For many decades, Batman was not a killer, and did not use a gun, and doing so would have been grossly out of character. This, in spite of the fact that Batman had used a gun and killed in his earliest appearances. Batman was still being developed, and those early issues were his formative years as a character. The "real" Batman would not surface until a bit later.

This is the same with the Hulk. The Hulk was not meant to be a killer, once the Hulk was fully developed.

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Spot-on.

As originally depicted, the Hulk was a brutish, sinister character, one who often plotted against the human race.

Of course, his physical appearance, strength, intelligence level, and personality traits radically fluctuated during those first six issues, and continued to do so after the series was cancelled. It wasn't until around 1966 when the familiar "Hulk smash!" version started to become the stardard.

These early stories were certainly proving grounds for the character, but at no time did he ever kill a person. He may have gone on rampages, he may have plotted against humanity, he may have said he would kill Character X during the heat of battle, but he never actually killed anyone.

When all is said and done, the early Hulk, while full of anger, bluster, and threats, was never truly malicious, and never actually killed anyone. 

Can you blame the deer for hitting on Jen?

L.Walker wrote: ...If I had meant you, I would have specified you....

Then who else did you mean?

L. wrote: ...What makes one interpretation more valid than another? Popularity? Longevity? Obviously, not original portrayal....

Longevity, for the most part. Mickey Mouse, Superman, Snoopy, and, yes, The Hulk, were all quite a bit different in their earliest forms than what would later become their accepted forms.

Ok, you want to believe that the Hulk is an evil murderer. Go ahead. Looks like you have your wish with the way he is portrayed anymore, doesn't it? I bet if you ask Stan Lee, or if you could have asked Jack Kirby, they would both have said that the Hulk wasn't meant to be a killer. That's speculation, naturally.

Anyway, we disagree on how the Hulk should be portrayed. I don't really care to continue on with the back-and-forth about the matter, as all I would be doing is wasting time reasserting my position.

Matt Hawes: "Longevity, for the most part. Mickey Mouse, Superman, Snoopy, and, yes, The Hulk, were all quite a bit different in their earliest forms than what would later become their accepted forms."

The problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes the evolution of a character reaches a final point. When in fact, every character you mention continues to evolve. There is no static "accepted" form. So why are certain alterations acceptable while others are not?

Matt Hawes: "Ok, you want to believe that the Hulk is an evil murderer. Go ahead."

Now you're just being an immature ass. As I said: "Should the character be written as a murderer now? I never claimed any such thing."

Matt Hawes: "Looks like you have your wish with the way he is portrayed anymore, doesn't it?"

There you go again.

Matt Hawes: "I bet if you ask Stan Lee, or if you could have asked Jack Kirby, they would both have said that the Hulk wasn't meant to be a killer. That's speculation, naturally."