Whatever you do, don't make Dr. Banner angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.
Ayano: Is he having some sort of allergic reaction?
Kazuma: I don't know but I'd be worried if my body did that, seems like you would go through a lot of pants that way.
Kazuma: I don't know but I'd be worried if my body did that, seems like you would go through a lot of pants that way.
What happens at the intersection of You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!, Shapeshifting (often of the involuntary kind) and Unstoppable Rage. Generally, the trope goes like this:
- Character X is angered or in pain or some specific trigger is invoked.
- X reaches their breaking point and transforms into something at least twice their normal size. Skin color usually changes as well.
- Stuff gets broken until there's nothing else to break or X gets talked down from their rage.
- Cue change back to X's normal state — unless Magic Pants are involved. This might result in Monster Modesty.
If the subject is female, there's a good chance that they'll become an Amazonian Beauty and/or a Statuesque Stunner.
For some reason, werewolves in modern fiction are often subject to this type of transformation, rather than (just) the full moon. Can involve a Superpowered Evil Side or a Jekyll & Hyde scenario. Berserk Buttons are often involved as well. May result in a Heroic RRoD or One-Winged Angel. Compare The Berserker for cases where the transformation is purely psychological. If this requires seeing yourself as the hulk, that's Self-Perception Shapeshifting.
Sister Trope to Trauma-Induced Transformation. See also HULK MASH!-Up, One-Winged Angel, Limit Break, Super Mode, Turns Red, Growing Muscles Sequence and Living Mood Ring. Compare and contrast Working Out Their Emotions, where rage (or another similarly negative emotion) drives someone to get stronger the old fashion way. See also Traumatic Superpower Awakening.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- A rare female example of hulking out occurs in Angel Cop, where the psychic Lucifer enlarges her muscles, going from silky-smooth to rippling in an instant.
- Never get Stella from Arakawa Under the Bridge in her bad mood, especially talking ill about Sister, you will regret it.
- In Attack on Titan, the Shifters unleash their Titan form by using bodily harm as a catalyst
for their intense emotion/willpower. Each transformation involves lightning falling from the sky and bomb shockwave.
- This happens to Yammy Llargo in Bleach, only he Hulks Out when he was already the size of a football stadium.
- In Desert Punk, desert gang leader Makoto has what's described as a case of "Hulk Syndrome". Say his mother has a fat belly button (or just call her a "dirty whore" in the English dub), and he grows huge muscles, goes berserk, and destroys anyone who crosses him. And that's after taking a long string of taunts without batting an eye.
- Digimon:
- Mon example from Digimon Tamers: when Beelzemon kills Leomon, Takato becomes so furious it causes Guilmon to evolve into the highly unstable and uncontrollable Megidramon.
- Earlier in Digimon Adventure, Tai became obsessed with getting Agumon to digivolve to the ultimate level. The end result was SkullGreymon.
- Dino Girl Gauko is about a girl named Naoko who transforms into a fire breathing dinosaur when she gets angry. Normally her dinosaur form is still the size of a child, but she grows larger the angrier she gets and can grow bigger than a building.
- Dragon Ball:
- Goku was subject to transforming into a giant ape-like creature with laser breath when gazing at a full moon. In Dragon Ball Z, Goku's son, Gohan had the same "issues", and cutting off their Saiyan tails reversed the transformation. Vegeta, having had the proper training, was in full control of his Oozaru form.
- Going Super Saiyan is even closer to the trope; most Saiyans' first transformations come when they get really, really angry, and they really do get stronger the angrier they get. And when they combine anger with purpose... you're boned.
- Broly is probably the best example of this in the series. His transformation into the Legendary Super Saiyan literally has his skin exploding.
- Gohan as a Super Saiyan 2 in the Cell Saga is this as his rage makes him one of the most sadistic characters in the anime besides Broly and Kid Buu. Even Cell refers to him as a monster. Gohan is also very muscular for an 11-year-old.
- Gohan takes it a step further in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero when his rage triggers yet another transformation, this time into his "Beast" form, his strongest form to date.
- Dragon Ball Super has Kale, a Shrinking Violet Saiyan who goes from a normal-looking young girl to the female version of Broly.
- Fairy Tail: Such◊ is the effect of the Power Perfume in Ichiya's arsenal. Magic Pants are included, of course.
- Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star is a minor version — pretty much every fight scene starts with him rip his jacket to shreds by tripling the size of his muscles (they're back by the next scene). Several mooks use their special abilities to increase in size, not that it helps any.
- In Green Worldz, the female human hybrid does this by having wood branches surround her body when she starts getting a little serious.
- Played for laughs in How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? with Machio, who routinely shreds his clothes when he flexes, going from a reasonably fit young man to a hulking mountain of muscle in an instant. It's gotten him into trouble when he does it in public.
- In Chapter 305 of Hunter × Hunter, Kid Hero Gon Hulks Out when Pitou admits that Kite is already dead and beyond any help. He turns into a muscular long-haired adult whose raw power rivals that of the Chimera Ant King. Overlaps with Dangerous Forbidden Technique since Gon accomplished this by forcefully aging himself; reducing his lifespan and (maybe) sacrificing the ability to use nen ever again.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
- Golden Wind: As Diavolo's right-hand man, Doppio can "channel" King Crimson's powers to briefly boost his physical parameters (size, strength, etc).
- Steel Ball Run: With his Scary Monsters, Diego can briefly increase his muscles to perform feats such as lifting his horse while riding on it,
- Kirby: Right Back at Ya!: This happens to King Dedede in "Frog Wild", when he claims the Demon Frog for himself, turning him into a large, muscular beast after it possesses him.
- This is basically how the Unicorn of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn enters its Gundam mode: by reacting to an extreme state of emotion in its pilot and entering "Destroy Mode." This results in its joints opening up, revealing a glowing red psycoframe, increasing its power massively, and splitting its "horn" into the characteristic Gundam V-fin. Learning how to control it (instead of just blasting every enemy to smithereens) is a big problem for Banagher. (Riddhe, by contrast, embraces the idea of going uncontrollably berserk when he hops into its Banshee counterpart.)
- My Hero Academia: Re-Destro's Quirk, "Stress", is effectively this. His Quirk bottles up all of the rage and stress he feels into his body which he then uses to bulk himself up to gigantic proportions in order to release his stress on whoever has incurred his wrath.
- Naruto's Superpowered Evil Side tends to come out when he's angry.
- Negi's Magia Erebea form in Negima! Magister Negi Magi
- Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece turns into a giant muscular, shaggy furred, monstrous version of himself dubbed "Monster Point" when he eats three Rumble Balls under less than six hours. In this form, he goes berserk with rage and attacks anyone nearby, so he only uses this as a last resort, and after the transformation is reversed he is left with a lot of strain on his body. By the time of the Fishman Island Arc, he has learned to control himself while in this state (and is the only form he needs a Rumble Ball to turn into), but he can only hold this transformation for three minutes.
- In Riki-Oh and its anime adaptation, The Warden uses his mastery of Naike Kenpou (The same martial art that gives Riki his abilities) to disguise his true form: A hulking oni-like beast. He hulks out when he releases that control.
- Rosario + Vampire: Though the exact transformation varies, monstrels' bodies change in battle. and a few of them become huge. Importance to the team tends to have something to do with it; weaker monstrels experience Shapeshifter Weapon, whereas the big boss instead goes One-Winged Angel.
- Zigzagged with Jin'ei Udo from Rurouni Kenshin: his ace in the sleeve allows him to go from a scrawny gaunt man to a behemoth ripping with bulging muscles (averting Clothing Damage since he's wearing a full-body suit and just unrobes the upper half of his kimono in advance), but averts the rage part: not only he transforms by hypnotizing himself, but he also becomes calmer and less unhinged when the transformation is active.
- Parodied with a Running Gag in Tokyo Ghoul:Re. This is a fictional version of Urie, drawn by Saiko to mock his strict workout regimen. She even draws a comic where the normal Urie transforms into Hulk Urie to rescue the team. He is... less than amused by her creative presents.
- Later, during his fight with Donato, Urie Frames Out. Saiko outright states that this is because he worked out too much while trying to calm him down.
- In Ushio and Tora, Nagare Akiba, during his Duel to the Death with Tora is revealed to have mastered a secret dharmic technique (in addition to the many Holy Hand Grenade attacks) which makes his muscles grow considerably to the point of ripping his shirt and leather jacket to shreds. In this form, he's furious and strong enough to injure Youkai barehanded. He trades the "color-changing skin" thing for a creepy Nightmare Face reeking bloodlust and rage.
Comic Books
- The DCU
- Batman
- In recent years, the Scarecrow has reacted to great rage or pain by involuntarily transforming into the hulking monster Scarebeast◊ on some occasions. He does not seem to retain any memory of these interludes.
- In The Brave and the Bold #68 Joker, Riddler, and Penguin dose Batman with a formula which transforms him into a big dumb "Bat-Hulk," during which Batman commits crimes and inexplicably gains elemental powers.
- In recent years, the Scarecrow has reacted to great rage or pain by involuntarily transforming into the hulking monster Scarebeast
- Barbara 'the Cheetah' Minerva, Arch-Enemy of Wonder Woman, is, as her supervillain name suggests, a were-cheetah. While her transformation is usually a little more subdued and controllable than this trope implies, some works featuring her do basically treat her as a furry yellow She-Hulk.
- In a story about the Justice League of America told by J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter himself went through a Hulking Out moment when the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold played a prank on him due to his addiction to Chocos cookies, by hiding a stash of his favorite cookie away from him in a warehouse and having all the nearby stores that sell Chocos be completely empty of their stock.
- Batman
- Occurs in The Boys with M.M.'s younger brother. His powers manifested suddenly one day, with one small catch; he was mentally disabled and wore a helmet which he couldn't break out of, crushing his skull and killing him.
- Walter/Wallop from ClanDestine, though he doesn't so much lose intelligence as control. The longer he stays transformed, the bigger, stronger and more out of control he gets.
- Parodied in Great Lies To Tell Small Kids, which claims Banner only half-hulks when he's irritated (such as by being asked to do the dishes).
- Marvel Comics:
- The Incredible Hulk: Naturally, the Trope Namer and Codifier is the Hulk, as any time Bruce Banner's anger runs too high, he turns into the Hulk. The writers of the live-action TV series officially called it "Hulking Out".
- In 2023, the Hulk was given an even more powerful form called "The Titan". Basically the answer to the question "What would happen if The Hulk hulked out?"
- She-Hulk (AKA Jennifer Walters), at first. In fact, she has it worse than her cousin, Bruce. While Bruce can, on occasion, notice his emotions are running too high and get them under control before transforming, Jennifer, by contrast, cannot calm down or stop the transformation. Once her emotions run too high, it is like a ticking time-bomb. All she can do is try to get to an isolated spot to transform. Fortunately for her, she later gains control of her transformations entirely.
- World War Hulks and Hulked Out Heroes has several big-name heroes Hulking Out after being exposed to an enemy superweapon to make them go on a rampage. Deadpool, several members of the X-Men, all of the Fantastic Four except Reed Richards, Thor (who seems to be weaker in this form), Spider-Man, and even Doctor Strange are all Hulk-ified. Naturally, they all fall victim to The Worf Effect — and Hulk.
- The Incredible Hulk: Naturally, the Trope Namer and Codifier is the Hulk, as any time Bruce Banner's anger runs too high, he turns into the Hulk. The writers of the live-action TV series officially called it "Hulking Out".
- Subverted and lampshaded in Invincible (2003) when Mark tries to hulk-out over Atom Eve's death and will beat Conquest. Conquest rushes Mark and tells him "child, please. Being enraged at me does not make you stronger. That is not how this works." Then again, Mark does nearly kill Conquest afterward, so...
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Dr. Jekyll's body produces the serum that turns him into the much larger Mr. Hyde whenever he's stressed. He spends nearly the entire Martian invasion arc in Hyde form.
- Loose Cannon, a HULK MASH!-Up in The DCU. The DCU also has Rampage, who is a female Captain Ersatz of the Hulk, complete with being a scientist in her regular identity.
- Roberta Mendez, first introduced as Captain America 2099 in Marvel's Secret Wars (2015) event and later becoming a canon part of Spider-Man 2099, goes from a perfectly normal executive assistant to being built like a female weightlifter when the super-soldier serum in her system gets activated.
- Sláine, being based on Celtic Mythology, borrows Cúchulainn's Warp-Spasm for the titual hero.
- Sonic the Comic has Sonic transform into Super Sonic when angered or stressed. While Super Sonic was the same size as Sonic, he fits the rest of the description. However, unlike most examples of this trope, Super Sonic could not be controlled and was dangerous for virtually everyone — even Sonic's friends weren't safe.
- In WildC.A.T.s (WildStorm), the team's Genius Bruiser has the power to grow in size and strength at the cost of intelligence. If seriously provoked he sometimes forgets himself and grows past the point where he can tell friend from foe.
Comic Strips
- Doonesbury: When Cloud Cuckoolander Granola Girl Boopsie channels Hunk-Ra, this tends to be what results.
Fan Works
- Child of the Storm:
- Bruce Banner plays his usual role as the Hulk, though he's got it under fairly good control these days. Thor also slips into the Warrior's Madness, the equivalent of this in the Asgardian royal family, where even the Hulk can only barely restrain him when he's finally pushed too far in the sequel. Diana, meanwhile, has similar problems and snaps under the strain of being roasted alive in chapter 60.
- Another example (minus the physical growth part), is near the end of the first book and in the sequel, is Harry turning into the Phoenix — the first time after being killed, and promptly resurrected and possessed by the Phoenix Force, which goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, the second after figuring out how to use the fragment of the Phoenix within, and finally snapping after a brutal Trauma Conga Line. Since this results in the Dark Phoenix, everyone is very eager for this never to happen ever again.
- Eddy in "The Ed-credible Hulk" after using Edd's Science Project at full max, he transforms into a towering, muscular monster whenever he gets angry or hurt.
- Papa Smurf in the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf story "Papa's Big Crush" when he inhales the "pheromone cologne" mixed in with his other chemicals, and in this state he goes after Smurfette.
- Laserllama: Due to their Giant heritage, Path of the Titan Barbarians also grow in size when they enter a Rage.
- Thousand Shinji: When Asuka gets mad she transforms into a superpowerful, demonic-looking berserker: her body becomes bigger and incredibly athletic and muscular (while not sacrificing a single drop of feminity), her blue eyes become dark-indigo, her hair's colour becomes brass bronze and her skin's blood-red, and huge ram horns sprout from the sides of her head. When she dons that shape she becomes incredibly strong, fast, agile and nearly invulnerable.
- In the Pony POV Series, Dark World Arc, Angry Pie (the corrupted Pinkie Pie) has the Element of Rage and gets this power from it, making her stronger the angrier she gets. Which is an easy thing to do. She kept the power after her Heel–Face Turn until her death, at which point Rarity absorbs her Element and gains it. According to Loose Canon, a resurrected Gilda is the next Bearer of the Element after Rarity retires, and gains this ability.
- George does this deliberately in The Keys Stand Alone: The Soft World when he has to get stronger very rapidly while still retaining the ability to speak. He'd started out as a gorilla but couldn't talk, so became himself as buff as he could possibly get. Unfortunately, he didn't count on how much physically larger he would get and is nearly mummified in his clothing before it rips off him. However, he is otherwise normal and changes back to his normal skinny self as soon as possible.
- KibblesTasty:
- The Massive Mutation Upgrade for Fleshsmiths allows them to temporarily turn into a larger, monstrous version of themself to deal extra damage.
- Path of Mutation Barbarians turn into enlarged mutants during their rage, with the flavor having several references to the green one himself.
- The capstone of the Beasthide subclass for Wardens is being able to turn themselves into a giant bestial monstrosity for a minute.
- The Beast That I Am focuses on Shinobu doing this to get revenge on Keitaro's tormentors.
- Unleashing of a Dark Night: The Werewolves' Rage Form, only acquired through copious amounts of anger. Tomoya the Volt going into Rage Form involves muscle growth to a behemoth double her original size when she gets angry enough. As of Chapter 43, however, she gains a new form double that size in height. The author's note at the end of that chapter reveals that there's an even larger form double the size of that form that would come later, and that indeed happens in Chapter 80.
- HYDRA Agent Volker in Sixes and Sevens has this ability, which Shmitt theorizes was gained from improper experimentation with a heart-shaped herb smuggled from Wakanda.
- Vortexverse: Berry turns into a giant saberry tooth cat after being pushed around by Storky and being annoyed by her friends.
Films — Animated
- Dexter/Zwelge from the Tom Poes animated adaptation The Dragon That Wasn't (Or Was He?) is an adorable baby dragon who can grow to enormous size when angered.
- In Heavy Metal, Hanover Fiste (with the help of the Loc-Nar) hulks out to disrupt Capt. Sternn's trial and allow him to escape.
- The LEGO Movie:
- In Turning Red, a hereditary blessing-turned-inconvenience makes protagonist Mei hulk into a giant red panda whenever she experiences extreme emotions (such as anger or excitement). We find out Mei's mother Ming has it even worse: Her panda is kaiju-sized.
Films — Live-Action
- In Big Trouble in Little China, Thunder seems to be doing this when he sees that his elemental brothers; Lightning and Rain; are dead. He starts expanding... then he keeps expanding... and then he blows up.
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003): Dr. Jekyll does this when he turns into Mr. Hyde.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe: Mark Ruffalo's version of The Hulk in The Avengers (2012) shows Banner's control is improved. He Hulks out twice: Once when in great pain, once again during the film's big battle, showing a measure of acceptance and control. In the latter scene, Banner strolls towards a massive Leviathan monster bearing down on the team. When Captain America tells him it is time to get angry and transform, he wryly admits that he's always angry and proceeds to Hulk-out, without breaking stride, before punching out the monster in one blow.
- Humorously defied in Avengers: Infinity War where, despite Bruce pleading for the Hulk to come out at the time when he should come, he outright refuses.
Bruce: Hulk, I know you like making your entrance at the last second, well, this is it, man. This is the last last second. Hulk! HULK!
Hulk: NO!
Bruce: Oh, screw you, you big, green asshole! I'll do it myself!- Captain America: Brave New World finally introduces Thaddeus Ross' Alter Ego Red Hulk. Ross firstly nearly hulks out when Sterns manipulates him so he would attack his Japanese allies and kill Cap. Ross is able to resist. He later hulks out for real during a press conference as President of the United States. This transformation mirrors Banner's in The Avengers.
- Moonwalker: In the "Speed Demon" segment, while fleeing from haunted fans, Michael Jackson accidentally stumbles onto the set of a Western film, ruining the shot. This infuriates the director, who, during his rant... unexpectedly transforms into a green, goblin-like monster. Yeah. Even the actor, standing next to the director, has WTF written all over his face.
- Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky: The Warden plays this straight, basically turning into an oni, which is also an inversion of his anime and manga counterparts, who are monstrous beings that transform into a smaller, normal human.
- X-Men: Days of Future Past: Beast uses a serum that allows him to maintain a balance between his human and mutant appearance. When he's angry or arousednote enough, his mutation kicks in, and he returns to human form once he's calmed down.
Literature
- Egil's Saga: Watching the burial of his favorite son Bodvar, Egil "swell[s] up so much" that his tunic and his leggings tear apart. When he comes home, "no one dare[s] to speak to him", suggesting that they are afraid of him 'going berserk'. Egil instead locks himself in his sleeping room and does not come out for three days.
- In The Girl from the Miracles District, when Nikita's adrenaline levels and body temperature are too high, they trigger her change into a berserk: a far taller, far bulkier humanoid with More Teeth than the Osmond Family and overwhelming lust for battle and blood.
- Werewolves in the Mercy Thompson series can transform involuntarily if they get angry enough. Being turned into a werewolf also has a side effect of giving the person serious anger issues unless they're a rare submissive or Omega. These are two of the primary reasons that newly turned werewolves have a lifespan of fewer than ten years.
- Mermaids of Eriana Kwai: When mermaids are angry, their eyes turn red, their teeth turn razor sharp, their skin turns to the colour of seaweed, and their ears grow pointy and long. The trope doesn't apply to mermen, who spend all their time in that form.
- In Twilight: New Moon, Jacob and the other werewolves sometimes change into wolf form because of anger. The pack leader Sam's fiancee has disfiguring scars because Sam "lost control for a split-second."
Live-Action TV
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
- Calvin Zabo (Skye's father) has been using a homemade Psycho Serum on himself for decades. Therefore, even when he's not actively using it, he can achieve great feats of strength when angered. His catchphrase is "Let's not lose our heads." His actual serum is even more powerful, resulting in a small but striking physical transformation, and is activated by rage and a shot of adrenaline.
- Subverted with Robbie Reyes, a.k.a. Ghost Rider. When he gets angry at widespread looting during a blackout, Daisy warns him to keep calm so he doesn't "go all carrot top again". Robbie laughs, as the Rider has nothing to do with his emotional state. It only comes out when there's evil around, and even then, Robbie can usually keep it contained until things get desperate.
- The Amazing Extraordinary Friends: Dr. Dominique Brioche suffers a nuclear genetic accident and transforms into the 50 ft. Atomic Bombshell whenever she gets angry.
- In Big Wolf on Campus, Tommy not only transforms during a full moon but also during times of extreme emotional stress... or arousal.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- While werewolves usually transform the day before, of, and after the full moon, when Oz learns to control the transformations he is then subject to involuntary shapeshifting when he feels strong emotions (like jealousy over Tara's relationship with Willow).
- Also, in the episode "Beauty and the Beasts", Pete's constant use of his formula has made him transform whenever he goes angry.
- La Carabina De Ambrosio: This The '70s Mexican comedy series had some sketches featuring "The Gulp", an Affectionate Parody of The Incredible Hulk (1977) where singer Cesar Costa played Cesar, a calm guy whose interactions with other characters put him in the nerves hulking out at the end of the joke and destroying everything around him.
- Played for laughs in the Community episode "Contemporary Impressionists". As the gang is working a bar mitzvah as celebrity impressionists, Jeff gets so angry at not winning a "Most Handsome Young Man" contest that the he bursts the seams of his suit and goes on a rampage of destruction. The guest of honor thanks his dad for getting him the Incredible Hulk for his party.
- La Hora Pico: Celestina, a sweet and small woman but also a Clingy Jealous Girl, turns into Celostina, a taller and mannish aggresive woman (extra points considering the character is played by actor Adrian Uribe after hulking out) every time she get jealous, ripping her dress in the process.
- Going "full-on zombie mode" in iZombie is usually triggered either by immediate danger or hunger for brains. The zombie's eyes go black, and he or she attacks with inhuman strength and ferocity. Bonus points for one of the zombies calling the state "raging out" (who has learned to enter the mode on demand).
- One prank in Just for Laughs: Gags had a small boy wearing purple pants have his hat stolen, walk into a nearby portapotty — where he's lifted out through a door in the back by a large man painted green and wearing similar clothes as the boy, then gets in — and then rattles and breaks it open, yells and chases the kids.
- A prizefighter in the Lost Girl episode "Raging Fae" keeps beating stronger foes because a Fae is secretly dosing him with a Hulk Out-inducing substance.
- This is how werewolves work in Sanctuary (2007). Henry seems to be the first person to figure out how to control the changes (without drugs).
- If you torture a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire in Supernatural, you can force him to show his fangs and take revenge as Martin finds out in "Citizen Fang".
- Played for Laughs in The Young Ones. After receiving a merciless barrage of abuse from all three of his housemates, Neil does this in the Summer Holiday episode. Turns out it was actually an Indulgent Fantasy Segue, though it's a mystery what happened to his clothes...
Mythology
- Celtic Mythology:
- Possibly the Ur-Example is Cúchulainn of Celtic Mythology; in battle, he would undergo something called ríastrad or battle frenzy, in which he would transform into something not unlike an Eldritch Abomination in its hideousness and ferocity. This form was only beaten once when he was approached by a group of nude women. He modestly averted his eyes, whereupon the men snuck up on him and dunked him in a barrel of water, which exploded on contact. A second barrel boiled away, and the third became pleasantly warm before Cúchulainn resumed his normal form.
The first warp-spasm seized Cúchulainn, and made him into a monstrous thing, hideous and shapeless. His shanks and his joints, every knuckle and angle and organ from head to foot, shook like a tree in a flood. His body made a furious twist inside his skin, such that his feet and shins switched to the rear and his heels and calves switched to the front. On his head the temple-sinews stretched to the nape of his neck, each immense and measureless knob as big as the head of a month-old child.- A female example appears in the Fenian Cycle. Mná Mor was a beautiful princess from Greece who upon her birth was granted the ability to turn into an amazonian giantess at will. She used this ability to lead her father's armies into battle and expand his empire. Her father, who had begun to fear his daughter's power, banished her to Ireland until she could kill Fionn Mac Cumhaill and his progeny, who were also prophesied to be a threat to him. Using herself as a Honey Trap she invites Fionn and his family to a banquet hosted by her and her 490,000 strong all- female army. Once Fionn and her other guests are good and drunk she sics her troops and her queen's guard of 12 giantesses on them while she turns into her giant form and attacks Fionn himself. Luckily for Fionn he was able to summon his allies with his magical war horn and, after an intense two-day battle, mortally wounds Mná Mor. This wound causes her to revert to her regular form and her last words are spent cursing her father right before one of Fionn's warriors picks up a boulder and squashes her like a bug.
- Kali in Hindu Mythology is the hulked-out form of Durga/Parvati.
Podcasts
- In the Cool Kids Table game Bloody Mooney, there's a note in Mooney's crate that warns to never let it see the light of the crescent moon. When it does it becomes a hulking beast, and also gains the ability to shapeshift.
Professional Wrestling
- This was a staple gimmick for Hulk Hogan, crossing it with Meaningful Name. After being beaten down, he'd get his Heroic Second Wind and start No Selling his opponent's attacks, shaking his arms as he got back to his feet before starting in on his Five Moves of Doom Finishing Move.
Roleplay
- Benjy from Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues becomes a Monstrous Humanoid as a result of the Mass Super-Empowering Event. If he's put in danger, or experiences some other intense emotion, then he can transform into an even bigger monster who rages mindlessly until he calms down.
- A side-effect of Fauna's abilities in DC Nation. In human form? Technical Pacifist (downgraded a bit from Actual Pacifist) Granola Girl or New-Age Retro Hippie, and more of a support staff than a combatant. Push her past the limit, though...
Tabletop Games
- In the Arthaus edition of Ravenloft, darklord Alfred Timothy inverts this trope: he's a malicious and willing werewolf, but his darklord curse forces him to revert to his human form if he allows anger, bloodlust, passion, or other strong emotion to overcome him while in his wolfman form.
- Werewolf: The Forsaken:
- Death Rage, where a werewolf will automatically transform to his "war form" and go on an unstoppable rampage. It's either triggered through pain or anger (and depending on your Karma Meter, that anger can range from "one of your packmates just got killed" to "someone talked sass to you").
- Similarly, vampires have Frenzy, which is triggered by stimuli such as anger, fear or hunger. And unlike in the above example, getting sassed at is a perfectly normal stimulus for Frenzy. There's a reason everyone stays polite at Elysium...
- And their predecessors in the Old World of Darkness can also frenzy in many of the same situations. One possible flaw in Werewolf: the Apocalypse can invert it — it designates one of the werewolf's other four forms as the form transformed into. The most severe version of it turns the raging werewolf into their human form — not so bad (comparatively) if you're losing your temper at the bar, but if you're surrounded by fomori and Black Spiral Dancers and need to fight your way out? Good luck.
Theme Parks
- In the queue of The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure, government test footage is shown of volunteers successfully being turned into Hulk-like superhumans.
Video Games
- In Amagon, the titular player character transforms into the Hulk-like Megagon for Super Mode.
- ANNO: Mutationem: At Freeway 42, when the Bloodluster creatures are pushed to their limit after significant damage, they turn into even more ferocious monsters by instantly growing their bodies to muscular size and developing Absurdly Sharp Claws.
- Despite rage being a main theme, Asura from Asura's Wrath primarily averts this. He does, however, grow bigger arms that pack at least a thousand times more power in them in his Berserker form, his Mantra form and his Destructor form (Which also has a human-sized form, that basically is Asura mantra form, but with four extra arms and a rainbow aura instead of Asura's plain red Aura).
- While not shown, Leo Hartwig's in BioShock 2 transformation into a Brute Splicer involves this. It is heard in his Audio Diary "Field Trial #1".
- One of Krieg's endgame abilities in Borderlands 2, "Release The Beast", has him mutate into a Badass Psycho when he activates Buzzaxe Rampage at 1/3 of his health. The mutation involves his left arm shriveling into a worthless stump while his torso and right arm grow to ridiculous size, giving him a massive boost in damage resistance as well as melee damage.
- In Breath of Fire IV, Ryu first transforms into his Kaiser form after he witnesses Captain Rosso kill some innocent children and send an invincible monster after him and his friends. Ryu then kills both the monster and Rosso, and it takes a Cooldown Hug from Nina for him to regain his senses. Afterward, he can transform into Kaiser at will, but it cannot be controlled until you finish a certain sidequest.
- Darkest Dungeon: The Abomination, one of the heroes you can hire, has the ability to turn into a hideous monster, which gives him greater damage-dealing ability but stresses out him and the other adventurers in your party.
- Dispatch has Sonar, The Smart Guy who's normally a humanoid bat but turns into a giant bat monster, sacrificing his smarts for strength. He has no control over his transformation and alternates between states between every mission, forcing Mission Control (you) to plan around this.
- Anders in Dragon Age II, whenever he is overtaken by the Spirit of Justice inhabiting him.
Justice: You will never take another Mage as you took him!
- EBOLA 3 does this on both ends:
- At the end of the first act, surrounded by the military police tasked with killing everyone to cover-up the E-Virus outbreak, you're given an option to inject the E-Virus into yourself or find another means of exiting. Choose the needle and you immediately lose your clothes, hair, skin, as you morph into a hunchbacked, giant monstrosity with powerful claws and massacres your way through a Mook Horror Show before you eventually turn back to human. You're picking this option at your own risk though - make the wrong decision and you get the And Then John Was a Zombie ending, turning permanently into one of the creatures.
- Pick the city route and you'll need to detour into the church, and face the possessed Demon-Priest boss. Who morphs into a pale-skinned, giant monster and fights you in the church.
- In the original Fatal Fury, Tung Fu Rue will transform into a larger, more muscular version of himself after taking too much damage (although he will change back after taking more). Future games restricted this to the use of his super moves. More recent games that feature him reveal that he's not actually transforming at all, but that the muscular version of Tung is actually a Battle Aura of sorts.
- The boss of the Cybercity stage in Gaia Crusaders initially appears as a human punk clad in leather, who fights you with his trusty chain at the start of said stage. Once you defeat him, he flees before coming back at the end, where he suddenly gains muscles and triples in size (ripping his leather jacket to shreds in the process) to attack you. His skin and hair even turns green at that point.
- Hakaiou: King of Crusher have you turning from a human to an increasingly larger monster after being injected by an alien virus. For your first transformation into a Beast Man, you shed your human form and bursts out of your clothes in a cutscene, with only your Magic Pants remaining.
- In Kirby Star Allies, King Dedede's body grows to muscular proportions in his second phase, including a barrel chest and large burly arms which make him look similar to a gorilla (with his legs still small). The same thing happens to Parallel Dedede in the post-game. And funny enough, it's actually a reference to episode 93 of the anime, "Frog Wild".
- In League of Legends, Gnar's gameplay revolves around this premise. His playstyle is based around his Rage bar (which fills as he deals damage and gets damaged), which will transform him from a cute, prehistoric yordle into a hulking beast known as Mega Gnar (for a small period of time). Mini Gnar is a fragile and nimble ranged champion, while his alter form, Mega Gnar, is bulkier (both in damage and defenses), slower and melee-based. Managing his Rage bar and mastering both forms are required to perform well with him.
- In addition to the various Hulks, several other characters in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes share the same property, transforming from a minifig into a larger figure with super strength. Most notable are probably Venom and Stan Lee himself when unlocked as a playable figure, possibly in reference to The Simpsons episode mentioned below.
- Manafinder: In the Final Boss fight with King Vikar on Starkas's route, he'll turn into a giant purple muscled humanoid.
- Bowser only reaches his highest level of power in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story after being (otherwise fatally) crushed, with a little help from the Mario Bros.
- In Metathrone, this turns out to be what Project Metathrone entails; a Super-Soldier research meant to transform humans into genetically-enhanced, spiked monstrosities. You turn into one of the monsters while strapped to a chair, where you enlarge instantly and break free - thanks to Heroic Willpower, you regain your senses and keeps on kicking ass until you find a way out, but the moment you made it back you lose your powers.
- Overwatch has Winston, whose Ultimate consists of him temporarily regressing into his primal instincts and becoming an Ax-Crazy muscular brute who trades off his Tesla Cannon for powerful punches, faster Jump Pack cooldown, and doubled HP.
- Do not piss off Daichi from Puyo Puyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars. Not only is he a Puyo-human hybrid who was created to be a bioweapon, he's a Puyo-human hybrid who was created to be a bioweapon whose fury turns him into a purple muscular◊ humanoid◊ resembling a Titan.
- In Saga of Sins, you play as a cleric knight blessed by the church, and as you enter the minds of sinners you gain the ability to hulk out into one of three monstrous forms - a werewolf, a gryphon, or a dragon. You kick more ass as a monster, obviously.
- In Senran Kagura this happens to Daidōji when she undergoes her shinobi transformation.
- In Skylanders, Pop Fizz, one of the Magic Skylanders, has the ability to hulk out into his beast form by drinking a potion.
- In South Park: The Fractured but Whole, Captain Diabetes' Ultimate has him enter a world of candy and gorge himself, resulting in this trope.
- In Space Ace, this happens to Dexter when the effects of the Infanto Ray wear off, transforming him back into the muscular and self-confident Ace.
- The harbour boss from Spiritual Assassin Taromaru initially appears as a human, albeit one which is unnaturally strong capable of dealing severe damage with his fists. Damaging him will sever his limbs, one at a time, but after hitting him enough he then sheds his human disguise by hulking himself out into a massive red demonic monster, one reaching to the top of the screen.
- Super Smash Bros.: Bowser is able to do this for his Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, transforming into the dreaded Giga Bowser. In the next game, Little Mac gets his own Giga form, while Charizard and Lucario from Pokémon do something similar with their Mega Evolution skill, turning into their "Mega" form, which is stronger and much heavier.
- In The Sims 3's supernatural expansion, werewolves can unexpectedly transform and undergo a feral change if their mood drops too low or if they're suddenly angered. The Sims 4 has a similar premise in its own werewolf pack, with werewolves becoming mindless enraged beasts if their fury meter maxes out.
- In Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Grimlock's alternate mode is somewhere between this and Super Mode. In-game, the transformation isn't involuntary and can't be done at will due to being experimented upon by Shockwave, but it does require Big Grim getting incredibly pissed to gain access to it and he does grow in size upon transforming.
- In Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, there are several ways of unleashing The Beast, which Smiling Jack describes as a beast wearing you as a suit, in which you go into an uncontrollable frenzy.
- One World of Warcraft expansion introduces worgen, humans afflicted by a werewolf curse, as a playable race. While they eventually learn to shift between human and worgen form at will, entering combat immediately shifts them into worgen form. Some even say "You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!" if you click on them enough.
Web Animation
- GoAnimate:
- Boris has been known to "transform" into an alter-ego called "Boris the Teeth Guy" whenever he becomes exceedingly livid in some of the "Caillou Gets Grounded" videos, usually with his skin turning red, his eyes and especially his mouth being oversized, his voice being cranked to the highest possible volume, and swearing at the drop of a hat. Other characters, such as Caillou himself, have been known to do this.
- In "Sobble Get's Revenge On Arthur", a Sobble undergoes a transformation into a muscular behemoth when he was revived by Leo.
Webcomics
- In 1977:The Comic: When the normally easy-going Bud has had just about enough and transforms either into or out of his alter-ego Budette.
- Marty Monster from The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, "Monster Mart". At the start, he'd been having problems with his transformation to and from his monster form, until he gets stuck halfway. In the end, seeing Dr. McNinja in mortal peril is enough to knock down his psychological barriers and allow him to grow bigger than ever before. He inherited this from his father; the problem with his father (aside from always looking down on him) is the fact that he's a Steven Hawking Expy, and so every time he transforms he falls over and left naked until he shrinks back down.
- In Aquaman: Yo-Ho-Hold Onto Your Hook!, when sufficiently angry, Dolphin can turn into a mutated, feral dolphin form that's much stronger in combat.
- Archipelago has Tuff, a half were-shark who can transform into the animal form, usually triggered by danger to the people he loves. Shark!Tuff being very violently protective, and Tuff in general being a glass-half-empty kind of a guy, he thinks of himself as a monster.
- Bear Nuts: Prozac goes HULK SMASH after a prolonged time off his meds. Cara gets similarly big and smashy when seeing a blood moon. They nearly destroy the zoo when this happens at the same time.
- Jimmy Rollins hulks out after being reminded that this is a contract year for him in The Dugs' Baseball Comics.
- Justin of El Goonish Shive does this in this filler strip.
- Erma: In the climax of the Night Parade arc, Erma is subjected to enormous stress and terror. As a result, the normally kindhearted child transforms into a savage, sadistic Eldritch Abomination with glowing red eyes and clawed hands, and her Prehensile Hair grows into a tangled shadowy mass hundreds of feet across that can drain the life from any living thing that gets caught or pulled inside. It's the first (and so far only) time in the comic's run that Erma is drawn using any colors besides black and white.
- Shrinking Violent of Everyday Heroes has her transformation triggered with a blow to the nose. She can be snapped out of it via massive amounts of sugar. Unfortunately she's also a Type 1 Diabetic, which means a couple of days in the hospital after every Hulk Out, at best. Also, she gets smaller when she transforms. Her muscles contract and get denser, so even her strongest teammate can't hold her down.
- In Litterbox Comics, Cooper's superhero identity, Tantrum, turns into a muscled rampaging cat whenever he's upset.
- Love Unlimited: In the finale of the Ms. Marvel & Red Dagger arc, supervillain Curio transforms into a much bigger, angrier form, shredding much of his clothing. His dialogue after that point is mostly brief bursts of shouting - and he acquires enough Super-Strength to knock both heroes off their feet via a Ground Punch.
- MAG-ISA — Kyle turns into this chunk of muscle after injecting himself with green roids.
- Sweater Puppy and The Incredible Cunt from The Magnificent Milkmaid. Both turn into giant, large breasted nymphomaniacs (in SP's case, a nymphomaniac werewolf) upon their triggers (Sweater Puppy from seeing or even thinking about the Moon, Incredible Cunt from being called "a cunt").
- In The Order of the Stick, Thog's barbarian rage is depicted in this way, complete with him turning green(er) and using Hulk Speak. Also his pants turn purple, which he lampshades.
Thog: thog smash puny prison!
- Fug from Pewfell is normally a Gentle Giant... until he gets angry, then he turns into something resembling an Eldritch Abomination with arms.
- Sarah of Peter Is the Wolf. As a new Thrall (a were who's created, rather than born), she tends to transform whenever she gets too excited. Unlike every other were in the comic, she transforms into a wolf form three times her normal size and can only really be calmed down by sexual gratification.
- In Sister Claire, apparently masters of Nun-Fu can do this at will.
- Demons from Slightly Damned have this as a race ability, in extreme stress, anger, injury or if they know death is certain willingly, they transform into larger more monstrous versions of their normal selvesexample and get a massive boost to their physical and magical capabilities but lose all self-preservation and will mindlessly slaughter any living thing they see (including friends and family) or mutilate themselves if there is nothing to kill. Their body is also pushed to its absolute limit and they eventually die of exhaustion although it is possible to save them by either rendering them unconscious (easier said than done given how tough they are normally) or by using an angel star pendant with the holy protective spell removed.
Web Original
- Worm:
- Lung, a villain, grows bigger, stronger, more invulnerable and less human-looking the longer a fight goes on.
- Crimson of the Slaughterhouse Nine becomes incredibly strong and durable when he drinks human blood.
Western Animation
- Ickis from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters has been known to grow ten times his size and become destructively mad whenever he hits his Rage Breaking Point.
- In The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius episode "The N-Men" after crossing through the Van Patten Radiation Belt, the main characters all wind up getting superpowers based on what exactly they were doing when they crossed through the belt. Jimmy was under a state of incredible frustration as they crossed through the belt which combined with the rising stress from handling the other characters' constant mockery, mostly from Cindy, causing Jimmy to the Hulk Out.
- Amphibia: Gunther is a Southern tusked frog, a species that turns green and puffs up into a larger, more muscular form when angered.
- Katie Kaboom from Animaniacs. Also, the Brain in the Pinky and the Brain segment "Brain Meets Brawn", as the result of a Jekyll & Hyde potion.
- The Backyardigans: This happens to Pablo in the episode "The Flipper". After getting doused in 'space ooze' he transforms into The Flipper whenever he gets overexcited. And this is Pablo we're talking about, so...
- JJ from The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib turns into Hot Pink when she gets hot (as revealed in “The Heat is On”).
- Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys:
- About halfway through the series, Gor-illa gets an upgrade from an Unstoppable Rage to this at the hands of recurring antagonist Ajax, causing him to transform into the berserk King Kong Copy Gormungus whenever his rage builds high enough.
- In the same episode, one of Gor's initial opponents looks like an emaciated little bird-man alien about the size of Spydor. Gor expresses reluctance at fighting someone some small and harmless looking, whereupon Spydor angrily asserts that it's "dog-eat-dog" in this business. When Gor protests that he doesn't want to eat a dog, the alien grins a toothy grin... and then turns himself inside out, transforming into a hulking monstrosity that vaguely resembles a skinned gorilla with spikes growing out of it.
Spydor: Well, this dog wants to eat you!
- The Cleveland Show: The episode "Once Upon a Tyne in New York" ends with Coach McFall and the others running from his old flame, who is now green and muscular.
McFall: I've made her angry! You wouldn't like her when she's angry!
- Laura Limpin from Codename: Kids Next Door. Every time something doesn't go her way, she transforms into a giant raspy-voiced wrestler called "The Big Badolescent" and beats up anyone who disagrees with her.
- The animated El Chavo series occasionally has Señor Barriga turning into a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo version of the Hulk in either the opening or closing sequences (or both).
- Spear the caveman from Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal undergoes this in "Rage of the Ape-Men" when he drinks a black liquid that had been used to make a gorilla-man bigger and stronger. Spear becomes a giant, monstrous version of himself who tears his opponents apart with ease.
- On Jimmy Two-Shoes, Heloise spends an entire episode in a Sweet Polly Oliver disguise named Herman. When Jimmy and Beezy find out, they find "Herman" and proceed to utterly prank him. Just as they are laughing at him, the real Heloise shows up. It seems Herman is her real cousin, and they made him mad...
- In Mr. Meaty episode "The Incredible Jerk", years of repressed anger causes Parker to explode with anger and turns him into a Hulk-like monster who goes around insulting everyone in the mall.
- The eponymous character of Kaeloo goes through this Once per Episode with her "Bad Kaeloo" personality.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
- In "Secret of My Excess", Spike's draconic hoarding instincts go haywire, causing him to grow bigger, stronger, and greedier the more stuff he accumulates for his "hoard".
- King Sombra seemingly underwent this during his imprisonment in "The Crystal Empire".
- In "Power Ponies", when the cast gets sucked into a comic book, Fluttershy becomes Saddle Rager, who has this as her superpower. She's too bashful and soft-hearted to use it until she sees the Mane-iac swat an innocent bug. Such blatant animal cruelty causes Fluttershy to go berserk and smash up the villain's doomsday device.
- Lord Tirek grows bigger and stronger the more he uses his Mana Drain in "Twilight's Kingdom".
- PAW Patrol: The episode "Mighty Pups, Super Paws: Pups Save a Mega Mayor" has Mayor Humdinger being transformed into a Hulk expy, when he gets affected by the meteor piece.
- Fuzzy Lumpkins in The Powerpuff Girls (1998) episode "Fuzzy Logic". The mayor, of all people, momentarily becomes totally ripped and delivers a major ass kicking in "Impeach Fuzz" after Fuzzy wears his hat.
- Samurai Jack:
- In the episode "Jack and the Smackback", Jack's first opponent is a man-ape creature named Gordo the Gruesome who does this after he gets angry enough; Jack still beats him.
- Likewise, the titular goofy dumb beast from "Jack and the Creature" undergoes a frankly horrific transformation into a gargantuan, crimson-furred razor-sporting abomination after Jack starts getting smacked around.
- From The Simpsons episode "I Am Furious (Yellow)": HOMER MAD! HOMER SMASH! GET REVENGE ON WORLD!
Stan Lee: He can't be the Hulk! I'm the Hulk! [rips shirt] Mrrrroaarrr! [breathes heavily]
Comic Book Guy: Oh, please. You couldn't even change into Bill Bixby.
Stan Lee:Come on, damnit, change! Mmmmm! Aw, forget it. Mm-mmmm! I really did it once!
Comic Book Guy: [walking Stan Lee in the store] Yes, yes. I just wish you had the power to leave my store.
Stan Lee: [off-screen] Mmmmmh!
Comic Book Guy: You almost had it there. - Solar Opposites: The episode "The Parental Oil" had Jesse turned into a hulking “Big Papa” with a manly monstrous voice thanks to too much of the titular oil spilled on her after a scuffle with Korvo.
- Sonic Boom: Subverted in "Don't Make Me Angry". The actual trope appears in a comic book in-universe and Dr. Eggman tries to invoke it. After blasting himself with radioactive waves, when Eggman gets angry he does transform... into a tiny hyperactive purple creature.
- South Park:
- Parodied in the episode "It's a Jersey Thing", when Kyle's "Jersey side" comes out. Only the "transformation" is him putting on hair gel and jewelry, ripping off his sleeves and writing a nickname on his shirt.
- Played straight in the episode "A Scause For Applause" when Jesus takes HGH at the end. The scene that follows that has to be seen to be believed.
- Star Trek: Lower Decks: "The Spy Humongous": One of the artifacts that the ensigns are sent to clean up is some kind of cube that exacerbates Tendi's frustration until she's ranting at her friends, before fusing with her and turning her into a rampaging scorpion monster.
- Superjail!: In "Terrorarium," Beleaguered Assistant Jared ends up chugging an entire bottle of super potent growth serum after going on an eating binge. When Alice enters his office, she notes the mess left by Jared's binging and calls him a pig; this is the final straw and Jared instantly transforms from a milquetoast secretary to a ripped, green Hulk-retary, challenging Alice to single combat in revenge for her years of giving him grief (and holding his own until the serum ultimately wears off).
- In Talking Friends episode "Super Tom", an armadillo hulks out into a monster after getting zapped by the superpower machine.
- Teen Titans: In "The Beast Within", after being exposed to chemicals, Beast Boy becomes more aggressive in behavior. Soon, his anger reaches its peak and as a result, he transforms into a giant, werewolf-like beast.
- The Venture Bros.: Doctor Venture once thought Hank to be blessed with "retard strength" but was mistaken.
- WordGirl: In the episode introducing Eileen (The Birthday Girl), the more she was selfish the bigger she grew and the greener she got; once she gave somebody something she returned to normal size and color.
- In X-Men: Evolution, Beast underwent an Adaptational Superpower Change that took the form of this. His mutation would cause him to randomly go feral and attack people, so he spent years suppressing it with a Power Nullifier serum he developed until it suddenly stopped working and his Power Incontinence caused him to transform into his iconic Beast Man look. After an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight with the X-Men he regains his senses, but is stuck with the fur.
- In the second season of the 2009 series of YooHoo & Friends, the intelligent, timid Roodee has the ability to turn into a large, red-eyed monster whenever the glasses he wears are removed and will attack anyone nearby, friend or foe.
