As the Brexit debate continues and Boris Johnson ploughs on with his mission to take the UK out of the EU, it seems his rhetoric has taken a bit of an odd turn, having now compared the situation to that of Marvel superhero The Incredible Hulk.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, the Prime Minister said that whatever difficulties the UK might face, it would emulate Bruce Banner, who turned into the Hulk when he became angry. Bit of an odd comparison? Many people have commented to suggest as much.
But now it seems the superhero himself is laying into Johnson's choice of metaphor, as Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo has criticised the accuracy of the comment.
Johnson told the newspaper: "Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he would explode out of them. 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 [Brexit] done."
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After reading the interview, Ruffalo took to Twitter to suggest that Johnson has forgotten one key thing: the Hulk 'only fights for the good of the whole'.
The Prime Minister also said that if he can't get what he wants with his negotiations, he will just ignore the Commons vote that ordered him to delay the UK's departure, adding one of the Marvel character's most famous quotes: "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets."
In response to this, Ruffalo also pointed out that 'mad and strong can also be dense and destructive'.
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He wasn't the only one to appear skeptical about the metaphor.
Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted: "This is the kind of thing my kids would say aside from they would never make such glaring errors about The Hulk, I've raised them properly."
Actor Stephen McGann added: "I also note, with reference to the Hulk, that Theresa May's 'red, white and blue Brexit' has morphed effortlessly into a 'green, violent and emotionally unstable' Brexit. Righto."
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That's two in the 'nope' camp, then. Some members of the Conservative Party applauded Johnson's comments, however.
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay told Sky News: "The Hulk was a winner and was extremely popular. I'd rather be backing a character and a leader who is the Hulk than one who is on the Chicken Run, as Jeremy Corbyn is."
Very mature, guys.
Probably the most sensible comment came from the European Parliament's Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt, who called the quote 'infantile'.
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He tweeted: "Even to Trumpian standards the Hulk comparison is infantile. Is the EU supposed to be scared by this? The British public impressed? Is this Boris Johnson whistling in the dark?"
The UK is supposed to be leaving the European Union on 31 October.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel/PATopics: uk news, Celebrity, brexit, Weird, Marvel, politics
