Republican Hulk: An MCU Analogy of the Rise (and Fall) of Trump
“We have a Hulk…”
The following is an attempt to understand how Trump happened, and what has become of the Republican electorate in his wake.
In brief, I propose that the Republican voting base has followed the same story arc as the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (with apologies to Mark Ruffalo). Trace the following timeline (part history and part prediction) and see if I’m wrong.
Republicans until 2015: Bruce Banner
For most of recent history, Republican voters have been mild-mannered, hard-working types, quiet by nature, and generally dismayed by the clamorous rancor of the extreme left. Like Bruce Banner, they mostly just wanted to be left alone to do their thing. And yet they were increasingly provoked—encroached upon, belittled and insulted by pop culture and complicit Democrats—in an attempt to demoralize them into total obscurity.
Republicans in 2016: “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!”
Then along came Donald Trump. He succeeded in coalescing this historically individualistic group into a singular behemoth by promising to kick sand in the face of their enemies. Trump essentially said to Republicans, “If you get angry enough, we can win.” And like Bruce Banner in the first Avengers movie, Republicans said:
Already simmering with repressed rage, Republicans responded volcanically, transforming into the Hulk and plowing Trump into the White House like an orange sledgehammer.
With their rage finally boiled over, they became drunk on it and refused to give it up.
And yet, what they rallied behind wasn’t any traditional Republican or conservative ideals. They were rallying exclusively behind a personality, Donald Trump, pledging undying fealty to him simply for daring to represent them after years of mockery (or milquetoast complacency) by everybody else.
A few traditional conservatives (ahem) recognized the problem in this, and tried to talk them down.
Republicans 2017-2019: “Sun’s getting real low…”
This works just enough to keep Republican Hulk nominally in check, at least while their guy is in office. Trump keeps his end of the deal by rabble-rousing their political enemies with constant glee, to the delight of Republican Hulk, now fully abandoned to a baser, more brute nature.
But then along comes the next election. Trump primes Republican Hulk for a landslide victory, while simultaneously provoking them with the idea that if he doesn’t win, it’s because of massive voter fraud. Republican Hulk believes this completely, because unlike Bruce Banner, the Hulk is pretty dumb. He wants only to smash, and is content with any excuse.
Sure enough, Trump loses the election. Republican Hulk starts to growl with burgeoning rage. And a few reasonable voices (Ahem!) attempt to talk the Hulk down again…
Republicans in 2020: Hulk Ragnarok
Only this time the Hulk’s having none of it.
Republican Hulk turns on anyone, even former allies, who don’t share their rage-fueled lust to destroy. This is the Hulk of “Thor Ragnarok”. Trump, like Jeff Goldblum’s GameMaster, has been pitting his pet gladiator Hulk against all opponents (“fake news”, Democrats, anyone who doesn’t sycophantically support him) and relishing the resulting swathe of destruction. Republican Hulk now hates the mild-manner Bruce Banner that they used to be, and vows to never again be such a little wuss.
Republicans in 2021: Hulk vs. Hulkbuster Armor
With the Trump-provoked incursion into the Capitol building, resulting in five dead, Republican Hulk has lost all sense of control, purpose, and ideology. This is Hulk from “Age of Ultron”, rampaging through the city, destroying for no reason, blinded by a frenzy of aimless fury.
Moderate voices (AHEM!) are no longer trying to placate Republican Hulk and explain/apologize for them. Now, we have no choice but to be Tony Stark in his Hulkbuster Armor attempting to forcibly take the big guy down.
Like Tony, we moderates feared this day would come, and have mentally prepared. Republican Hulk represents decent people—the country’s Bruce Banners—who have forgotten everything they once stood for and abandoned their identity to a bully demagogue. There is no talking them down anymore. They have to be subdued by force until they can regain control of themselves. Like Tony Stark, we don’t want to hurt them. We don’t hate them. We just need them to stop rampaging until they can remember who they are and come to their senses. Please, please, just come to your senses.
Republicans after 2021: Pouting Hulk
In the wake of this, Republican Hulk will not, in fact remember who they are and come to their senses. They will be like Hulk in “Infinity War”: demoralized and petulant, that Hulk refuses to engage in even a worthy battle, defying Bruce Banner’s pleas.
Like Pouting Hulk, Trump Republicans will retreat in angry petulance. They will not support moderate Republican candidates. They will deliberately allow their own party to starve into irrelevance, simply out of bitter pouting over the defeat of their demagogue. This will last a good long time.
Republicans eventually: Smart Hulk
Ideally, eventually, Republican Hulk and Republican Bruce Banner will realize they don’t have to be one or the other. Like Smart Hulk in “Endgame”, they will reconcile the two, strengthening their Banner side with a steel backbone, and restraining their Hulk side with moderation and intellectual honesty.
This is an ideal situation, of course, and possibly too much to hope for. But I’m an optimist, and I love a good story.
Maybe next time I’ll tackle how the Democrat party is analogous to Loki.
And now a few essential take-home points:
Republicans: stop conflating Republican Hulk with conservatives/conservatism. Republican Hulk isn’t conservative any more than MCU Hulk is a scientist. Quit whinging about how “conservatives are under attack and being censored online!” Nobody minds you representing conservatism. For God’s sake REPRESENT CONSERVATISM. What everybody minds (and understandably censors) is Republican Hulk rampaging online, spouting Q-anon, gun-toting, threat-level, TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK, militia-mongering BS.
So stop doing that. Become Bruce Banner again. And tell your friends to do the same.
Democrats: stop crowing about how awful militant Republicans are after applauding militant Democrats. You can’t say of your group “violence is justifiable protest!” and then condemn violence when it comes in Republican flavor. Those Republicans storming the Capitol represent a huge chunk of America that feels they’ve been denied a voice (in mainstream culture, at least) for many years. Were they right to interpret that as an excuse for violence? In the strongest words, NO. They were reckless, blinded idiots operating out of frenzy.
You’re right that the insurrection in the Capitol isn’t the same as the violence and looting that happened during protests across the country last summer (and in previous years). But only by technicalities and matters of degree. Is it worse to traipse around the Capitol like jackasses with malicious intent, or to loot and set fire to businesses belonging to your neighbors? Both resulted in property damage, injury, and loss of life. Both were fueled by opportunistic politicians. Both were justified in the name of offense and justice.
I suggest that they are either both reprehensible abuses of their cause, or neither. Double standards are the ugliest and more pervasive thing about our current political state. If it’s hunky-dory when your guys do it, but terrible when the other guy does, then there’s something seriously wrong with your sense of intellectual honesty.
Both sides: Stop burning the bridges. Like it or not, both sides need each other. Kept in balance, liberals and conservatives balance the dual natures of humanity. If you truly succeed in “destroying” the other side, all you’ll accomplish is to saw off the branch you’re standing on. So quit it.
Loki needs Hulk, and Hulk needs Loki. They can hate each other. They just can’t afford to destroy each other.
G. Norman Lippert's Shiftlock 