The Hulk

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physicist, was accidentally exposed to elevated levels of gamma radiation during an experiment. Following this exposure Banner subsequently transforms into the Hulk when subjected to emotional stress. Creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby drew explicit inspiration from earlier literary prototypes such as Frankenstein's monster and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when shaping the character and his duality.

The Hulk is typically depicted as an enormous, massively muscular humanoid, usually green‑skinned and markedly larger than an ordinary human; early publication history briefly featured a gray coloration before green became standard. Visual portrayals across comics, television, and film emphasize great bulk, exaggerated musculature, and an imposing, often enraged facial expression; size, color tone, and specific costume details vary by continuity and adaptation.

The character's core power is superhuman physical strength that is frequently described in source material as scaling with his level of anger; portrayals range from near‑limitless strength in some comic narratives to variable, story‑dependent feats in others. Transformations between Banner and the Hulk are triggered by emotional stress; across continuities multiple Hulk personae exist with differing intelligence, temperament, and skills (e.g., savage brute, cunning gangster 'Joe Fixit', merged intellect 'Professor Hulk', warrior 'Green Scar', etc.). Narrative responses to the Hulk include military containment, intervention by other superheroes, and scientific or psychological attempts at control rather than ritualized folk remedies.