#i would like to thank brian and his ass (in bio) for this opportunity—

[its-short-for-jackalope]

Tinlightenment streams are always very serious and professional.

[drrjsb]

I saw what you wrote about the ass hole General Ross ;) do you think Bruce Banner is scared of him? in the future do you think we will see them come across each other again... Love your blog :D

Thank you kindly and thanks for the questions about Sec. Ross, Bruce and Civil War! I’m going to answer them in one post. When I read or hear people complaining how Loki is the only really great villain in the MCU, I think they are forgetting about General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross because when William Hurt plays him, he really is more than the caricature of a power-hungry military man he started out as in the comics. The guy is just not to be trusted. He is and always will be Bruce Banner’s arch nemesis in the MCU, but the irony is Ruffalo and Hurt have not shared screen time together. I’m hoping that will happen in Infinity War or Avengers 4 because I want to see these two have some words and the actors chew up the scenery. 

I really hated the premise of Captain America: Civil War, but I liked what the Russos and the writers did with Ross. We got a very efficient explanation for why and how he was there, and it didn’t take long to figure out he had not changed his agenda one bit since The Incredible Hulk. The guy is EVIL–I said he was up to no good two years ago and I was not wrong. He hates people he cannot control and order around, and that hate is magnified when they have super powers. Now, thanks to the Sokovia Accords he has the UN and many, many governments giving him the mandate to ride herd on the people he hates and despises or he can eliminate them by death or imprisonment or retire them. It’s almost everything he’s ever wanted … except Bruce Banner and the Hulk. No wonder Betty still wants zero to do with dear ol’ Dad.

I think it’s a good thing that Bruce and Hulk were off planet and not in CA:CW because the conflict between them and Ross runs too deep for Bruce to have worked with him (I think a threat at the level of IW and Thanos is about the only thing that would put them on the same side). It would have been painful, but I think Bruce would have stayed neutral and said he was “retired”. This would have caused a real rift between Bruce and Tony because Stark has essentially kept Bruce out of Ross’s clutches since the Battle of New York. Bruce stayed in the tower for Science Bros, but whether Bruce knew about it or not, I’m sure Tony was doing his quiet best to fight off any covert or legal threats Ross would have made. Also, the idea of fighting his friends just would not have appealed to Bruce because he would have seriously hurt people he cared about. As Nat said, he avoids the fight because he knows he’ll win. Imagine what an awful situation it would have been to face Wanda again. It says a lot for Bruce and Hulk’s control that he didn’t go after her in Sakovia. If she attacked him in CW, he might not (be able to) hold back. Also, I couldn’t see Bruce siding against Tony and Nat and joining Cap whether or not he agreed with some of his reasoning. It’s just as well Bruce and Thor weren’t around. It was enough of a bitter mess without adding more unnecessary drama and carnage. (CW ranks at the bottom of MCU movies for me because I think the premise is just stupid despite some really fine character moments and the need to “break up the band” before IW. I’m Team Thor/Revengers all the way.)

Is Bruce afraid of Ross? Well, depending how much one wants to draw on the comics, Bruce has “daddy issues” at least as big as Tony, Loki, or any other character in the MCU. Neither Norton nor Ruffalo had/has had an opportunity to deal with them on the screen (see Ang Lee’s Hulk 2003 for more than enough), so Ross has stood in for the worst Dad EVER candidate, Brian Banner, in the MCU. I wouldn’t say Bruce fears Ross, but he is afraid Ross will bring out the Hulk and what Hulk’s reaction to Ross would be. The guy lied to Bruce and his own daughter to get them to join the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project and then goaded and pressured Bruce into trying what should have been a radiation resistance serum but turned out to be a covert attempt to replicate Erskine’s formula for super soldiers on himself to keep their project’s funding. Then there’s that little five-year plus manhunt that made Bruce’s life hell on top of dealing with the Hulk. Ross did let Hulk go after the Battle of Harlem, but Bruce clearly had to continue hiding out for the next two years up till when Natasha meets him at the beginning of The Avengers. The unknown parties she tells Bruce S.H.I.E.L.D. kept off his track more than likely still included Ross. I don’t think Bruce is afraid of him, but they really don’t like each other, and Ross would have loved to have put Bruce in a cell on the RAFT or vivisected Hulk or controlled and used him as a weapon. If we do get these two in the same room, I imagine we’ll have some of the sass and sarcasm they both can throw. These are two great actors, so like I said, I’m game to watch it. I’d like to see Bruce stand up to him since Ross is basically a school yard bully/bad father figure writ large. With everything going on in Infinity War, I’m not sure we’ll get that. I’d like to hear Tony explain to Bruce why he worked with Ross, but we may only get an eye-roll and a “Dude, what were you thinking?!?!” look from Bruce when he finds out. I almost want to see Natasha deliver the news, Bruce go–”WTF?!?!? I could have told you not to go near Ross!”, and her say, “I know. It was stupid, but we don’t have nearly enough time now to explain that mess. You’ll have to ask Tony later. So, what’s this I hear about you working with Loki???” I hope I’ve covered your three questions, and thank you once again for asking me!