The Hulk is an American fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). He is a gigantic, green, irradiated, mutated humanoid monster with incredible strength, and an inability to control his rage (resulting from a failed gamma radiation experiment for the U.S. military). The Hulk is sometimes characterized as naive and child-like; at other times, hyper-aggressive and brutal; and still others, cunning, brilliant, and scheming. He is often portrayed as an antihero. The Hulk is cast as the emotional, impulsive alter ego of Dr. Bruce Banner, a socially withdrawn and emotionally reserved physicist. Banner first transforms into the Hulk shortly after being accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb he invented (trying to save the life of a person who had unwittingly entered the blast zone right before detonation). Subsequently, Banner will involuntarily transform into the Hulk whenever he gets too angry, or if his life is in danger; the chaotic aftermath of the Hulk's destructive episodes lead to extreme complications in Banner's life. Lee said that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein.
Although the Hulk's coloration has varied throughout the character's publication history, the most consistent shade is green. As the Hulk, Banner is capable of significant feats of strength, the magnitude of which increase in direct proportion to the character's anger. As the character himself puts it, "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets!" Strong emotions such as anger, terror and grief are also triggers for forcing Banner's transformation into the Hulk. As a child, Banner's father Brian Banner often got mad and physically abused his mother, creating the psychological complex of fear, anger, and the fear of anger and the destruction it can cause that underlies the character. A common storyline is the pursuit of both Banner and the Hulk by the U.S. armed forces, because of all the destruction that he causes. He has two main catchphrases: "Hulk is strongest there is!" and the better-known "HULK SMASH!", which has founded the basis for a number of pop culture memes.
