Forget that the comic books ever existed.
In the movies of the MCU, there's still so much about the relationship between the Hulk
and Black Widow that's just plain strange.
Let's take a long, unblinking look at all the bizarre elements about the Hulk and Black
Widow's relationship.
With the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron, writer and director Joss Whedon surprised
fans by pairing Natasha Romanoff otherwise known as Black Widow with Bruce Banner, who
transforms into the Hulk.
Their relationship hasn't gone too far in the films… at least, not yet.
Murderous rampages brought on by psychic assaults and epic battles with armies of robots always
get in the way.
Because they always do.
The romance wasn't something anyone could've predicted, at least not before Avengers: Age
of Ultron went into full swing.
That's when viewers began to take a real interest in those scenes featuring Black Widow touching
hands with Bruce Banner's more monstrous half.
The story has no equivalent in the pages of the comics.
Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff barely have any connection with one another in the source
material, other than the fact that they've both been members of the Avengers.
But the movies tell a very different story, don't they?
The first onscreen meeting between Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff certainly doesn't look
like love at first sight.
At the beginning of The Avengers, Black Widow is abruptly pulled off an assignment in Russia
to recruit Bruce Banner to help find the stolen Tesseract.
SHIELD evidently knew Banner was in Calcutta, and managed to track him down.
Romanoff hires a little girl to lure Banner to a shack outside of the city, under the
false pretense that her father is sick.
Once Black Widow's trap is revealed, she uses her sex appeal and lies to draw Banner closer.
She tells him there's no one outside waiting for him, and that Nick Fury's interest in
him has nothing to do with "The Other Guy."
You know the one.
[Hulk smashing.]
Smelling a rat, Banner purposely frightens Romanoff, getting enraged so that she reveals
her true intentions.
"Nobody's gonna put you-"
"Stop lying to me!"
That's when Black Widow contacts all those supposedly nonexistent SHIELD soldiers, with
all their high-tech weaponry.
Of course, these aren't exactly the solid foundations of a nurturing, long-lasting relationship.
And can we talk about the fact that Black Widow felt the need to lure Banner into a
shack?
And so she hired a little girl to shamelessly lie?
To a guy who turns into a giant green monster when he's upset?
It's all very, very shady.
"That's a dealbreaker!"
We know it isn't easy to fluster Black Widow, because she's a master at keeping her cool
in dangerous situations.
In fact, the only time we've ever really seen her go off the deep end was during her first
encounter with an enraged Hulk in The Avengers.
When Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk aboard SHIELD's Helicarrier, we catch a glimpse of
Joss Whedon's directing prowess when it comes to horror.
Romanoff hides from the Hulk in the bowels of the ship, but once he finds her, she doesn't
stand a chance.
[HUUUUUUUUUUUUULK]
In one of the most memorable scenes in The Avengers, the Hulk crashes through the Helicarrier
in hot pursuit of Black Widow, eventually backhanding her into a wall before being interrupted
by Thor.
Afterwards, we see Black Widow is quite shaken.
Even though the battle is continuing throughout the Helicarrier, she's sitting in the corner
and clearly recovering from the terrifying encounter.
It's the only time we've seen her like this in any of the films.
It seems a little crazy that the very same man who inspired this trauma - in a team full
of handsome and mostly single men - should be the one that she's drawn to the most...
In case you didn't know, the Hulk and Banner don't like each other very much.
They don't consider each other the same person, and they really don't like it when they're
praised for the qualities of the other.
There are plenty of instances where the Hulk seems resentful or even jealous of Banner,
and vice versa.
"You're Banner's friend."
"I'm not Banner's friend, I… prefer you."
"Banner's friend!"
And when you think about that, a victorious scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron seems to
take on a much darker tone.
When Banner frees Black Widow from Ultron's prison and suggests that they run and go into
hiding, she lures him in for a kiss and says:
"I adore you."
"But I need the Other Guy."
Stop to think about the negative feelings Banner and the Hulk have for one another.
Consider the emotional and physical torture he goes through when he's transforming.
The fact becomes clear: What Black Widow did here was pretty bad, at least as far as potential
girlfriends are concerned!
After all, she's seen Banner painfully morph into the Hulk herself.
Let's just say this incident would be high on the list of issues for the two to work
out in couples therapy.
Black Widow is a professional assassin, and an expert at hiding in plain sight.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, she knew how to get trained professional soldiers
off her scent with only a moment's warning.
In fact, these kinds of evasive tactics are like second nature to the former Soviet agent.
If you're ever on the run and suddenly need to get right off the grid, Natasha Romanoff
would be a very good friend to have.
But Bruce Banner?
Well, not so much.
In the wake of the Hulk's rampage, Banner knows he'll have to go back on the run.
And when he tells Black Widow he has to go, she responds:
"But you assume that I have to stay?"
But if you think about it, how could Romanoff even consider going on the run with Bruce
Banner?
In order for their love affair to work, they'd have to hide themselves and remain hidden,
while remaining ready to drop everything and run at a moment's notice.
Could Black Widow live that way?
Sure.
But how could she live that way with Bruce Banner?
They'd need to keep a low profile.
They'd also need to go unnoticed and keep their cool.
How can a guy who changes into a giant green monster whenever he can't find the remote
ever be trusted to keep a low profile?
And how could he go unnoticed?
Really, how could Bruce Banner ever be anything to Natasha Romanoff but a cinder block chained
to her ankle?
At the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Romanoff asks Nick Fury if he foresaw the romance that
developed between she and Banner.
His answer is a little vague, but he implies he saw the potential, telling her:
"You never know.
You hope for the best.
And make do with what you get."
So what did Nick Fury see in Banner and Romanoff that made him think they'd be a good match?
Was it a simple matter of that old cliché about how "opposites attract?"
Perhaps more importantly, why did he decide to act on it?
How would Fury benefit from Banner and Romanoff being in a romantic relationship?
Does he think it might help keep Banner in the fold?
Does he hope Romanoff will be a failsafe - an easy way to take out Banner if he needs to?
We may never know.
But we know he did it for a reason.
Nick Fury is a calculating man, after all.
Plus, manipulating a master assassin and a man who occasionally turns into a green monster
is inherently dangerous business, obviously.
He wouldn't have done it if he didn't think it was important.
We doubt he really enjoys playing matchmaker.
The Hulk has a penchant for scattering crowds of scared soldiers, dodging missiles, and
tearing through airplanes.
Meanwhile, Black Widow is a former agent of SHIELD, which is an outgrowth of the US military...an
organization that's never taken too kindly to the Hulk's antics.
That's why when she appears in that shack in The Avengers, Banner knows exactly the
kind of person he's dealing with.
He's dealt with the likes of her before.
And really, that makes his feelings for her even more strange.
By the time Avengers: Age of Ultron opens, Banner has won some trust with the world at
large… but he knows how quickly that can change.
And it does change.
Were their relationship to go any further, Romanoff might one day be put in the position
of having to assassinate Banner… or at least try.
Strange bedfellows indeed!
When Banner and Betty Ross are hiding out in a motel in The Incredible Hulk, the close
quarters and raw emotions mean things get hot and heavy real quick.
Oh, and Edward Norton plays the Hulk in that film, in case you're wondering whether Banner
just underwent another remarkable transformation.
Luckily for Ross and every other guest at the motel, Banner's wearing a heart monitor
on his wrist when they start making out.
Before things go too far, Banner cuts things off because his heart monitor starts beeping.
"Wait, wait, wait, we can't do this."
Getting physical with Ross, he soon learns, doesn't seem to be an option when he's sharing
a body with the Hulk.
Of course, it's possible that all that has changed.
As we saw at the end of The Incredible Hulk and the end of The Avengers, Banner has more
control over his transformation than he used to.
But that control is still rather shaky.
We saw him change in Avengers.
We also saw him change during Scarlet Witch's psychic assault in Age of Ultron.
And in Thor: Ragnarok, we learned Banner had no control when he became the Hulk and stayed
the Hulk for two whole years.
In fact, he apparently doesn't even remember any of it.
Considering all that, how could Black Widow ever consider risking her heart and her life?
Of course, on the other hand, Mark Ruffalo is pretty dreamy...
Why did the Hulk decide to leave at the end of Age of Ultron?
Of course, there were plenty of reasons for him to go.
At the time, it seemed like a rather selfless move, but the events of Thor: Ragnarok really
shine a new light on his actions.
We know for a fact that the Hulk never changed back into Banner for two years after the events
in Age of Ultron.
We also know Banner wasn't in control for most of that time.
Banner tells Thor that, in the past, he felt like both he and the Hulk had some control
over their actions.
But for the two years between Age of Ultron and Ragnarok, Banner claims the Hulk was in
sole control of his body:
"I mean, in the past, I always felt like Hulk and I each had a hand on the wheel, but this
time it's like he had the keys to the car and I was locked in the trunk."
If that's true, it wasn't Banner's choice to leave Romanoff, the Avengers, and Earth.
It was the Hulk's choice.
And if that's the case, it seems clear he did it so he could remain the Hulk indefinitely.
We know Black Widow has figured out a way to "lullabye" Hulk back into Banner.
And we know it was the video recording of Black Widow that triggered Hulk to finally
change back to Banner in Ragnarok.
"Nice work, big guy.
We don't know where Ulton is headed but you're going very high, very fast, so…"
So here's a theory for you.
Even though Natasha is the one who pushed Banner down the hole to summon the Hulk, perhaps
the Hulk left Earth not in spite of Natasha, but because of her.
Perhaps he wanted to remain the Hulk because he didn't want Banner's relationship with
her to put him back to sleep.
Do you think we're onto something here… or have we gone completely mad?
[HULKY HULK HULKSTER]
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about the Marvel Cinematic Universe are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.