#joe fixit

Crack that egg, McGowan

Joe's gray form isn't as strong as his green counterpart, but he's much more intelligent. Not in the scientific sense like Banner, but in the sense that he's very crafty and can think on his feet. He makes up for his lack of brute strength by using his wits. With this in mind, I think it'd make sense for Joe to feel a little faster than the Big Guy - less because he's innately faster, and more because he's less clumsy, he puts a lot more thought into how he moves.

You may be aware that in both the 2003 Hulk game and Ultimate Destruction, the Hulk's chargeable attacks are inspired by a weapon from the Devil May Cry series: Ifirt, a pair of flaming gauntlets.

A later entry in the same franchise features another set of flaming gauntlets by the name of Balrog, however, holding the attack button will not charge its attacks. Instead, Balrog is charged by successive attacks - after 10 hits, the weapon will ignite, and gain access to more powerful attacks. I could envision a similar mechanic for Joe, as a way to portray that it takes more effort to achieve the same feats of strength as the Big Guy, but that he has the skills to make up for it. When Joe's fully charged, I could see this causing his gray eyes to turn green along with some veins, paying homage to his cosmic-powered form from The Immortal Hulk.

(I also like the image of Joe having one attack he "charges up" when the player mashes the button instead of holding it, causing Joe to wind up his fist like an old-timey cartoon character).

Besides his attacks, I could see Joe having a dedicated dodging mechanic, showing that he thinks about the way he fights a lot more than the Big Guy. Maybe attacking after dodging engages some special counter-attacks, made stronger if preceded by a perfectly timed dodge.

And since Joe doesn't charge his attacks, it would make sense that he doesn't charge his jumps either. Instead, I imagine he'd gain height by chaining jumps, meaning he'd start with a relatively small jump, then the player would press the jump button again just as he hits the ground to have him jump higher.

Now, my main frame of reference for him is The Immortal Hulk, but it seems a common use for his brain is - in his words - "finding ways to hurt people". Since he likely wouldn't have access to devastating super-moves like the ones found in Ultimate Destruction, perhaps he instead deals with tougher enemies by locating and targeting their weak points? Maybe this mechanic could also come up in a story moment, where Joe wants to intimidate someone by inflicting pain on them.

Speaking of story - it's easy to imagine Joe as an unlockable reward disconnected from the story, or maybe as having distinct missions and activities from the Big Guy. However, I can imagine a situation where the player can transition between playing as both Hulks in quick succession.

I'm picturing a game set early in Banner's life, before his identity was exposed, with the only playable Hulk being the gray one. This changes when an antagonist captures Bruce during the day, when tmaybe threatens Rick and/or Betty as well. The resulting feeling of powerlessness provokes enough anger for the green Hulk to emerge for the first time.