hulk's massive strength is a huge part of his appeal. It's not like he's going up against carjackers. No, he's taking on world-class level threats. And he smashes his way through just about everything. But what really keeps me interested is the psychological aspect of it. Beneath all of the Hulk's incredible might is a man who doesn't want it. He struggles every day to keep the beast in check, just because he knows the devastation he can so easily cause. Superman revels in his power (He acts like he doesn't but he does.) That bit in SUperman II where he gave it up for Lois? I thought that was bull. He would never do that. Banner, on the other hand, would trade his 3-mile leap for a normal life with Betty in a nanosecond.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That's how I feel about Supes.

Superman's still interesting to me because 1) they stopped giving him random powers after Crisis on Infinite Earths and 2) while he is extremely powerful, his best stories aren't about physicality; they're about morality and how a seemingly unstoppable man deals with the problems he can't solve with his planet-crushing fists. That's also why I absolutely love the manipulative, super-CEO Lex Luthor who schemes his way to the presidency or into the public's good graces rather than the mad scientist Lex Luthor who just builds armor and tries to out-punch Superman like a ******.

The Hulk, on the other hand, has the mental acuity of a 3-year-old in the vast majority of his stories, so he's only interesting to me as a foil for Banner, who's had less and less of a presence over the years as the aforementioned fanboys-turned-writers put more and more of the focus on new and innovative ways for the Hulk to punch things in the face. That's why the Professor era and Planet Hulk are my favorite Hulk stories--he's an actual character instead of a wrecking ball with a temper tantrum.

 

[Chris Wallace]

I liked the Professor, & I do actually prefer the Hulk speaking in complete sentences. He doesn't have to be a mindless beast to entertain me. As much as I loved hearing "Hulk smash!" in 2008, "Take it all!" was more poignant. But again, to me the Hulk isn't your standard superhero. I love the fact that he's so powerful that it's actually a burden to him. You've got heroes who probably from time to time wish they were more powerful than they are. Every time Spider-Man finds himself getting pinned to a wall by Doc Ock, or has Venom's hands around his throat, or is struggling to stop a helicopter from crashing into a populated street, it's painfully obvious that his strength isn't enough. The Hulk has more strength than he can handle & can actually get stronger under some circumstances.
And it's not like he's so powerful that he can't be hurt, can't be slowed down, or nothing presents a challenge to him. He still got his ass kicked by Juggernaut, & struggles against Thor & the Abomination. He's not totally invincible, the way Superman used to be. At the risk of sounding like I'm picking on Big Blue, it was extraordinarily boring to me when the only thing that was a threat to him was kryptonite. My favorite depiction of him was the 90's TAS, when his invulnerability actually had limitations. So no, I do not feel that the Hulk is overpowered. For God's sake, he's a huge mountain of muscle! He should at least be as strong as he looks! What would you guys prefer? The Ferrigno Hulk, who could barely lift a Volkswagen?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He hasn't struggled against Thor or the Abomination in years. The Juggernaut and the Sentry are basically the only guys who've managed to put a dent in him in the past few years (outside of Planet Hulk, where he was severely depowered as part of the story). He is effectively invincible, in fact. People may give him a good hit here or there, but when the Hulk comes along, do you ever really doubt that he's gonna end up winning? Maybe once out of every ten fights.

And, again, being strong has effectively become the point of the character. There's no development because he's basically too stupid to have a personality; no moral dilemmas like Superman, for all his invincibility, still struggles with; no forward motion for the character; not even much of Banner dealing with the fact that he's got this monstrous side of himself that he hates anymore. That, more than anything else, is why I can't stand the savage Hulk: he always feels like he's just standing still, the same idiotic brute he's always been and always will be.

 

[Mutagen]

He's not powerful enough IMO

 

[Eros]

People complain Hulk is "Over powered" but why do other heroes get into fist fights with him. Getting into a fist fight with Hulk is dumb, yet even Dr.strange has done in these days. Beating Hulk isn't hard, other hereos and villians make it look hard. Hulks main powers are strength and regeneration, and he usually posses basic intellegence levels. Do smart people fight tanks with rocks and pebbles, not they use their brains and resources.