In stories of Greek mythology, Ares is not a god other gods like. Zeus calls Ares (his own son) the god he hates most of all. This is because Ares is out of control, bloodthirsty, and needlessly violent.
Hulk and Ares are parallels in the way they become consumed by rage. But the Hulk usually gets our sympathy, while Ares did not create sympathy. This might show a contemporary hesitation with unequivocally disapproving of raging violence. We could focus on Hulk as just out-of-control and destructive the way Ares was perceived by Zeus and the other gods. But we don't. Could our tendency to sympathize with Hulk show how hardwired we are now to see anything unusual or strange as a victim deserving our compassion?
I think it would be helpful to pose a question, to help narrow the focus. Right now, this is still a little broad. I think that is no real guiding question in the topic itself, and there needs to be more of a focus. – RheaRG4 years ago
The main reason we sympathize with Hulk over Ares, is the fact that originally Ares was portayed as a villian for Thor and Hercules. We weren't given much backstory on why Ares was jealous of Hercules. We only saw the destruction that he caused. While Hulk only appears when he's trying to save his friends or defend himself. This makes Hulk come across as righteous fury. While Ares seems more selfish in nature, since he's endangering others out of jealousy. Not only that, but Hulk usually tries to control his rage while Ares embraces his fully. It is much later in Ares marvel history where he is given a deeper backstory. One that justifies his rage towards Hercules and the other Olympians. How he was pushed aside because people no longer see war as neccessary. Not only that but people seemed to forget all the suffering Hercules caused. Yet he is still favored. I think a better direction to take this topic is focusing on how knowledge of past abuses can allow us to sympathize with characters. As the more developed Ares became the eaiser it becomes to understand why he would take such villianess actions. In a lot of ways Ares mirrors Kratos from God of War more than Hulk. – Blackcat1304 years ago