Foil

Character Role Analysis

Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk

Banner himself is probably a straight-up protagonist…or at least a sidekick, since he rarely mixes it up with invading space aliens on his own. But the Hulk? The Hulk is different.

You can't control him, after all, and, depending on when his rage bouts hit, he's far more antagonist than protagonist. (Ask the Black Widow if you don't believe us.)

And yet, at the end, he does become the hero—to the point of saving Iron Man in freefall.

In order to do that, the other heroes have to learn to respect what he can bring to the table and capitalize on his strengths. That takes more than just bashing him unconscious (we're not sure anyone can even do that). It means helping Banner keep his cool until he's needed, providing a unique challenge to help the heroes grow and change.

That puts him in foil territory…with maybe a protagonist chaser once he finally starts laying into those aliens.