(here is the moment courtesy of Muhammad Salem)
The moment when the Hulk smashes the ‘puny god, Loki, is not only a very comedic moment in The Avengers (2012) but a very important one. It might not be as great a movie moment but it is a case of matter over mind instead of mind over matter.
The main weapon Loki had as a villain, as he took on the
avengers, were the mind games that he
would play. Loki had a slithery tongue that could get under the skin of some
members of the team. Loki was accustomed to mocking and deriding: ‘An ant has no quarrel with a
boot.’ This approach taken by Loki is similar to the approach of mind over
matter where everything can be reasoned out or be used as a means to deceive or
to obfuscate/confuse the issue. If you take that approach to individuals that
are weak mentally they can be easily conned because they operate only in the realm
of appearances. They are lured in however by the convincing reasoning put
forward by a Loki type of character. The reasoning can represent nothing but it
does sound convincing when spoken. The convincing talking game is what Loki
relies on because he is clearly not in the league of a Thanos or an Ultron when
it comes to taking on the Avengers physically. Loki’s reliance on mind control
is evident when he uses his scepter to brainwash many individuals, including
Hawkeye. He is clearly very interested in mind control as opposed to using his
physicality to control individuals. We see this when he tells people to kneel
and then trying to convince them why they are made to kneel. He always
has to provide some form of fancy justification for his actions. This is
clearly a villain that relies heavily on his intellect in order to gain some
sort of advantage through deception or mind control.
The Hulk on the other hand is a purely physical specimen.
The main appeal of the hulk is the ultra testosterone on display. High levels of testosterone mean that a man
is more direct and forthright in his approach which is likely to antagonize.
High levels of testosterone increase the need to dominate your opponent
physically because your muscle mass is significant. The main test for a male
with very high levels of testosterone is to prove yourself physically. The main
price paid for a high level of testosterone is the decreased use of the
intellect. This normally explains why some of the males that rely so heavily on
their physicality are never the ones in charge of running an organization which
requires some form of intellect. They assume a particular role in the
organization that requires them to use their physicality and or do the heavy
lifting which keeps the organization functioning. This is why the working class
is being so ruthlessly exploited by the bourgeois class. This explains why
primarily physical people do not grasp the necessary skill set to grapple with
a high level of reasoning. The primarily
physical way is one way of being more direct and more intuitive instead of
relying on high flown concepts in order to analyze or master a situation. The
intellect and the physicality both have their place and I wish I had more time
to discuss it further. The hulk is primarily a physical specimen. The hulk cannot
lead as a result and is just an enforcer. Leaders are required to understand
the big picture and demonstrate how everything comes together to benefit the
whole. A character like the hulk is incapable of such a task because of his
reliance on his physicality. It also gives the impression that the hulk,
according to Loki, is a ‘mindless beast’. This also explains why Captain
America tells hulk that his primary role is to smash the alien army, led by
Loki. It is all the hulk knows; that unbridled physical power can only be
utilized in such a manner.
Loki is leading an alien army to destroy earth. The earth is
to be his prized possession should he succeed. The avengers stand in his way
particularly as they are now united following some dramatic moments. Captain America has assigned them several
roles in the battle that takes place in Manhattan. The primary reason why it
takes place in Manhattan is that Loki used Tony Stark’s/Iron man’s tower to
utilize his arc reactor energy to open the portal that will let his alien army
through. The battle rages on and Black widow, who is on the ground, decides that there must be a way to close the
portal because the fighting will go on and on particularly as the aliens keep
coming. Closing the portal is the best bet. She manages to hitch a ride to one
of the many alien aircraft zipping around in the air. Loki eventually tries to shoot her down as he is aboard an
aircraft and spots her. Black widow asks Hawkeye, on the top of a building
surveying the action, for some help. Hawkeye is not very fond of Loki for very
good reason. It is Hawkeye’s arrow that leads to Loki’s confrontation with the
Hulk in order to emphasize the team work involved. The arrow shot by Hawkeye
towards Loki appears innocuous when Loki catches in a very casual manner. It is
rigged to explode and this it does sending Loki crashing out of the sky onto
the balcony of stark’s tower.
The Hulk comes out of nowhere and attacks Loki with a two
fisted charge that sends him flying to the interior of the building’s top
floor. Loki knows he is in trouble but he still believes in his powers of
persuasion particularly as the Hulk is supposed to be a ‘mindless beast’. ‘Enough,
you are all of you beneath me. I am a god you dull creature and I will not be
bullied by…’ He’s not able to finish because the Hulk grabs him by the leg and
smashes him like a figurine on the floor 5 times. Those 5 smashes leave Loki
prostrate and unable to speak. His mind tricks could not work on the
testosterone driven hulk. Hulk is not as mindless as Loki claims because he
follows up his smash with the passing comment ‘Puny god.’
In this case it is matter over mind because of the direct, no holds barred
approach of the Hulk. This is why tactics can come to naught when you’re being
overwhelmed by a dominant physical presence. An overwhelming physical presence
can cause a highly pressurized situation for those that rely on the execution
of their tactics. They will still have to factor into their minds the ability
to elude the overwhelming physical presence in order to execute their tactic
effectively. You still need to be conscious of the overwhelming physical
presence and should be able to respond to it. Loki’s mistake was to assume that
his intellect would be enough to get him out of the situation instead of being
conscious of the Hulk’s dominant physical presence and trying to flee. Retreat
would have been the best option. People that rely primarily on their
intellectual abilities need to learn how to be elusive or how to elude an
antagonist that relies primarily on their physicality to get things done. In
most cases the intellect relies on other dominant physical bodies or enforcers
to get things done or for protection. Loki was hopelessly exposed particularly
as he is much weaker than the hulk.
Loki’s humiliation abases him completely because he remains
inactive for the rest of the battle. This moments was not only comedic but
important because this is the first meeting between the hulk and Loki. It was
leading up to that moment with Loki throwing repeated jabs during the film calling
the hulk a ‘mindless beast’ or a ‘dull creature’. Loki even tries to turn the
Hulk against the avengers on that Shield
fortress in the sky. This confrontation was long in coming but it is brief and
humbling for Loki who, regardless of his intellect, is bypassed as mediocre
opposition where it matters, on the field of battle. Loki really is a ‘puny god’.
When the avengers eventually take on Thanos in the Infinity Wars series i doubt that the hulk will be able to dismiss Thanos as he did Loki.
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