Mark Ruffalo, the US actor who plays Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, has smashed Boris Johnson’s attempt to compare Britain to the green superhero.
“Boris Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole,” the Avengers star tweeted on Sunday. “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.”
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/jN8BDzgpWl
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 15, 2019
Ruffalo, a Bernie Sanders supporter, is not known to have criticised Britain’s prime minister in the past. In 2017, however, he appeared to endorse an article on “the great British Brexit robbery”.
Over the weekend, Boris Johnson drew a parallel between his vision for handling Brexit and the Hulk’s endurance.
“Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he would explode out of them,” he said in an interview. “Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be – and that is the case for this country. We will come out on October 31 and we will get it done.”
His metaphor, which prompted a social media storm, came ahead of crucial talks with top EU negotiators as Johnson is attempting to strike a new deal with the union.
British lawmakers have gone to great lengths to ensure that Brexit doesn’t happen if there is no deal in place by 31 October, the deadline agreed upon by the previous government. The prime minister wants to leave the EU on that day whether he reaches a new agreement or not.
The main obstacle Johnson is facing is renegotiating the contentious provision of the Irish backstop – a policy intended to ensure there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland post-Brexit.
Johnson wants this provision removed from a Brexit agreement, while the EU insists it must stay in so that there are no physical checks on the would-be border after Northern Ireland leaves along with the rest of the UK.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said last week that he was expecting to see alternative ideas from Britain but wasn’t optimistic about breaking the impasse. Johnson appeared more upbeat, saying there were “real signs of movement” in the EU over scrapping the clause.
