History
I've spent years, trying to live a happy life with this... beast, living inside me, only to realize...that I'm not allowed to. This isn't a gift...It's a curse.
- — Bruce Banner
- — Bruce Banner
Early Life
Bruce's father, Brian Banner, is a genetics researcher who was trying to improve human DNA by experimenting on human test subjects. Once David's wife gave birth to their son Bruce, the government shut down his research after learning of his dangerous experiments. In rage, Brian then accidentally murdered Rebecca while he was drunk.
Bruce and Betty
After Brian Banner was sent into a mental institution, 5-year old Bruce was left in care of his Aunt, Susan Banner and believing both of his biological parents to be dead. 20 years later, Bruce became a well known research scientist, biochemist and genius in nuclear physics working at Empire State University, along with his girlfriend Dr. Elizabeth Betty Ross, intern Rick Jones, and Betty's father General Thaddeus Ross, a general who was also a S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison.
Experiment Gone Wrong
After 9/11, S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to look into new options of recreating the Super Soldier serum that created Captain America. Bruce uses nanomeds, activated by gamma radiation from a device called a Gammasphere (but actually operates differently to a genuine Gammasphere), to regenerate living tissue; Banner believed that this was the next step towards recreating the super soldier serum; but the nanobot experiments only result in out-of-control cellular growth and are invariably fatal to the amphibian test subjects. However, "Thunderbolt" Ross becomes interested in the research to build self-healing soldiers. As Bruce, Betty and Rick continue to work towards progress in their experiments, they experience an accident during a routine power-up when there is an overload of the nanobots with Rick stuck in the lab room. Bruce saves Rick and takes in a full dose of high amounts of radiation.
He was then transformed into a large muscled green rampaging rage monster dubbed the Hulk, with reduced intelligent and incredible strength. The accident caused an explosion at the campus and the raging monster broke loose. He destroyed the lab, fought against the army and S.H.I.E.L.D. Troops and finally escapes. While Ross, Betty, and Rick managed to make it out alive as the nanomeds have killed everything else they've touched. The Military was looking forward to using the Hulk's body as a living weapon every since the incident, and declares a confidential manhunt for Banner, while Banner decided to escape and hideout, blaming himself for all the people he hurt.
The Hunt for the Hulk
In 2008, Banner found a new direction for himself acting as an unregistered physician helping people in the poverty-stricken slums in the jungle wile still finding a cure. While working, medical camp comes under siege by cartels, led by a man named Espinoza. This resulted in Banner getting angry and becoming the Hulk, destroying the criminal hideout. This incident was reported to General Ross, who was still hunting Banner for years after the original accident. General Ross tracked the origin of the incident and arrived at Banner's hideout with a team led by a trained marine officer Jamie Carlson to bring Banner in. Banner then transformed and Vicious battle broke lose in the jungle. S.H.I.E.L.D's Mandroids Unit later arrived to take down the Hulk and to aid the Troops but were proven no match for the Hulk and later escapes.
Banner made his way back to the United States and stayed at a family home in Kansas before fleeing the next three days when the government arrived to bring in Banner. Bruce then heads to New York City where he finds out that Betty was working at Empire State University alongside with Rick Jones at a Biology department and was dating a S.H.I.E.L.D. Scientist Dr. Leonard Sampson. Banner was able to get hold of Sampson so he could help Banner find a cure for The Hulk. One night, Banner visited Sampson at his home where he, Betty and Rick reunited, Sampson reveals that he knows someone by the name of Samuel Sterns who works on Gamma Radiation and could possibly cure Banner of the Hulk at a high security prison maintained by S.H.E.L.D. known as The Cube. Banner then found out that a criminal named Carl Creel had been exposed to the same gamma radiation much like Banner and managed escaped the cube prison, located in Nevada. During this, Bruce tried to get back together with Betty Ross but she became strained because of the Hulk and she revealed that she was dating Sampson.
The crew managed to go to Canyon Lake Desert in California for Banner to speak with Creel for answers about The Cube before he heads there. But Creel thought that Banner was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and attacks Banner. He transforms and the two duke it out at the desert. Jamie Carlson and the Hulkbuster unit was thrown into the fray to capture the two. Creel proved to be a tough opponent, absorbing everything he touches that tossed Hulk around like a doll. but was bought down when Hulk smashed creel's body parts into bits. Carlson, General Ross, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Black Widow then take them both to the Cube, Including Betty, Rick and Sampson.
Hulk Vs Abomination
While imprison, He awoke minutes later only to find out that Banner was cured from the Hulk and learns that they were replicating Banner's blood samples to make more Hulks for The Army and S.H.I.E.L.D. Carlson, whose super-soldier treatment had healed him, confronted Sterns and reveals to him that he is an undercover Russian spy and his real name is Emil Blonsky. Blonsky pressured Sterns into giving him Banner's blood samples. But before that could be done, Black Widow overheard the conversation and tries to take down the spy, but thanks to the super soldier serum pumping in his veins, Blonsky overpowers her and made change of plans. He ordered Sterns to infuse him with Gamma radiation and Banner's blood sample to escape. The resulting transformation mutated Blonsky into a hideous titan monster that then began rampaging through the city of Las Vegas. Banner, realizing that he was the only one who could stop the Abomination and the world is gonna need a Hulk for threats like Abomination. He convinced General Ross to release him. Banner says his final goodbyes to Betty Ross and transformed back into the Hulk. Hulk then apprehended Blonsky and the two had a violent battle. In the aftermath, Blonsky was sent to a specialty S.H.I.E.L.D holding facility and Bruce escaped to never be seen again... at least for a while.
Invasion
Three years after Captain America's body was found in the Arctic Ocean, Banner got re-instated to S.H.I.E.L.D. by director Nick Fury to recreate the super-soldier serum out of Cap's blood for S.H.I.E.L.D. with Betty Ross, and was allowed to be free of the hulk under the condition that he took medication to keep his anger in check. Betty asked that if Bruce could be there to first examine the body. However, Cap suddenly got up and fought his way out, going past Bruce and Betty. Once Steve calmed down, Bruce was able to talk to and examine him up close. Bruce joined with Agent Coulson, Dr. Jane Foster, Hank Pym, Clint Barton, Janet Van Dyne, Betty, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Captain America and Natalia Romanoff on the debriefing of hostile alien invaders known as the kree and the birth of the Avengers.
Bruce then thought that he could control the Hulk by using the blood sample from Steve. He also grew depressed because the medication and tranquilizers kept him from his full potential. After the Avengers and Nick Fury were seemingly killed at Micronesia by a nuclear explosion, Betty realized that Bruce had not been using the recreated serum to help others. He was using it only for himself. They then heard that three Kree Ships were entering earth's atmosphere and their are numerous breaches opening from across the globe. Thinking it was only up to him to stop this Kree invasion, Bruce then used the serum to transform into the Hulk with Betty watching. However, he was able to control his alter ego and was gray instead of green. When the Kree attacked Bruce/Hulk, he brought Betty to safety and threw himself at the alien soldiers. The Kree were then launched a full scale attack across the world, including Manhattan from above, Bruce heads there at the same time as the Avengers did who where revealed to be still alive, with a new member that called himself Thor. Hulk destroyed one of the ships while Iron Man and Thor destroyed the other two. Hulk then began killing many soldiers climbing buildings, using his incredible strength and leaping abilities he was able to leap high in the air and hit the Kree Chariots out of the sky. At one point Hulk became surrounded by Kree Chariots who all fired down at him together. As the battle looked almost hopeless, The team learned that the Kree planted a super bomb in manhatten, meant to exterminate all meta-human life on Earth, Thor flew the bomb into the kree mothership from above and thus disabled all the other soldiers, forcing them to retreat. After their leader Ronan the Accuser was sent back to Asgard with Thor and the Staff safely secured by S.H.I.E.L.D., the superheroes gain the public's trust and are honored at the White House and declared themselves Avengers.
Personality
Banner is mild-mannered, shy, and a mysterious person. After the accident at Empire State University, Banner became obsessed with finding a cure for his mutation. He is compassionate and is afraid of hurting someone unintentionally, he would try not to get close to anyone even if it his friends or family.
Ever since the accident, Bruce continually struggles with fits of anxiety, embarrassment and rage. over time, he created an anti-stress serum to slow his heart, gaining greater control over the transformations. After defeating Abomination and Absorbing Man, he realizes that the world needs a Hulk to counter threats like them, abandoning his search for a cure but learning how to control the Hulk instead. Bruce Banner is now a self-sacrificing and heroic person. Endowed with a super genius intellect, he is also one of the most brilliant and resourceful minds on Earth.
When he transforms into the green Hulk, his personality regresses to a more child-like state and he has little recollection of events. After he returns to his normal human form, typically referring to himself in the third person. The Hulk often claims that he wants to be left alone. As the Hulk, he appears savage, with no real ability to distinguish friend from foe. After mixing the Super-Soldier Serum with the Hulk serum however, he's far more well-adjusted, and possesses a higher base strength level and his skin is gray instead of upon transforming into the hulk form. However, when the Hulk's anger reaches a berserk level, he'll loose control.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Transformation: Due to the gamma radiation, coupled with his severe childhood trauma, has the ability to transform into the Hulk when he is angry, stressed or hurt and when he loses control of his emotions. The total time of the transformation takes between seconds to several minutes, depending on the adrenaline surge. Bruce at first was unable to control the transformations, but he managed to maintain some level of control which his consciousness was buried within the Hulk's and managed to influence the Hulk's behavior to a very limited extent. This allows the Hulk to be much smarter when he saves Betty Ross from Abomination or when he assists Wolverine in defeating Wendigo. Usually, the Hulk won't retain the intelligence of Bruce Banner and has a pretty angry attitude. And according to Hawkeye, he has the worst anger issues ever. And the more angry the Hulk gets, the stronger he will get. When transformed back into Banner, his the excess muscle mass and energy will decrease back to normal.
- Superhuman Strength: While Hulk normally possesses tremendous levels superhuman strength, able to lift over 100 tons effortlessly, it increased the more he gets emotionally worked-up, making his strength practically limitless. Hulk has shown several of acts of brute strength, such as lifting cars and throwing them hundreds of feet into the air, rip steel as if it was made of paper, to break vehicles with a punch, to stop a speeding truck in its tracks by stomping it into the ground, leave a dent after punching a wall made of an extremely durable silicon-carbide Vibranium alloy. Even without directly touching targets, Hulk shows remarkable strength as his claps can release powerful force waves able to level city blocks. His strength extends to his legs, enabling him to leap thousands of feet into the air and miles from his starting place. And his rage is as limitless as his strength. He can also utilize radiation and dark magic to boost his powers. In combat, Hulk often uses his strength to throw heavy objects (like cars and forklift trucks, for example) or his smaller opponents in order to defeat his enemies. Hulk has never demonstrated a maximum output or limit to his strength, and very few individuals have been able to match his strength, such as: the Abomination, the absorbing man and Thor. Thor was hit hard enough by Hulk to make his nose bleed.
- Superhuman Speed: Regardless of his size, Hulk's superhumanly strong legs allow him to run at speeds that are far beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete. And the more speed he absorbs, it is possible that he can be able to run up on buildings. He also possesses enhanced reflexes and agility proportionate to his size, but his large size can still be exploited by smaller foes to use to their advantage.
- Superhuman Durability: Hulk's physiology's resilience to physical trauma is so advanced that it almost borders on invulnerability. Hulk's entire anatomy is several times denser and more resilient to physical harm than a human's. Hulk can withstand falls from orbital heights, the most powerful energy attacks, and powerful hits from immensely strong beings with little to no damage or pain. Fire causes him no damage, and he can withstand temperature extremes with no injury or discomfort. Only beings with incredible force or extremely powerful weapons can harm him, such as Abomination's skeletal spikes, and when a blow from Thor wielding Mjølnir knocked him out for a moment. Hulk took a lightning blast from Thor, and got up shortly after with no damage. Hulk's skin and bones become denser the angrier he gets, and his durability increases as he gets more excited. Even if damage can pierce through his seemingly invulnerable physiology, his advanced healing will always repair it in a instant.
- Superhuman Stamina: Hulk has substantially greater endurance than a normal human, allowing him to run and fight for a long time. His enraged state, during a fight, allows him to maintain peak output for hours on end and still continue to become even stronger as his anger escalates.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Even know he is high resistant to physical harm, there are ways to injure the Hulk. According to Betty Ross, the Hulk is capable of regenerating damaged or destroyed areas of his body (even his limbs) with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Additionally, the Hulk heals faster and more extensively the madder he gets. Combined with the Hulk's superhuman durability, this makes him extremely difficult to injure or harm, as noted by Wolverine, as every time Wolverine cut him, he grew angrier, and his skin grew harder and he healed even faster. Grievous bodily harm has also proven to be a trigger for Banner's transformations, and he has recovered from otherwise fatal injuries sustained in his normal form.
- Gamma-radiated blood: Hulk's special blood produces gamma-rays and thus has blood which can act for a cure to vampirism, due to the gamma radiation being similar to ultra-violet radiation.
- Immunity: Hulk has a enhanced immune system ensuring his immunity to all Earth-based diseases and viruses. such as Cancer. and due to the Gamma Radiation pumping in him, he is totally immune to Radiation.
- Underwater Breathing: Hulk has the ability to breath under water because his glands develop an oxygenated per-fluorocarbon emulsion which fills his lungs and equalizes the pressure.
- Advanced Longevity: Hulk's healing factor has slowed his aging process at an extraordinary rate.
Abilities
Bruce Banner is a gifted scientist with particular expertise in nuclear physics and biochemistry, famous for being one of the foremost geniuses of his generation. He is a highly rated expert in gamma radiation.
He became involved in a science project to develop a 'vaccine' to gamma radiation and to develop a method to generate radiation without radioactive materials; both projects resulted in the creation of the Hulk. He was also trained in martial arts and was proved a very formidable opponent when it came to protecting himself. When he lived and traveled in South America, Bruce demonstrated some knowledge in Portuguese and Spanish.
As the Hulk, he is a formidable hand to hand combatant simply due to his great physical attributes. He typically uses street fighting and brawling techniques that make full use of his strength. He would also use pieces of his immediate environment to fight with, often to use as thrown objects to strike distant targets, and sometimes for melee attacks or protection.
- Intimidation: As the Hulk, Bruce commands an intimidating presence to the point where the majority of the world and many of his enemies fear him.
- Expert Tactician: Over the years, Bruce has become an expert in developing strategies to go unnoticed and run from the government and military, using his intellect to quickly evaluate his surroundings and develop escape strategies. He has also become very skilled at going undercover.
- Physician: Bruce possesses enough medical knowledge to help the sick and injured, while living in the Amazon Jungle.
Strength level
The Hulk is one of the physically strongest beings in this universe. Hulk has been seen to engage and overpower both the Abomination and Carl Creel, as well as engaging and nearly overwhelming The Avengers and Thor. He has been rated as having a strength level in excess of 100 tons. In his regular human form he has the strength of a ordinary average height man in his thirties with a basic training in martial arts.
Weaknesses
As the Hulk, Banner intelligence can be reduced, His scientific mind regresses to a very primitive state. With his extreme Rage and physical power, Hulk could cause havoc on the world around him.
- Emotional State: If Bruce becomes too angry, he will involuntarily transform into the Hulk, a savage enraged state where he would attack anyone being friend or foe.
- Gas Inhalation: Great doses of gas can temporarily neutralize the Hulk. However, it's not an insurmountable obstacle, since Hulk can dissipate the gas with a powerful thunderclap, destabilizing the opponent with the resulting shockwaves. The Hulk has shown to also resisted that when he's in his green form.
- Adamantium and Vibranium Blades: They have been shown capable of piercing Hulk's skin. However, as the Hulk's rage increases they become progressively less effective, reaching the stage they are completely unable to harm him.
- Rage Nullification: The Hulk's rage also can be neutralized; certain individuals can calm the Hulk down. Betty Ross successfully calmed the Hulk down in several instances.
- Extreme Conditions: Finally, he can be hurt or even killed by cosmic entities or individuals with similar extraordinary levels of power, and under some conditions be psychically manipulated by exceptionally powerful telepaths.
Paraphernalia
Equipment:
- Laptop computer: Cheap second hand laptop with a encrypted instant messaging software installed. Bruce always carried it in a backpack, so he could maintain a communication where ever he was.
- Basic laboratory equipment: Equipment of biochemistry used to find a cure for his transformation. Including a centrifuge, bowl, microscope, sep funnel, pumps, eudiometer, stirring rods, beaker, tubes and flasks. Also included syringes, where Bruce was able to examine the effects of the cure in his blood sample.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: Some objects Hulk picked up to take down foes. He also wielded Thor's hammer once, although he never did gain the powers of Thor however.
Notes
- In this version of the Hulk, Bruce Banner has the ability to
fully control the Hulk. But despite this fact, the Hulk will still lose control quite often if he gets angrier.
- This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of Marvel Ultiverse and is an adaptation of Bruce Banner/Hulk. The original character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Incredible Hulk #1
Trivia
- Stark Industries helped construct the Gammasphere that was involved in Bruce Banner's mutation into the Hulk.
- Before the Hulk incident, Bruce Banner was a scientist at Empire State University, the same college that Peter Parker graduated from in the canon Marvel Universe Earth-616.
- It was stated in a newspaper of The Daily Bugle and other of Daily Globe that the incident with the failed gamma ray experiment, referred as "Mysterious Incident at the Empire State University", occurred on Thursday, May 12, 2006
See Also
- Appearances of Bruce Robert Banner (Earth-981)
- Character Gallery: Bruce Robert Banner (Earth-981)
- Quotations by Bruce Robert Banner (Earth-981)
Discover and Discuss
- Search News for: Hulk · Robert Bruce Banner · Bruce Robert Banner (Earth-981)
Links and References
- None.