If the Hulk Accidentally Smashed Your Car, Who Would Pay for the Damage?
Marvel fans like to come up with some wild theories, and some of them are real doozies. They have often asked silly but intriguing questions like “How can Scott Lang on his average salary afford to live in a fancy house in San Francisco?”
These kinds of questions are only going to increase with so many people cooped up while social distancing. So now they’ve come up with this fun question: If the Hulk smashes your car, who’s responsible for the damage?
What’s the real cost of superhero destruction?
Actually, this is a question the Marvel Cinematic Universe has kind of/sort of already pondered in Captain America: Civil War. After the catastrophic effects of the New York attack in the original Avengers, the destruction of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron and a Nigerian attack gone wrong in Civil War, authorities start questioning whether the Avengers should be kept in check.
Fans will recall that Tony Stark in particular thought they should, as he was still haunted by New York and the post-traumatic stress it brought him. He felt responsible for the collateral damage. Steve Rogers, on the other hand, resisted the idea, saying it was dangerous to restrain the Avengers in the event of a true catastrophic emergency. This conflict grew to such proportions that it tore a schism in the team.
Some people thought the storyline was a reaction not only to the Avengers’ own wanton destruction but the destruction seen in Man of Steel. As spectacular as the final battle between Superman, General Zod and his goons was, it scarcely took a breath to see how ordinary people were affected. Some said that one of the few redeeming qualities of Batman v Superman was that it actually pondered this question, given that the destruction was part of what turned Bruce Wayne against Superman.
Should Marvel fans start an insurance agency?
Marvel fans on Reddit pondered this sort of thing with a light-hearted tone. When a topic starter asked “Are the Avengers covered by insurance? What happens if your apartment, car, business, etc. is ruined in a battle the Avengers are engaged in?”
Some responses were silly, such as “Well if thor smashed into my car I’d try and file it under act of god.” But other responses seriously considered the question like so: “Probably Stark Industries has a branch that deals with damage, some sort of funding for the city and the people. Sort of like the branch who took care of extraterrestrial material in (Spider-Man) Homecoming. I dunno. But I would FOR SURE get some insurance living in NYC.”
So in short, go to Tony Stark, the Avenger with the most money. One can only wonder what Farmers Insurance would be like if actor JK Simmons, who does their commercials, played them in character as J. Jonah Jameson, whom he played in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and in Far From Home. “Farmers is essential now that The Avengers are a menace!”
Should Bruce Banner cover it now that the Hulk is smart?
The question gets even stickier if the Avenger that causes the destruction is the Hulk. Let’s say there’s not a deep-pocketed Tony Stark around to foot the bill. What then? If it’s the old days when Bruce Banner wasn’t responsible for his actions as the Hulk, it might be handled under a natural disaster clause.
Now though, we have Professor Hulk, or Smart Hulk, as seen in Avengers. Presumably, this would eliminate the need for such incidents since Smart Hulk wouldn’t go around indiscriminately smashing things. If he did, perhaps Bruce Banner would pony up with the help of a trust fund left behind by Tony Stark. Maybe this is why a lot of fans didn’t take to Professor Hulk. The Hulk is more fun when insurance agents scramble to cover his damage.
