
Well, here's a sentence I never expected to write: Avengers star Mark Ruffalo called out British prime minister Boris Johnson (opens in new tab) on Twitter, after the latter invoked the Incredible Hulk as a metaphor for, apparently, the U.K. busting out of the European Union. Brexit truly has dialed the weirdness of British politics all the way up, hasn't it?
First, some context, in case you've somehow missed recent developments in the all-consuming maelstrom of Brexit chaos that's shown absolutely no sign of getting even a fraction less chaotic since 2016. Since taking over as prime minister from Theresa May, Boris Johnson has insisted that the U.K. will depart the E.U. on October 31, with or without a deal. And his methods to achieve that goal, including suspending Parliament for five weeks, haven't exactly been popular (opens in new tab).
Now to the recent weirdness: Speaking to the Mail on Sunday on, well, Sunday, the PM said he'll override any steps Parliament takes to prevent the U.K. leaving without a deal. And he used a Hulk comparison to express that point: "Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he would explode out of them. Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be—and that is the case for this country." Thanks Boris, I hate it!
Boris Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole. Mad and strong can also be dense and destructive. The Hulk works best when he is in unison with a team, and is a disaster when he is alone. Plus...he’s always got Dr. Banner with science and reason. pic.twitter.com/jN8BDzgpWlSeptember 15, 2019
Well, the current Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, had no time for that comparison. Sharing a photo of the Mail on Sunday's front page on Twitter, Ruffalo wrote alongside it, "Boris Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole. Mad and strong can also be dense and destructive. The Hulk works best when he is in unison with a team, and is a disaster when he is alone. Plus...he’s always got Dr. Banner with science and reason."
At time of writing, Ruffalo's tweet has over 100,000 likes and more than 20,000 retweets. Might be safer to pick another Marvel analogy next time, Boris—perhaps one that won't destroy you on Twitter.
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Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.
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