Hulk Dogs

The Hulk Dogs were three genetically mutated hounds David Banner made with gamma radiation and his son Bruce Banner's DNA.

Biography[]

Hulk[]

The Hulk Dogs were a trio of gamma-irradiated dogs, including Lily, a French poodle; Smokey, a mastiff; and Sammy, a pit bull. David Banner sought to unleash the Hulk's power; thus, he mutated the dogs to kill Betty Ross for prying into his business. As part of his plan to spur his "real son," David threw to his dogs a scarf imbued with Betty's scent that she forgot after their talk, ordering them to go get her; later, he called Bruce to tell him about the "surprise visit" he's sending Betty, knowing it would anger Bruce. Then, a hostile Glenn Talbot attacking Bruce enraged him enough to become the Hulk and rush to Betty's rescue.

Betty exited her cabin to investigate a loud rustling sound in the woods; much to her horror, she found Hulk hiding among the trees. Her fear faded upon recognizing him as Bruce as he slowly approached her. They shared a quiet moment until the dogs emerged from the forest, so Hulk put Betty in her car to protect her and confronted them.

Hulk backhanded Lily into a tree and fought Smokey and Sammy with a fallen tree trunk. With Hulk busy, Lily attacked Betty, barking violently at her; Hulk used the log with Sammy attached like a baseball bat to bash both dogs away. Betty saw Hulk try to reach her, but Smokey and Sammy attacked and tripped him. They grappled in the dirt, taking the battle further into the woods. Betty started her car, ready to escape, but killed the engine and stayed, worried for Hulk and dazed by the situation.

Sammy kept gnawing on Hulk's leg while Hulk wrestled Smokey on the ground. Lily bit at his neck, but Hulk pushed her away as Smokey chomped on his wrist. Hulk punched the dog's head and bit its leg hard with a loud crunch before shoving Smokey aside. Lily ran behind the distracted Hulk and saw an opening as he spun around; before he could react, she lunged at Hulk and bit and pulled his crotch, making him wince and grunt in great pain. He grabbed Lily's head, yanked her off his shorts, and slapped her to the ground before using her as a club against Smokey. Then Hulk got Sammy off by punching his genitals before throwing him. Smokey and Sammy cornered Hulk, but he jumped into the treetops as they leaped at him; both dogs collided before following him. As Smokey cornered him on a branch, Hulk unleashed a mighty roar and advanced toward him, but Sammy jumped him and gripped his neck. Then they stumbled and fell to the ground, toppling a giant tree and briefly disorienting the dogs.

Sammy clung to Hulk's neck, but Hulk slammed a massive rock in the dog's face, seemingly killing it. Betty watched anxiously until Lily suddenly returned to menace her again. Smokey leaped onto Hulk's chest, but Hulk grabbed him and punched his fist down Smokey's throat. Hulk raised the dog overhead, slammed it down, and smashed it, causing a burst of green blood. Lily became more vicious trying to get Betty, growling and pounding on the car, cracking the windshield, oblivious of Hulk behind her. He jumped and landed on Lily's back, crushing her dead.

With Lily's head and paws hanging through the windshield, Betty looked fearfully at the dead creature's face inches away as it began melting. Hulk chucked Lily's corpse deep into the forest, where she exploded into a glowing green cloud. As Hulk checked on Betty, it seemed the fight was finally over. However, Sammy pounced on Hulk from behind and bit his neck again; struggling to remove him, Hulk enlarged his trapezius and broke Sammy's jaws, shocking Betty.

Hulk grabbed Sammy's head and slammed him onto Betty's car hood; as she watched, horrified, he savagely tore Sammy in half, and the dog exploded in a mist of green gore right before Betty's eyes. Still riled from the adrenaline rush, Hulk looked at Betty but calmed down before walking toward a small nearby lake and reverting to Bruce. After staggering to Betty's car, Bruce confirmed that his father had sent the dogs. Still agitated from the battle, Bruce narrowly strangled Betty when focusing on how he killed the dogs, as he seemingly enjoyed it. After Betty screamed, Bruce returned to his senses and removed his hands from her neck. Betty took Bruce inside her cabin, and they tried to process what happened.

Relationships[]

David Banner - Master.
Bruce Banner/Hulk - Enemy and killer.
Betty Ross - Enemy and target.

Behind the scenes[]

The dog fight scene was inspired by Incredible Hulk #14, released in 2000. General Ryker sends a pack of massive gamma-infused dogs to attack the Hulk in the issue.

Trivia[]

Ang Lee's eldest son designed the dogs.
The dogs have names according to their concept art: the mastiff is Smokey, the French poodle is Lily, and the pit bull is Sammy.
According to the Official Illustrated Screenplay and novelization, the original dog fight was slightly longer and more violent. Hulk also kills the dogs differently: Hulk jumps high, lands on Sammy's back, and snaps it; uses a tree to bash Lily through Betty's windshield; and squeezes and crushes Smokey's head in his hands.
- The dogs originally were to steam and melt after defeat.
In the Illustrated Screenplay, Lily springs back to life after Hulk smashes her through Betty's windshield and partially grabs Betty in her mouth, injuring her slightly as a final attack before dying. In the novelization, Lily's face gets mashed flat against the windshield before coming back from within an inch of her life and smashing through, but Betty yanks on the seat release just in time as Lily's jaws close above her. After Bruce opens the car door, Betty partly staggers out of her car and sees some blood smear on him before realizing it's hers from cuts caused by the broken glass and Lily's claws.
At the time, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) considered the dog fight scene their most complex work.
Storyboard art by Michael Anthony Jackson depicts the dogs being slightly larger than in the film.^[1] According to ILM, the dogs' final versions are the size of large horses.
According to Animation Director Colin Brady, Lily is the trio's fidgety and hyperactive leader and the only female; Smokey is the group's bear-like 'wrestler,' and Sammy is lion-like, "all about biting."
- Being the leader, Lily is the most intelligent dog, too. She's the only one who went for their target, Betty, especially when Hulk wasn't looking. She was also clever enough to injure Hulk by purposely aiming for a sensitive spot during her groin attack, hurting him enough to cause a strong response.
According to concept art by Sang Jun Lee and Kevin Nowlan, they initially considered some other dog breeds for the film, including a German Shepherd.^[2]
Ang Lee used trained attack dogs in motion capture suits that performed about 30% of the fight sequence while the rest was keyframe animation, though, in the end, the work became about even with 50% mo-cap and 50% hand animation.^[3]
Lily is the only dog that focuses on killing Betty in the film; however, all three have moments of threatening Betty in the novel and illustrated script.
The dogs represent David Banner's apathy and cruelty. He seemingly doesn't care about them as he addresses them as "dogs" instead of their names, mutates them without hesitation, and seems indifferent to their failure to kill Betty and Hulk killing them. The novelization explains that David only used the dogs to test the Hulk's strength; he's unconcerned about their fate since they served their purpose and gave a result exceeding his expectations: the Hulk was strong enough to face them single-handedly.
In the film's Director's Commentary, Ang Lee said he wanted the dog fight to be violent since the dogs are now monsters, so the Hulk can be more brutal since he wouldn't have to hold back against them.
The Hulk Dogs inflict some lasting psychological damage on Bruce and Betty after the fight in the novelization. Bruce is disturbed by his seeming pleasure in killing them and his realization of killing living creatures with his bare hands. Betty is traumatized from watching the Hulk revel in his power as he killed the dogs, especially how he crushed one of their skulls; she imagines Hulk subjecting her to what he did to them, making her fear his destructive potential.
In the novelization, David uses the dogs to kill the Berkeley lab janitor, Benny Goodman, so that he can take his house and job.