What's with Black Widow in The Avengers?

[happyninja42]

So I just recently re-watched The Avengers, and remembered something that bugs me every time I see it.

Why is the Black Widow so terrified of The Hulk? Beyond the typical "Holy shit it's a giant green monster" level of terrified that every natural human being has. They seem to put a lot of emphasis on showing her being almost pathologically afraid of Bruce, and I don't know why.

They hint at someone in her past messing with her head, and I guess maybe this is that? I've never read any comics related to her so I'm just speculating.

What is in BW's past that would explain her heightened level of fear of Bruce/Hulk?

 

[Scarim Coral]

I guessing it could be cos he's is the only one or a few she can't "handle"? I mean she was able to trick Loki, a god of trickery himself! How do you handle a great big muscule of rage who isn't a god?

 

[happyninja42]

I dunno, I mean she was able to avoid him very easily, but even after he was gone and fighting Thor in another section of the ship, she was still huddled under some equipment, shivering in fear. Considering how controlled and conditioned she is, this seemed excessive, hence why I thought it was a subtle hint about something from the comics that I just didn't know.

 

[KissingSunlight]

Her specialty is seduction. You can't seduce a raging green monster. If she doesn't handle the situation with utmost care, not only will she gets hurt or killed, but many others. If you watch the movie again, she doesn't freeze when confronted by the Hulk. She does the best she can to save herself and others when Bruce Banner starts to change and go on a rampage. In short, I think you are reading too much into why she is afraid of the Hulk.

EDIT:

I dunno, I mean she was able to avoid him very easily, but even after he was gone and fighting Thor in another section of the ship, she was still huddled under some equipment, shivering in fear. Considering how controlled and conditioned she is, this seemed excessive, hence why I thought it was a subtle hint about something from the comics that I just didn't know.

She did get hit by the Hulk. So, she was recovering from getting thrown into a wall. Remember, she doesn't have any powers or super strength. While she can take a punch from a regular person, getting hit by the Hulk would be much different.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Because the Hulk is a multi-ton invincible rage machine and she's 120 pounds of stuff the Hulk smashes?

As a high level SHIELD agent who's frequently called to interact with potential Avenger's, Black Widow has been briefed on the Hulk extensively. And not the nice Hulk that treats the sick and fights when cornered. She's been briefed on the one that's run rampant through cities and killed thousands. The one who's turned super soldiers into paste with a single kick. The one that used to snap at the earliest provocation and throw tanks around like a jackass in a park littering. The first time she meets Bruce Banner, he acts like a dick, and threatens to Hulk out a handful of times, ending there encounter by fake Hulking her out. The first time she see's him transform, he's under the influence of an alien artifact that's made him angry and lose control, and stuck in a tiny corridor with him trapped under rubble. Which is kind of like being wedge in the barrel of a cannon that's about to fire.

The past trauma that is discussed in the Avengers movie is related to her past transgressions, and her related guilt. It has nothing at all to do with the Hulk.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Because she can't out-martial Hulk?

 

[Queen Michael]

Because he's the green giant that isn't jolly.

The Hulk can't be reasoned with. When he wants to smash, he smashes, and there's nothing you can do about it. He's way stronger than Loki. In short, the Hulk is the one force that probably cannot be stopped at all, and that's damn unnerving.

 

[TakerFoxx]

I loved the Avengers, but the Hulk thing confused me. How is he wildly out on control on the ship but completely on top of it at final battle time? And how bad was the Hulk's hair when Edward Norton played him?!

I'm guessing that if he hulks out against his will, he can't control the Hulk's actions. But if he does it deliberately, he can.

 

[Diablo2000]

Because the Hulk is pretty much an near unstopable force and she's completely helpless if he's lost control?

Just a thought...

 

[lechat]

I completely get what the OP is saying since i thought exactly the same thing.
In real life it's completely reasonable that you would curl up into a ball and cry like as baby if you got your head kicked in by a giant green monster but that is pretty much the only time i can think of in the avengers where someone handles a traumatic experience with anything other than a smart ass comment and some counter ass kicking.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

It's because her main skills are using her wits to deceive, persuade and seduce people and then fighting with marital skills and guns. None of her abilities will be very useful if he hulks out, she can't reason with him and convince him to stop and she wouldn't stand a chance in a fight, all she can do is run. She doesn't completely break down or anything, I'd say her caution and concern is perfectly reasonable.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Because the Hulk is pretty much an near unstopable force and she's completely helpless if he's lost control?

Just a thought...

True but she wasn't nearly as perturbed by the giant aliens later in the same film.

Maybe there's some back story explaining her fear? Just an inconsistency in the writing in my opinion.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Red and green should never be seen...and she's a ranga.

 

[Angelous Wang]

I loved the Avengers, but the Hulk thing confused me. How is he wildly out on control on the ship but completely on top of it at final battle time? And how bad was the Hulk's hair when Edward Norton played him?!

In "The Incredible Hulk" film (which is kind of semi-canon in the current Marvel universe) Banner both learned to "Aim" the Hulk at specific targets (Abomination in that movie) and release the Hulk at will (after credits scene).

Which explains both.

On the ship the Hulk was released by accident with no target, so it just went in to basic Hulk smash anything and everything mode.

In the final battle Banner released the Hulk himself on purpose and aimed him specifically at the Aliens.

 

[Lilani]

I guessing it could be cos he's is the only one or a few she can't "handle"? I mean she was able to trick Loki, a god of trickery himself! How do you handle a great big muscule of rage who isn't a god?

I think this is a lot of it. She works by exploiting people's weaknesses and striking in unexpected ways. The Hulk doesn't really HAVE any weaknesses apart from his own rage, but even that only makes him stronger. And it's hard to surprise him because his senses are so in-tune when he's like that. It's hard to trick and outwit something acting witlessly and on pure instinct.

Plus he isn't just an ordinary enemy she can dispatch at the first opportunity, he's a friend. Any attack on him is also an attack on Bruce, technically. She appears to have quite a complex about hurting innocents, given what's happened in her past. She did well against Hawkeye, but she had fought him before and was more familiar with what she was dealing with. She had no idea how far she would have to go to beat the Hulk, if he could be beat at all.

Every other Avenger has shown their weakness at some point--Stark has been scared and cornered more than once in the Avengers film alone, Cap has gotten surprised and hurt and desperate, Thor has overestimated what he can do and faced the consequences, Hawkeye needed a moment to recover from the pain of repelling through that window during the big fight in Avengers. And Bruce/Hulk has a great look of shame and fear right before he went full-on Hulk on the airship. Every Avenger has been afraid and shown it in some way or another, and I think that was the perfect moment for Black Widow to have her moment. And as others have said, she was more intensively briefed on the "worst case scenario" Hulk, not the one who has been properly aimed at a target.

 

[AT God]

I watched and then read a few things about the trailer for Avengers 2 and it seems like there is something between her and Bruce. Although I hope the thing that some guy supposedly spoiled isn't true.

 

[upgray3dd]

From a cinematic perspective, they emphasize her being afraid of the Hulk because it's important that they make the Hulk seem scary. Black Widow isn't afraid of anyone else in the movie, so her being afraid of the Hulk is a signal to the audience that they should be afraid of the Hulk.

From an in-movie perspective the answer is "because it's a FUCKING HULK." Everyone else talks about the Hulk like he's a WMD, so of course people are afraid of him.

I loved the Avengers, but the Hulk thing confused me. How is he wildly out on control on the ship but completely on top of it at final battle time? And how bad was the Hulk's hair when Edward Norton played him?!

The first time Hulk transformed he was mostly angry AT SHIELD, so he attacked Shield agents. Plus, you have Loki's mind-control rod messing with everybody's heads.

In the second fight, he was specifically focused on Loki's army (and also Thor, but mostly as a gag). I'll agree they kind of short-change the whole thing, but it made sense to me.

 

[Asita]

And as others have said, she was more intensively briefed on the "worst case scenario" Hulk, not the one who has been properly aimed at a target.

Also - if my quick jaunt through wiki is to be believed - she's seen it firsthand. Supposedly she pretty much saw the second half of the Incredible Hulk movie in person...which is to say, she saw him destroy the military (and Blonsky) on the college campus and saw the smackdown between the Hulk and the Abomination in the climax. She hasn't just heard about the worst case scenario, she has seen for herself that it's nearly impossible to contain.

 

[Belaam]

In the promotional comic that tied some MCU stuff together (Fury's Big Week), they also had her present and being hurt when Hulk went nuts on the college campus in his film. So in canon, she'd actually seen him go nuts and tear the military apart firsthand.

Whereas she had no personal experience with anyone else.

Edit: damn it,ninja'd while I went to go check the title.