Do you object to Black Widow and Hulk's romance in the MCU?

[GrandEleven]

They have the Hulk and all related characters (that are not also Mutants) and they can do Hulk solo films.

They just chose not to, probably because The Incredible Hulk didn't perform that well.

This is incorrect. They had to license Hulk back form Universal, and the current contract prohibits hulk solo films. They'd have to strike a similar deal with Sony/Spiderman to change that. Not impossible, but certainly not being avoided because of Incredible Hulk.

[Zero Hunter]

They have the Hulk and all related characters (that are not also Mutants) and they can do Hulk solo films.

They just chose not to, probably because The Incredible Hulk didn't perform that well.

There is still the weird thing about a Hulk movie as far as distribution rights go I believe. Universal still holds some part of the rights so if Marvel did make a new Hulk movie Universal would get a piece of the pie unless they passed on distributing it then it would fall back to Disney/Marvel. I don't know how big a piece Universal would get, but I think it must be big enough that Marvel is in no hurry to make a new Hulk movie.

[Zero Hunter]

This is incorrect. They had to license Hulk back form Universal, and the current contract prohibits hulk solo films. They'd have to strike a similar deal with Sony/Spiderman to change that. Not impossible, but certainly not being avoided because of Incredible Hulk.

Nope Marvel could start making a new Hulk movie tommorow if they wanted. They have the rights to make the movie just not the total rights to distribute it.

[JKtheMac]

This has been nagging me for a while. In the films the budding romance of Wanda and Vision makes sense, they are one of the most famous Avenger couples in comics; depicting this in the films is perfectly just. But in comics there is no evidence Black Widow and Hulk have any romantic feelings for one another.

Does this blatant disregard for ignoring comic canon (or lack there of) offend you? Thoughts?

I just camt answer this question as a yes or no because too much is implied by the question.

The fact is there is no romance between them, AoU along with IM3 is frequently misunderstood, because people watching movies bring their own stories to the table and then critisise what they think they have watched.

In the case of this relationship it is being pitched as an emotional connection that is in the process of becoming more but is doomed to fail. It plays into each of the characters' wider story arcs, enhancing and teasing out their themes and motivations.

For Natasha it is a moment for her to struggle with the legacy of the Widow program. It is a means of explaining to the audience how F#%@ed up a system that takes children and turns them into assassins via psychological manipulation is. She is somebody that is ill-equipped for a relationship, not understanding how her manipulation of the Hulk transformation, and her compartmentalisation of "the monster" in each of them is holding back her emotional maturity and ability to relate.

For Bruce it only highlights how his personality is a divided 'Jekyll and Hyde' complex. He is confronted by a person who is attracted to him, who is broken and conflicted, but instead of seeking resolution and salvation in a relationship she is appealing to their symmetry. Bruce at once feels betrayed and horrified, he knows more than anybody the potential for destruction and horror, Hulk is. He is desperate for some kind of control and discipline, and yet the one person he has come to trust to help him, is not only prepared to use that part of him ruthlessly, but is equally emotionally il-equipped to deal with it.

So is this a romance? No, it is a story device. In a quiet moment of the movie it is teasing out the key emotional positions of each of the characters and pushing them towards their next story. For Bruce it precipitates his removing himself from the situation and possible future conflict, and for Natasha it sets her up for her internal conflict in Civil War.

As to the main controversy, that of sterilisation being the heart of Natasha's monstrous self image, I think this is again a misreading of the text. Unfortunately those individual ideas are butted against each other in her dialogue. But her speech is about the horrific ideology behind the Widow program as a whole and does not single out that one aspect. Natasha is trying to equate her overall experience to being a monster. That is a cry for help and not a statement about her as a monsterous character or specifically about sterilisation.

[JKtheMac]

Nope Marvel could start making a new Hulk movie tommorow if they wanted. They have the rights to make the movie just not the total rights to distribute it.

And as you suggest earlier distribution would equate to divided profits, which for a special effect dependent movie is a problem.

[Agent Z]

I just camt answer this question as a yes or no because too much is implied by the question.

The fact is there is no romance between them, AoU along with IM3 is frequently misunderstood, because people watching movies bring their own stories to the table and then critisise what they think they have watched.

In the case of this relationship it is being pitched as an emotional connection that is in the process of becoming more but is doomed to fail. It plays into each of the characters' wider story arcs, enhancing and teasing out their themes and motivations.

For Natasha it is a moment for her to struggle with the legacy of the Widow program. It is a means of explaining to the audience how F#%@ed up a system that takes children and turns them into assassins via psychological manipulation is. She is somebody that is ill-equipped for a relationship, not understanding how her manipulation of the Hulk transformation, and her compartmentalisation of "the monster" in each of them is holding back her emotional maturity and ability to relate.

For Bruce it only highlights how his personality is a divided 'Jekyll and Hyde' complex. He is confronted by a person who is attracted to him, who is broken and conflicted, but instead of seeking resolution and salvation in a relationship she is appealing to their symmetry. Bruce at once feels betrayed and horrified, he knows more than anybody the potential for destruction and horror, Hulk is. He is desperate for some kind of control and discipline, and yet the one person he has come to trust to help him, is not only prepared to use that part of him ruthlessly, but is equally emotionally il-equipped to deal with it.

So is this a romance? No, it is a story device. In a quiet moment of the movie it is teasing out the key emotional positions of each of the characters and pushing them towards their next story. For Bruce it precipitates his removing himself from the situation and possible future conflict, and for Natasha it sets her up for her internal conflict in Civil War.

As to the main controversy, that of sterilisation being the heart of Natasha's monstrous self image, I think this is again a misreading of the text. Unfortunately those individual ideas are butted against each other in her dialogue. But her speech is about the horrific ideology behind the Widow program as a whole and does not single out that one aspect. Natasha is trying to equate her overall experience to being a monster. That is a cry for help and not a statement about her as a monsterous character or specifically about sterilisation.

It is a romance. You can say it is an unhealthy one but it is a romance nonetheless.

[Silvermoth]

Rumor is when the actors got the final script, even they were like WTF?

Yes, I believe that

[VolcanikTiger86]

Simple Answer Yes
Longer Answer To me it didn't make sense maybe because of the Universal stuff but couldn't they add some of Hulk's supporting cast to the avengers movies I mean for pete sake he was at Avengers Tower for how long, the whole Nat and Bruce thing undercuts the Bruce/Betty stuff from the last solo film.

[Sprite]

It was an interesting idea, and I was all for seeing them develop so long as the writing was strong enough. Unfortunately, said writing ended up falling flat (especially in Age of Ultron).

[John Venus]

I don't mind adaptations deviating from the comics and doing their own thing but it has to make sense and it has to be a good story. Nat/Banner did not make sense even within the context of the MCU. It was badly written and handled and it felt like Whedon trying to force a connection between the two characters rather than anything that felt natural for the two characters.

[JKtheMac]

It is a romance. You can say it is an unhealthy one but it is a romance nonetheless.

If this was an incident in my life I would not consider it a romance. It is just a developing potential situation and then an offer of romantic attachment which is not acted on. Indeed run away from.

[Agent Z]

If this was an incident in my life I would not consider it a romance. It is just a developing potential situation and then an offer of romantic attachment which is not acted on. Indeed run away from.

The film treats it as more than offer. It sounds very much like they have a relationship that they're keeping a secret from everyone else.

[JKtheMac]

The film treats it as more than offer. It sounds very much like they have a relationship that they're keeping a secret from everyone else.

Wow you are reading in something I don't see at all, and I really like AoU and have watched it lots. Put it this way, if their relationship turns into a romance later it will take a lot of development and the story arc has only just begun. In that case the romance hasn't really been written yet, so I can't comment on its presentation.

[Carabas]

In the films the budding romance of Wanda and Vision makes sense, they are one of the most famous Avenger couples in comics...

Actually, I don' see how this makes any sense whatsoever.

For a relationship in the movies to make sense you need to have it work in the movies itself, make it make sense within the MCU, not point to a huge pile of comics and go "See, makes sense."

[Ite]

Didn't offend me but didn't enjoy it.