Some definitions from Black's Legal Dictionary:

Kill - v. To deprive of life, to destroy the life of an animal or person.  The word "homicide" expresses the killing of a human being.

Manslaughter - The unjustifiable, inexcusible and intentional killing of a human being without deliberation, premeditation and malice.  According to the Model Penal Code, which many states have adopted, Criminal homicide constitutes manslaughter when:  (a) it is committed recklessly; or (b) a homicide which would otherwise be murder is committed under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse.  The reasonableness of such explanation or excuse shall be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the actor's situation under the circumstances as he believes them to be.  MPC Section 210.3.

Involuntary Manslaughter - Such exists where a person in committing an unlawful act not felonious or tending to great bodily harm, or in commiting a lawful act without proper caution or requisite skill, unguardedly or undesignly killes another.

Voluntary Manslaughter - Manslaugher committed voluntarily upon a sudden heat of the passions; as if, upon a sudden quarrel, two persons fight, and one of them kills the other.

Murder - The unlawful killing of another human being by another with malice aforethought, either express or implied.  The Model Penal Codes defines it as follows:  "Criminal homicide constitutes murder when: (a) it is committed purposely or knowingly; or (b) it is committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.  Such recklessness and indifference are presumed if the actor is engaged or is an accomplice in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit robbery, rape or deviate sexual intercourse by force or threat of force, arson, burglary, kidnapping or felonious escape."

Degrees of Murder - In most states, murder is divided into two degrees, for the purpose of imposing a more severe penalty for some murders than others.  All murder which shall be perpetrated by means of poison, lor by lying in wait, or by any other kind of wilful, deliberate and premeditated killing, or which shall be committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate any arson, rape, robbery or burglary, are commonly deemed murder of the first degree; and all other kinds of murder are deemed murder of the second degree.

Depraved Heart Murder - Killing of a human being accomplished by extreme atrocity; malice is inferred from the act of atrocity.  Extremely negligent conduct, which creates what a reasonable man would realize to be not only an unjustifiable but also a very high degree of risk of death or serious bodily injury to another or to others - though unaccompanied by any intent to kill or do serious bodily injury - which actually causes the death of another, may constitute murder.

In my opinion, the Hulk is clearly guilty of manslaughter.  Maybe murder.  Rick Jones would also be guilty of manslaughter and maybe murder as an accomplice and helping the Hulk escape.

Discuss...

("New Adventures of Flash Gordon" was the shite!) and the Incredible Hulk TV show...

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The Lou Ferrigno series or the cartoon where Bruce clothes re-appeared after the metamorphasis or both?

I did and I do love the Hulk from them days. Chad, I loved the line about Stan "selling whatever car is on the lot."  And you do know that the Filmation Flash Gordon series is available on DVD, right?  I have fond memories of that one too.

As for the Hulk killing, it's been established as early as Hulk 227 that the Hulk is a childlike, angry, brutish version of Banner's own psyche.  For him to kill would mean that Banner is a man who is capable of killing, wantonly and without remorse.  It's "realistic" to assume that someone's been killed in all those rampages, but to own up to that, remove all debate, and say, yeah, these people here died, and then these... And these... makes their lead character a multiple murderer.  Recent vintage Marvel has no trouble with the idea of their lead characters being killers, and their merchandising division has no trouble marketing these killers to the small fry as acceptable playmates (as with the Spider-Man & Friends line.)  The moral compass does not point in the direction it once did.  No one outside of the hard-line, 70's era fan base seems to be complaining, and so long as there's no potential hit to their pocketbook, Marvel's chosen path will not change. 

So the Hulk, having been tagged as a killer in the past, will come back to Earth and kill and kill and kill and kill... until, what?  Someone arbitrarily decides Len Wein and the childlike Hulk will somehow sell better? Why would they assume that?  The current fan base loves the "bold" stories of the Quesada-era.

I think making the Hulk a killer is a terrible mistake for the character.  But the character I'm thinking of is not the one they've been writing about for the past ten years or more.  But this new guy looks enough like the old one to keep the liscensing department happy, so everyone wins, right? Or do we? What is the collateral effect of changing an industry that was once founded upon social responsibility and all-ages entertainment into one that pushes mayhem and bad-ass death-dealing as the correct choices? 

Brad Hague wrote: In my opinion, the Hulk is clearly guilty of manslaughter.  Maybe murder.  Rick Jones would also be guilty of manslaughter and maybe murder as an accomplice and helping the Hulk escape.

Nope.  Don't see it.  I think it's a conceit of genre that the Hulk doesn't kill, either voluntarily or involuntarily, just as much as the Thing and Superman don't kill when they punch someone through a populated building. Good God, I know this is just a discussion, but I think it's absolutely necessary to keep in mind the kind of fiction we are discussing: keyword - fiction.  Buy into the conceit lock, stock, and barrel or don't, but I think it's totally ridiculous to nitpick this kind of stuff to try and figure out how it would "realistically" happen when, in fact, the rules have been set up since the beginning. 

Realism In Action:

Villain X breaks out of jail, and kills people doing so. He tracks down and attacks Hero Z, who had previously captured him. An epic battle ensues. Cars being thrown, buildings collapsing, that sort of thing.

Eventually, our brave Hero Z uses his cleverness to get the upper hand on Villain X, and knocks him out. On the last page of the issue, our hero dusts off his hands, and smiles at a job well done.

And then he looks around, and sees millions of dollars in propety damage, and bodies (and parts of bodies) everywhere. A mob forms and begins to shout and throw things at our hero.

The next 27 issues deal with the ensuing legal actions and will mostly feature talking heads. At the end of the storyline, Hero Z is either imprisoned, executed, or becomes a fugitive. The two former options spell out End Of Series. The latter option means that the series will dwell on the increasingly downward spiral of the hero's life as he goes on the run. Perhaps Hero Z will then become Villain Z, so as to exact revenge on the world that rejected his brand of heroism.

Would Hulk murder someone?  No.  Is there a chance of someone being killed by collateral damage from a Hulk vs. anyone fight?  Yep.

If it can happen to Spider-Man (Capt. Stacy), it sure could happen to Hulk.