According to St. Catherine of Siena, “There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience.” Anger is one of the seven deadliest of sins. The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to these sins as deadly or capital, “because they engender other sins, other vices (CCC 1866). The word for anger is wrath.
Personally, I always viewed the Hulk as a more one-dimensional character despite his dual persona of scientist Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk. Most of the scenes from the MCU seems to utilize the brute gamma-born strength of the character over his intellect. In Avengers: Endgame, a balanced Banner/Hulk is portrayed featuring his brawn and brain in harmony. Watching that version of the Hulk intrigued me.
I recently checked out The Indestructible Hulk series (2013) from my local library. Something about this title grasped my attention. The Hulk one of the only Avengers whose solo comics I never read. Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu’s series provided a satisfying storyline and added to a character known almost solely for his brute force.
Bruce Banner developed a plan to make up for the ruin his alter ego wrecked—team up with S.H.I.E.L.D. Working for the secret government agency as a weapon to eliminate unique and particularly powerful threats, Banner asked that S.H.I.E.L.D. utilize his intelligence and knowledge as a scientist to make the world a safer place.
Righteous or reckless rage?
Anger is not necessarily always an evil. Sometimes anger is righteous and legitimate. This is the case when you get mad at an injustice done to an innocent person. For example, if a man was wrongfully accused of a crime and was put in prison because the prosecution gamed the system against him, then that would be something anything reasonable and faith-filled person should lament and get upset about. Jesus famously gets angry at the corruption occurring in the Temple at Jerusalem.
According to John 2:14-16, “He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.” He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables,16and to those who sold doves he said, ‘Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.’” In this situation, Jesus’ anger is justified because it is geared at the sin of abusing the house of God. He did not endanger anyone nor did he continue once the moneychangers left the Temple.
The Incredible Hulk’s strength is enhanced the more he gets enraged. Anger in the context of the Green Avenger’s comics is both a blessing and a curse. In Issue #1 of The Indestructible Hulk, Bruce Banner approaches S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill with the proposition of utilizing both sides of him for good. “The Hulk has caused immeasurable damage and heartache over the years. It’s past time I started balancing the scales by doing as much as good for mankind as possible,” Banner told Hill. This tenuous partnership toes the line between righteous and reckless anger. After exhausting all other options, Banner wants to rely on a higher power in hopes of keeping his anger checked or at least redirected toward good.
Establishing trust allows influence over anger
Reckless anger usually is proceeded by impatience and emotional stimuli. Having an incomplete understanding or perspective of a situation does not help in limiting anger. All the times that I have been angry are occasions when I am both impatient and act a very limited amount of information. My perspective is narrow to begin with and only gets thinner the more angry I get.
Along with impatience and limited perspective, lack of trust definitely plays a big role in the ability to manage, and eventually overcome anger. Bruce Banner informed Maria Hill, “I’ve found Hulk to be less…impulsive around people he knows I trust and like” (Issue #1 The Indestructible Hulk). Matt Murdock, Daredevil, plays an instrumental role in convincing the Hulk to avoid murdering a villain. Someone that Banner trusted held sway over the raging Green Monster. “The more Bruce trusts and likes you, the more influence you have over this guy [the Hulk]. Daredevil reminds Director Hill (Issue #9).
Our struggles with anger, sinful anger that is, can be combated or influenced by love and trust. Maybe you have a good friend who calls out whenever you act brashly. My wife intervenes for me whenever I get too emotional or upset. She calls me out much like how Murdock called out the Hulk and stopped him from doing more damage. Rely on those individuals or community around you to be that insurance plan when you fall into sinful tendencies.
Damage Control—Reparations made in the wake of destruction
According to St. Paul in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God,* who are called according to his purpose.” That verse definitely can be a difficult line to reconcile with reality if you are in the midst of suffering. What possible good could come out of indescribable and incomprehensible evil? Banner’s exposure to gamma radiation after an experimental bomb accidentally exploded definitely caused the scientist to question his purpose in life. Anxiety and stress induced his transformation into the Hulk. In a world filled with super-villains and evil, Banner struggled mightily to combat this persistent issue.
Throughout The Indestructible Hulk series, Banner has to deal frequently with the irritating and prideful personality of Tony Stark. Hearing Stark’s constant belittlement of Banner’s scientific achievements sends him into anger—and transformation into the Hulk. Do you have a person in your life that challenges your patience levels and sends you into a fury? How do you manage your anger? What good could come in the wake of the destruction caused by anger?
Pointed in the right direction anger can be beneficial. Anger provides strength. Erratic. Unpredictable strength. But strengthen nonetheless. Only reliance on a Higher Power and exercising the virtue of patience can destructive anger be channeled into a cannon against corruption. In Volume 3 (Issues #11-15) of The Indestructible Hulk, time itself is being attacked by time-travelling terrorists trying to manipulate and create a new timeline where they are in total control.
Only the Hulk is strong enough to withstand the fluctuations of the timelines as he time travels, but he is not without help. The intelligence of Bruce Banner is uploaded into a robot who provides guidance and reassurance of the Hulk’s primary objective as he battles dinosaurs and various characters throughout history. It is here that the destructive power of Hulk’s anger is focused at the time terrorists and used as a means for the good—as an atonement for his past impulsive rage and havoc wrecked.
The Incredible Hulk is a unique and interesting hero. He toes the line between destruction and deliverance. As a member of the Avengers and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the rage of the Hulk is offset by the good he performs fighting the greatest threats to earth. Bruce Banner uses his scientific studies to mitigate the damages done by his alter ego as much as possible. Reading The Indestructible Hulk definitely makes one think about how anger impacts affects relationships and larger impacts on society. We all have a “Tony Stark” prodding us, stepping on our egos, and putting us down. The question is how do you respond when the pressures of the world push on you. Do you hulk out and embrace the sin of anger? Or do you embrace suffering and look to others and the Other for help in the battle against rage?
Matt Chicoine
Matthew Chicoine is a free-lance writer, a life-long Catholic, and an avid truth seeker. He earned an M.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 and enjoys binge reading Tolkien, Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Fulton Sheen and comic books. Visit his blog at https://thesimplecatholic.