"Just tell me if I saw what I think I saw." - Betty Ross "I don't know what to tell you." - Stan the Pizza Dude
Betty Ross is the girl Bruce never thought he'd be capable of landing. From their early days at Harvard volunteering for LSD based experiements to being full fledged research professors at Culver, conducting experiments sponsored by General Ross and the army, they've been nearly inseperable since then. It's not what one would call a super cutesy, overly romantic love, but Bruce and his past, consisting of enough Marvel-heaped parental traumatic drama, would make it impossible for him to truly end up falling for someone, except Betty managed to do that. They're both intellectuals, at the peak of their research, Bruce in gamma radiation and Betty in cellular biology, which allowed them to end up coming together for Ross' goals in recreating the Super Serum from back in the 40s.
Betty has allowed Bruce to essentially feel more like himself, in the sense that there's no concern over his usual paranoia, feeling that he can't trust anyone. We see that in Norton's run as Bruce Banner, Betty is hands down the only person he can trust, short of a completely anonymous source interested in helping Bruce work on curing gamma poisoning. When Bruce first becomes the Hulk, purely out of bravado and an overexertion of confidence, he flees out of concern for Betty (falsely placed concern, but concern regardless). His rapport with Betty likely triggered the overconfidence in the first place, putting Bruce in the hot seat and transforming him into the Hulk, that because of their research combined, there was no way this could possibly go wrong.
However, when Bruce's attempts at fixing his situation fails in the middle of Brazil, he returns back to her, knowing that if anyone was as brilliant of a scientist as he is, it would be Betty, and she'd keep all of their notes. Expectations however, never quite meet up with reality, because upon returning to Culver, Bruce catches sight of Betty, who has apparently moved on, dating someone else entirely. The Bruce we see at this point is clearly heartbroken, in love, but convinced that because of everything that's happened, she's moved on.
Heartbroken as Bruce is by the sight, we see that their relationship is still secondary to Bruce's goals in returning human, because he still does his best to avoid her, even disappearing behind dumpsters and closed doors whenever she crosses his path. The pair eventually reunite kind of like in Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook where there's lots of dramatic hugging in the rain, and they act as if absolutely nothing is wrong with the universe.
Until of course, Bruce gets caught by the army.
Even as the Hulk, with Bruce's conscience is stable enough that Betty deserves his utmost protection against any and all danger. The Hulk willingly protects her from several attacks while she foolishly gets in the way (aka deciding to try and verbally reason with the hulk in the middle of a firefight). This would suggest that despite the transformation effectively demolishing Bruce's intelligence, his subconscious has held onto enough basics that love and overcome even slight technical difficulties.
Betty, in contrast, is fully capable of looking past the Hulk, going so far as to help Bruce return to civilization, buy clothing, and help him process the data he needs and finally speak with the man who can supposedly help him become normal. There's a lack of judgement on her part, except towards her father for driving Bruce to this point. She reciprocates everything offered, without any hesitation about what Bruce can become, because she's capable of looking past that and focusing on the man who she fell in love with at first sight.
Despite their obvious feelings towards each other, Bruce remains reluctant about the Hulk around Betty, convinced that he'll always come in between them. While Betty pays this no mind, it's evident that this haunts Bruce, particularly during a highly intimate scene between them. Even after everything's been done, Bruce once again leaves Betty, this time supposedly permanently, as he's last seen in British Columbia before the events of the Avengers. It's also interesting to note that in the Avengers there's no mention of Betty in the slightest, completely opposite of the way Bruce felt about Betty before. While it doesn't suggest he's completely forgotten about her, there are implications that he's 'removed' himself from her, avoiding any threat that might still be lurking, despite what SHIELD has said.
no subject
"I don't know what to tell you." - Stan the Pizza Dude
Betty Ross is the girl Bruce never thought he'd be capable of landing. From their early days at Harvard volunteering for LSD based experiements to being full fledged research professors at Culver, conducting experiments sponsored by General Ross and the army, they've been nearly inseperable since then. It's not what one would call a super cutesy, overly romantic love, but Bruce and his past, consisting of enough Marvel-heaped parental traumatic drama, would make it impossible for him to truly end up falling for someone, except Betty managed to do that. They're both intellectuals, at the peak of their research, Bruce in gamma radiation and Betty in cellular biology, which allowed them to end up coming together for Ross' goals in recreating the Super Serum from back in the 40s.
Betty has allowed Bruce to essentially feel more like himself, in the sense that there's no concern over his usual paranoia, feeling that he can't trust anyone. We see that in Norton's run as Bruce Banner, Betty is hands down the only person he can trust, short of a completely anonymous source interested in helping Bruce work on curing gamma poisoning. When Bruce first becomes the Hulk, purely out of bravado and an overexertion of confidence, he flees out of concern for Betty (falsely placed concern, but concern regardless). His rapport with Betty likely triggered the overconfidence in the first place, putting Bruce in the hot seat and transforming him into the Hulk, that because of their research combined, there was no way this could possibly go wrong.
However, when Bruce's attempts at fixing his situation fails in the middle of Brazil, he returns back to her, knowing that if anyone was as brilliant of a scientist as he is, it would be Betty, and she'd keep all of their notes. Expectations however, never quite meet up with reality, because upon returning to Culver, Bruce catches sight of Betty, who has apparently moved on, dating someone else entirely. The Bruce we see at this point is clearly heartbroken, in love, but convinced that because of everything that's happened, she's moved on.
Heartbroken as Bruce is by the sight, we see that their relationship is still secondary to Bruce's goals in returning human, because he still does his best to avoid her, even disappearing behind dumpsters and closed doors whenever she crosses his path. The pair eventually reunite kind of like in Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook where there's lots of dramatic hugging in the rain, and they act as if absolutely nothing is wrong with the universe.
Until of course, Bruce gets caught by the army.
Even as the Hulk, with Bruce's conscience is stable enough that Betty deserves his utmost protection against any and all danger. The Hulk willingly protects her from several attacks while she foolishly gets in the way (aka deciding to try and verbally reason with the hulk in the middle of a firefight). This would suggest that despite the transformation effectively demolishing Bruce's intelligence, his subconscious has held onto enough basics that love and overcome even slight technical difficulties.
Betty, in contrast, is fully capable of looking past the Hulk, going so far as to help Bruce return to civilization, buy clothing, and help him process the data he needs and finally speak with the man who can supposedly help him become normal. There's a lack of judgement on her part, except towards her father for driving Bruce to this point. She reciprocates everything offered, without any hesitation about what Bruce can become, because she's capable of looking past that and focusing on the man who she fell in love with at first sight.
Despite their obvious feelings towards each other, Bruce remains reluctant about the Hulk around Betty, convinced that he'll always come in between them. While Betty pays this no mind, it's evident that this haunts Bruce, particularly during a highly intimate scene between them. Even after everything's been done, Bruce once again leaves Betty, this time supposedly permanently, as he's last seen in British Columbia before the events of the Avengers. It's also interesting to note that in the Avengers there's no mention of Betty in the slightest, completely opposite of the way Bruce felt about Betty before. While it doesn't suggest he's completely forgotten about her, there are implications that he's 'removed' himself from her, avoiding any threat that might still be lurking, despite what SHIELD has said.