Hulk's Best Quotes From Each of His MCU Movie Appearances

6 days ago 6

Dr. Bruce Banner and his furious alter ego, The Hulk, have had a memorable journey throughout their Marvel Cinematic Universe movie appearances, always getting in a memorable line or two. Between Bruce Banner's profound intellect and dorky sense of humor and The Hulk's sheer rage and child-like emotional maturity, the original Avenger has been the source of some impactful lines throughout the MCU. Even if Disney's rights to a solo Hulk film prevented him from headlining a movie more than once, The Hulk has been an integral voice in each of his appearances in the franchise.

Hulk's role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline has gone through drastically varying levels of importance. In some Avengers films, the power of the Hulk and Dr. Banner's keen intellect keep him in the spotlight, allowing for some great dialogue to be channeled through him. Even in his lesser, more brief stints in mid-credits scenes, The Hulk or Bruce Banner is usually able to find something memorable to say.

9 "Hulk Smash!"

The Incredible Hulk

As simple of a phrase as it may be, it's hard to downplay the importance of The Hulk's iconic catchphrase showing up in his first stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Hulk himself is seen quite seldom throughout The Incredible Hulk, getting the most sustained screen time towards the end of his film along with his fight against Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. Abomination. At first getting thrashed by his monstrous opponent, Hulk can only watch as Abomination goes in for the kill against Betty Ross.

Luckily, the sight of this activates even more of the latent well of rage hidden within The Hulk, causing him to spring back into action while yelling his iconic battle cry, "Hulk smash!". Hulk's screentime may have been spare in this first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie appearance, and his spoken words may be even fewer. That being said, the movie had a good understanding of when and where to drop the character's most famous lines.

8 "That's My Secret, Captain...I'm Always Angry"

The Avengers

Paying homage to the classic pre-existing lines of a comic book character is all well and good, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe's films truly shine when they're creating their own iconic quotes. This sentiment is best expressed in scenes like The Battle of New York, in which Bruce Banner is given rare license to go all-out as The Hulk against a powerful enemy. As a massive Chitauri Leviathan makes its way to The Avengers, Captain America suggests to Dr. Banner that now might be a good time to "get angry", only for Bruce to coolly reply with the now iconic phrase.

Putting his money where his mouth is, Banner effortlessly transforms into The Hulk, stopping the rampaging beast dead in its tracks. Not only does this line precede one of the biggest displays of power in an Avengers movie, but it also cues viewers in to just how much progress Dr. Banner has made in controlling his alter ego since the events of The Incredible Hulk. It's hard to match the sheer aura of Bruce Banner in this phenomenal scene.

7 "I Don't Have The...Temperament"

Iron Man 3

As a supporting character, Bruce Banner has found his way into a surprising number of obscure post-credits and mid-credits scenes over the course of his MCU career. The first of these is in Iron Man 3, which chronicles Tony's PTSD following the events of the Battle of New York. Tony works through his trauma verbally to an unseen listener in the film's post-credits scene, which is revealed to be none other than Dr. Bruce Banner himself...who has fallen asleep.

Realizing his mistake, Dr. Banner apologizes to Tony, though he insists that his doctorate doesn't qualify him for interpreting such heavy emotional baggage. Trying to explain himself, Banner suggests that he doesn't have the temperament for therapy. While his specific choice of words here is quite the humorous play on words, with Banner's temper being a core conceit of his character, his floundering with Tony's inner complexities is also endlessly entertaining.

6 "I Could Choke The Life Out Of You Without Changing A Shade"

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Bruce Banner Hulk Green Eyes Age of Ultron

One of the harshest realities of rewatching The Hulk's MCU appearances as the universe went on is the loss of Bruce Banner's edge, with Professor Hulk's comedy stylings quickly eclipsing his depth as a character. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, this unhinged scariness lurking in the background of Dr. Banner's personality was still very present. It shows up in a chilling line Hulk delivers to Wanda during the team's tense second confrontation with the Maximoff twins as they decide what to do with Ultron's waiting perfect body that would eventually become vision.

Having just sent The Hulk on a mindless rampage that Tony was barely able to stop, Wanda admits that Dr. Banner has a right to be angry with her. Banner coldly replies that he's far past the point of being controlled by anger, claiming that "I could choke the life out of you without changing a shade". This line emphasized Banner's control of The Hulk, with rampages like the one caused by Wanda being a clear outlier, while also demonstrating the dark side of him that suggests his base personality didn't form The Hulk out of nowhere.

5 “I’m Sorry! I Just Get So Angry All The Time. Hulk Always… Always Angry.”

Thor: Ragnarok

Hulk's next appearance in Thor: Ragnarok was the start of his turn from a complex, troubled character to a comedy punchline. That being said, the film also gave a rare opportunity for The Hulk to be the one in control for the majority of the time, giving the green giant more lines in one movie than the rest of his film appearances combined. Being in the driver's seat for an extended period of time, The Hulk is given the chance to speak in complex sentences and even explore emotions other than anger.

During a heart-to-heart with Thor, Hulk expresses his frustration with his constant broiling anger, seemingly acknowledging that his emotional state has frequently been a problem. The scene works on a comedic level, turning the Hulk into a good-hearted but hormonal teenager being listened to by his good friend, Thor. But it's also significant for being the first and only time The Hulk has actually apologized for something, adding more depth to the hero that many may have assumed simply wasn't there.

4 “Oh Screw You, You Big, Green A**hole! I’ll Do It Myself!”

Avengers: Infinity War

The Hulk and Bruce Banner have always had a tumultuous, even adversarial relationship, with the former resenting the latter for treating him like a disease to be gotten rid of otherwise only useful for fighting. After a humiliating loss to Thanos, The Hulk refuses to manifest in Bruce Banner's body, throwing a tantrum for the entirety of Avengers: Infinity War. This is much to the chagrin of Dr. Banner and the other heroes, who need the Hulk's strength more than ever, particularly when Bruce can't get The Hulk to come out in the fight against Black Order member Cull Obsidian.

Using his familiarity with massive bodies to pilot Tony Stark's Hulkbuster armor, Dr. Banner exasperatedly insults his other half for refusing to fight, vowing to take care of the alien invader himself. Impressively, Banner is able to hold off the powerful foe despite the suit already being heavily damaged from earlier in the Wakanda battle. This line proves that Bruce Banner is just as valuable as The Hulk when it comes to superheroics.

3 "We Don't Even Know What This Is."

Captain Marvel

Of The Hulk's three post-credits and mid-credits scene appearances, his brief time in Captain Marvel might be the least notable. Captain Marvel was the MCU's bold decision to release a prequel explaining the presence of their newest character after leaving audiences on the massive cliffhanger of Avengers: Infinity War. Bridging the gap between the two is the film's mid-credits scene, which sees Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, James Rhodes, and Natasha Romanoff meet Carol Danvers for the first time.

In truth, Bruce Banner doesn't have much in the way of interesting lines during this scene. He briefly explains the presence of the device Nick Fury used to signal his old superhero friend just before being dusted by Thanos, though he emphasizes caution due to not even knowing what the signal could mean. His questions are soon answered when Black Widow demands to know who was on the receiving end of Nick Fury's hail, only to be hilariously presented with the answer the second she turns around, finding Captain Marvel staring at her.

2 “The Radiaton’s Mostly Gamma. It’s Like…I Was Made For This”

Avengers: Endgame

For his first appearance as Professor Hulk, Bruce Banner enjoys a major role in Avengers: Endgame. When the time heist is successful, presenting The Avengers with all six Infinity Stones, the question of who should be the one to wield Tony's gauntlet and make the snap that brings everyone who was dusted back comes up. Musing on The Hulk's origins in Gamma radiation, making him immune to most of the intense energy outputted by the Infinity Stones, Hulk mutters "It's like...I was made for this", finding his ultimate calling as a superhero.

Straining greatly, Professor Hulk is eventually able to heave the Stones in his hand, unleashing a snap that does indeed restore everyone that was lost to Thanos' first snap to life. Even if the effects aren't seen until later, this moment ends up becoming the single greatest triumph of The Avengers following the famous "portals" scene. It's a real treat to see the typically science-obsessed Bruce Banner make remarks about concepts like fate before impacting the MCU in a way few characters can match.

1 "Welcome To The Circus."

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The final of Bruce Banner's post-credits cameos and his most recent film appearance at the time of writing occurs in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Bruce Banner weighs in on the titular ten rings after they send some kind of beacon out into the cosmos shortly after Shang-Chi uses them, appearing in holoform alongside Captain Marvel. Sadly, this meeting is still the only instance Shang-Chi has interacting with the wider world of the MCU outside of his own particular story.

Bruce Banner still manages to get in a cheeky line here, welcoming Shang-Chi and Katy to what he calls "The Circus", referring to the weird, wide world of superheroics. It's nice to see Bruce Banner maintain a sense of humor even in relatively mundane (for the Avengers, anyway) situations, making an impression despite his limited screen time. Whether he's transformed into The Hulk or staying in human form, Bruce Banner always has a way with words.