Mark Ruffalo Vs. Edward Norton: Who is the Better Hulk? (VIDEO SCRIPT)

You: WHO’S THE BETTER HULK? NORTON OR RUFFALO???

Me, An Intellectual: (Sighs, takes off glasses, closes legs one at a time, gently places them on table, clasps hands and looks in direction of the person asking the question) Yes.

__________

Readers, I don’t know about you. But when it comes to recasting in the MCU, I’m...numb to it.

And that has a lot to do with the fact that the individuals Marvel Studios tend to recast for their projects end up being individuals that they honestly should’ve went with in the first place.

I want to meet the individual responsible who legitimately thought casting Terrence Howard as Rhodey was a good idea.

And at the same time, I want to meet the person who cast Don Cheadle to replace him and shake their hand, because they have ALL of my respect.

But while we in the Dark-Skinned Black Folk Brigade chalk that up as a win in our book as far as proper representation was concerned, I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t the MAIN talk of the town when it came to Marvel Studios recasting big roles for their movies back in the day.

That’s right, Readers. I’m talking about Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, just in time for the first Avengers movie.

The reason for the recasting was...weird (pause). And complicated (pause). But mostly weird...

You see, Edward Norton wanted to make some changes to the script of The Incredible Hulk. As a matter of fact, that was pretty much the deciding factor of whether or not he would take the role.

/But according to him -- just like a lot of the Malekith the Accursed scenes from Thor: The Dark World -- a lot of the scenes he rewrote ended up on the cutting room floor, and both he and Kevin Feige got in a bit of a word fight because of it./

So they decided to part ways and recast Bruce Banner, choosing Mark Ruffalo as his replacement

But not according to Edward Norton

/Who said that he left the project on his OWN accord, because he didn’t wanna be known for just playing one role over the course of a significant amount of years/

So it’s pretty much like I said, Readers. It’s weird. And complicated. But mostly weird.

But what came from this is a discord that is still being talked about to this day: Who is the better Hulk? Mark Ruffalo, or Edward Norton?

And I can see why it’s still a hot debate item; there are plenty of fans of both Norton and Ruffalo’s depiction of this character.

It’s also one of the only MCU recasts you CAN talk about. Because nobody’s debating over who was the better Rhodey, THAT’S for sure...

But when asked MY opinion over this debate, this...debacle, my answer is usually the same answer every time I’m asked it.

Until Mark Ruffalo receives a solo Hulk movie, this can never be a fair debate.

Because the one thing Edward Norton’s depiction has above Mark Ruffalo’s is a pretty important one. And that’s a solo movie

/In The Incredible Hulk, we got to see Edward Norton portray Banner and have him be the focus. And because he was, we got to see his take on how Bruce handles things like isolation and his struggle to try to keep The Hulk in check. Because of this, Norton’s depiction of Banner is very hermit-like out of necessity. He always does what he can to make sure he’s as invisible as possible while at the same time working hard and willing to do whatever it takes to get his life back to the state of normal before Hulk was ever part of the picture./

Despite Edward Norton’s feelings about the script Marvel Studios provided for The Incredible Hulk or how he felt about playing one character for a significant amount of time, we have a whole depiction of the character that’s on par with Tony, Steve and Thor because of it.

/But when Mark Ruffalo replaced Norton in Avengers onward, we never got a chance to see HIS take on those themes that the solo movie established were part of Banner’s character, or even expand on them. Even when the movies he’s in sets up a perfect opportunity for us to have that experience./

Like, we’re just gonna forreal skip what Bruce saw in Scarlet Witch’s mind-break but we get a chance to see what Steve, Thor AND Natasha saw? We don’t even get an actual answer as to what he saw to cause him to Hulk out? Just get right to the smashing? (Huffs) I really don’t care for Age of Ultron, guys.

/Sure we have references to said themes. Like when he told the story about how Hulk stopped him from committing suicide in Avengers, and when Joss Whedon decided to canonize his fan-fiction in Age of Ultron. But because there’s very little focus on Ruffalo’s depiction of Banner outside of when he hulks out, and because he’s always sharing screen time with either Tony, Thor, or NOT Betty Ross, we don’t really have a proper opportunity to see what Ruffalo can do with the character like we saw with Norton. Thus making it absolutely unfair to make any comparisons between how the two are depicted on screen./

Personally, I don’t believe that Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner has had a chance to shine in a lot of the ensemble pieces he’s been part of in the MCU and is constantly being overshadowed by the other members of the Avengers.

/Yes, including Black Widow, who -- despite finally getting her own solo film -- has had WAY more time dedicated to the exploration of both her character and development in the MCU over the course of one Iron Man movie, two Captain America movies, and four Avengers movies compared to Ruffalo’s depiction of Bruce./

I feel that once Ruffalo gets his own solo Hulk movie -- or we see to what extent his Bruce will play in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk series for Disney+

/Comparing his depiction of Bruce Banner to Edward Norton’s depiction of Bruce Banner would be a lot fairer since his role won’t be reduced to being a second-banana to a handful of Avengers and he -- like Edward Norton was -- will be allowed to be his own man./

As far as who was the better HULK though, I’m not gonna lie; my money will forever be on Ruffalo

And yes, I know I’m already biased. If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know that I find him both more aesthetically pleasing and physically attractive than Norton Hulk.

Like, I’ve made it known PLENTY of times that Ruffalo Hulk could get it, all day and every day. I’m not saying I’d physically survive the first round, but my spirit will be ready for the multiple sessions afterward

And then when I saw that they gave him a side-fade in Thor: Ragnarok, I don’t think I ever...uttered...the word “Daddy”...BEFORE then...

So yes; it’s obvious that my own personal thirst has a stake in Ruffalo’s Hulk being the better depiction between the two

But I am a reasonable man, and I also have legitimate takes as to why Mark Ruffalo’s Daddy- I mean Hulk design is better than Nortons.

One is the fact that it’s the more comic accurate of the two; both in physique and face shape

Ruffalo’s own face allows his Hulk design to take a lot of inspiration from the early comics when Jack Kirby was inspired by Frankenstein’s monster; a look that modern comics recently revisited with Marvel’s horror take on the character, The Immortal Hulk

And while Norton’s Hulk design was inspired by the snatched waist competitive bodybuilder design he was known for in the late 80s and early 90’s, Ruffalo’s is designed with a thick core that’s evenly proportioned to his chest, like a proper strongman or a heavyweight judo competitor.

Giving Ruffalo’s Hulk that physique ALSO reflects how his design used to be upon his initial conception by Kirby and how it’s being revisited in Marvel Comics today. Like Amadeus Cho’s Totally Awesome Hulk, for example

And once again, like in The Immortal Hulk, which is...a very good series, you should read it. Link will be in the description down below

So if I were to choose who is the better Hulk between Mark Ruffalo and Edward Norton considering everything I presented, I would have to say Mark Ruffalo. If anything, because of the potential he has

He may not have had the opportunity to really get his feet wet with the character like Norton had with a solo movie, but he has been an advocate to get one done for the longest time in order to show us that he can do it.

And now that Marvel Studios has finally gotten the distribution rights settlement with Universal Pictures handled to the point where they can make a She-Hulk series without worrying about them wanting a cut -- I think (pauses)

This might be the perfect opportunity for Marvel Studios to get some writers who know Banner’s character very well

Get a script going aligned with where he’s going either before or after the She-Hulk series

Get a director who cares about the character

And give Mark Ruffalo the opportunity he greatly deserves to give Bruce Banner justice.

/Then, and only then will this battle of Hulk vs Hulk be declared a fair fight./