Application: Outer Divide

[tiptoeing]

[- OOC Information -]

Name: Toast
Do you play any other characters in Outer Divide? Ian Archer, though I’ll be dropping him if Bruce is accepted.

[- Character Information -]

AU or OU: OU
Canon Point: At the end of the movie, when he’s driving off into the sunset with Tony Stark.
Character Name: Dr. Robert “Bruce” Banner/the Hulk
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Journal: tiptoeing
Icon: http://www.dreamwidth.org/userpic/3493109/1623283

Appearance: As Bruce, he looks like this, and as the Hulk he looks like an enormous green rage monster. As Bruce, he only wears glasses when reading or doing science (basically, things he needs to see up close), suggesting that he’s farsighted.

History: Link is here. It includes his history from “The Incredible Hulk”, which is generally is part of the same continuity as “The Avengers”, and even includes a cameo by RDJ as Iron Man at the end. I say “generally” because it’s a different actor and there’s some retconning in “The Avengers”, which I’ll explain in his personality section. But I still use both movies for Bruce’s history, because there are enough references to suggest it is still the same continuity.

Previous Game History: N/A

Personality:

In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner was largely focused entirely on finding a cure, and had very little control over his emotions or the Hulk, when he transformed. But his relationship with Betty Ross gave us some insight into his personality. He attempted to keep his distance to protect her, and when they were reunited it was even more obvious how much he cared about her. He even protected her while he was the Hulk, shielding her with his body. After spending some bonding time in a cave with the Hulk, Betty realized that there might be more Bruce in him when he transforms than he thought. He didn’t believe her, because he couldn’t make any sense out of the fragments he remembered. She was also the only one who could get through to him while he was in that state, before the Avengers.

But it wasn’t only Betty who Bruce tried to protect. When he was cornered by men from the bottling plant where he worked in Brazil, he tried to warn them what will happen even as they beat him up, though they probably deserved to be smashed around. The desire to protect is a core aspect of Bruce’s personality, and it translates even when he’s transformed, as we see multiple times in both the Incredible Hulk and later in the Avengers.

In the Avengers, it’s revealed that Bruce was working on the serum that created Captain America, and thought gamma radiation was the key to unlocking Erskine’s formula. This is another pesky retcon, as the Incredible Hulk had a different story -- Bruce was recruited by General Ross (Betty’s father, who later hunted Bruce when he escaped after the experiment failed) and didn’t know that he was actually working on that serum. He thought it was a defense against radiation (which also makes sense, as he’s an expert in gamma radiation).

But I use the Avengers version of that part because it sheds a different light on why he volunteered to be a test subject for Betty, who helped him develop the serum. It lines up with his desire to want to protect people...if he knew what the project was for and thought he could protect others, he would definitely have volunteered to potentially become the next Captain America. Unfortunately for him, he turned into the Hulk, instead.

He leaves Betty at the end of the film when the Hulk flees the scene after defeating the Abomination (another Hulk-like creation of General Ross’). The fact that he doesn’t mention her at all in the Avengers suggests they haven’t reunited or it’s a retcon, but I really hope not, because Betty is a badass and also Liv Tyler. Bruce has the best taste in ladies, that’s really all you need to know about the Incredible Hulk.

In the Avengers, we learn that Bruce “got low”, as he puts it, sometime after the events of the Incredible Hulk (this is a semi-retcon, as this was actually the alternate beginning for the Incredible Hulk). He couldn’t find a cure, and thus couldn’t see an end to his problems. So he attempted to shoot himself, but the Hulk (who he calls “the Other Guy”) spat out the bullet, saving his life. Bruce didn’t understand why he’d been saved, but he coped with the fact that he couldn’t kill himself by helping those in need.

Agent Romanoff found Bruce working in Calcutta as a physician, probably unregistered because he was hiding from the Army. His actual academic background is in nuclear physics and biochemistry, with two specific areas of expertise in gamma radiation and anti-electron collisions that were referenced by Agent Coulson and Tony Stark. But he appears to have some medical knowledge at well; at least, enough to provide help to those who wouldn’t be able to afford a real medical doctor.

When she recruited him to work on finding the Tesseract, she noted that he hadn’t picked a very relaxing environment where he could avoid stress, but he explained that avoiding stress wasn’t his secret. Another aspect of his personality was shown in this scene, too; he doesn’t trust easily, and was suspicious of her reassurance that he hadn’t been surrounded. So he cleverly called her bluff by pretending to lose control of his anger.

But he apologized when the trick succeeded, and attempted to calm her down. Despite any inner anger he possesses, Bruce is generally very calm and “easygoing,” as his actor puts it, if a bit sarcastic on occasion. He's also a bit awkward; he's quiet and doesn't carry himself with confidence the way the others do.

During the invasion, he told Captain America that his secret for controlling the Hulk was that he was always angry. My interpretation of this is that avoiding emotions like stress or anger is not how he copes; instead, he simply suppresses them. And when he changes intentionally, like when Steve tells him to “get angry”, he just stops suppressing that emotion. When he changes unintentionally, like when he was trapped with Natasha in the Helicarrier, it’s because it’s been triggered by some outside force he had no control over.

In the Avengers, the first time Bruce changed intentionally was during the invasion, and that was also the time he had the most control over the Hulk’s actions. Whether or not the two things are related is unknown, but it makes sense that whether or not it was triggered might affect his level of control over the situation.

At the end of the film, Bruce got into a car with Tony, implying that he accepted his invitation to visit Stark Tower. Bruce and Tony are on a similar plane of genius, as Tony notes when they first meet. But Bruce was initially reluctant to accept, considering the fact that he “broke Harlem” the last time he was there (a reference to his fight with the Abomination). He is also Tony’s opposite in regards to his own ego, which is almost nonexistent in comparison. But the two bonded because Tony understood what it was like to have something be a part of him that he had to learn how to control.

Powers/Abilities: Bruce has the power to turn into an enormous green rage monster, which happens when his heart rate gets too high (which usually occurs from emotions like stress, anger, or even excitement...aka, sex. His life really sucks, okay?). Initially, he wore a heart rate monitor so he could tell when he was at risk, but he’s gained more control of himself since then. This ability can be triggered or called upon, depending on the circumstances.

What does being the Hulk entail, aside from being green? As the wiki linked linked in the history section lines out in detail, he has superhuman strength, leaping (and aiming) ability, speed, durability, healing, and endurance. Basically, the Hulk could probably beat up Superman. I mean, he tossed Loki around like a rag doll and sent Thor flying when he punched him, and Asgardians are tough bitches.

However, if he is pitted against something big enough (and strong enough), like the Abomination or those giant flying things he fought during the invasion, it is a struggle for him. He was also weakened by sound waves directed toward him from sonic cannons (invented by Tony Stark) in the Incredible Hulk, but he fought them when Betty’s voice cut through the noise.

Numbers are also an issue...while he’s very good at smashing things, he was definitely outnumbered during the invasion and couldn’t be everywhere at once, which is why it was necessary for him to work with the other Avengers. He also doesn’t have even remotely the same level of intelligence as he does when he’s Bruce, only able to form sentences like “PUNY GOD.”

But his comprehension skills have improved to the point where he understands things like teamwork, and he can generally differentiate between friends and enemies (I say generally because he punches Thor for no reason at all, other than that he possibly had some extra rage leftover and needed an outlet for it). Even in the Incredible Hulk, the Hulk showed concern for Betty, and in the Avengers this extended to his team, particularly Tony. The Hulk saved him without instruction, and waited for him to regain consciousness before simply roaring him awake, probably out of impatience.

As far as Bruce’s human strengths and weaknesses are concerned, he’s just your normal squishy human when he’s not the Other Guy. In the Incredible Hulk Bruce cut his finger and bled...there was no super healing ability like the Hulk has to heal it up. He had to cover it with glue, because if someone consumes, injects, or otherwise absorbs even a drop of his blood, it will affect them. In Brazil he also had some training in breathing techniques to help calm himself down, as well as Aikido. He doesn’t have the same super strength, speed, endurance, etc. either, when he’s human. But has changed when his life was threatened, either by someone else or when he tried to shoot himself.

Possessions: Nothing except the clothes he’s wearing. Which is pretty generous, because he could easily wake up naked. It’s happened before.

Arrival: I’d like to have him arrive on the ship.

Reason for Playing: I think Bruce belongs in Outer Divide because he’s the perfect combination of “really smart science guy” and “guy who can smash things up” that seems to work well with the kind of events this game has. That being said, I’m more than willing to power the Hulk down whenever it’s necessary, like with a collar or something. I love playing him because of his strong desire to protect people, and his awkward, but likeable nature. I enjoy playing characters with a lot of layers to delve into, emotionally speaking.