Do we like them?

Do we like Hulk (Bruce Banner)?

A character from The Incredible Hulk (1962)

Our score: 7 out of 10. Mostly yes. Banner means well and keeps trying to do right, but you'd want some distance and a very good plan for when he loses his temper.

Dr. Bruce Banner is a quiet, withdrawn nuclear physicist working on a secret military gamma bomb. At the test site he spots a teenager, Rick Jones, who has wandered onto the field. He rushes out to save him and is caught in the blast. He survives, but the radiation changes him.

From then on, stress and anger turn Banner into the Hulk, a towering, super-strong creature. The two sides of him usually resent each other. The army, led by General Ross, hunts the Hulk, so Banner spends much of his life on the run and alone, trying to stay calm and keep other people safe.

That's why he scores well. Banner is kind, self-sacrificing and desperate not to hurt anyone, and the Hulk, for all the wreckage, is at heart a wounded figure who mostly wants to be left alone. He loses points because the collateral damage is real, and he is often a danger to the people he's trying to protect. You'd gladly have him on your side, as long as nobody makes him angry.