Profile: Hulk

Additional Information

Brian Banner (father, deceased); Rebecca Banner (mother, deceased); Susan Drake Banner (aunt, possibly deceased); Morris Walters (uncle); Elaine Banner Walters (aunt, deceased); Thaddeus E. Ross (father-in-law); Karen Lee Ross (mother-in-law, deceased); Betty Ross Banner/Betty Ross Talbot Banner (first wife); Caiera Oldstrong (second wife, deceased); She-Hulk (cousin); Skaar (son); Hiro-Kala (son); Carmilla Black (possible daughter); Lyra (daughter).

• Invulnerability: Class 1000 resistance to Cold, Heat, Fire, Corrosives, Radiation, Toxins, and Disease.
• True Invulnerability: Monstrous
• Regeneration: Unearthly
• Self Recovery: Unearthly 
• Self Revival: Unearthly
• Hyper-Leaping: Class 5000
• Astral Detection: Unearthly
• Adrenaline Surge: The listed abilities and health scores are for the Hulk under "normal" circumstances. The Hulk's Fighting and Strength may be raised +1CS to a maximum of Shift-Z to hit and damage. The +1CS occurs instantly each round when the Hulk is attacked or angrey. If the opponent or opponents are defeated, the Hulk's abilities and health scores return to normal in the next round. The Hulk’s Regeneration/Self Recovery/Self Revival also increases +1CS to a maximum of Shift-Z each round until he is no longer taking damage (making the Hulk virtually unstoppable).
• Special Detection: For some unknown reason, the Hulk is able to locate the place he was "born"; Desert Base, New Mexico with Class 3000 ability
• Alter Ego: He turns into the Hulk when he gets mad. At times in the past, the Hulk has possessed a level of Banner Intelligence at Excellent (20) rank. As Bruce Banner he has none of the powers above:

Banner Only: Physics and Radiation (Gamma).

The Hulk is one of the physically strongest beings ever to walk the earth.

Banner Only: Avengers, Fantastic Four, Defenders, Rick Jones, and his cousin Jen Walters (She-Hulk).

Robert Bruce Banner was the son of Dr. Brian Banner, an atomic scientist, and his wife Rebecca. Although Rebecca deeply loved Bruce, who returned her affection, Brian hated the child. Possibly an alcoholic, Brian Banner was driven by an insane jealousy of Bruce for being an object of Rebecca's love. Brian Banner finally murdered Rebecca and was placed in a mental hospital. Bruce, a highly withdrawn, intellectual youth, was raised by his aunt, Mrs. Drake, and internalized his great pain and rage over his childhood sufferings.

Eventually, as an adult and a genius in nuclear physics, Banner went to work at a United States Defense Department nuclear research facility at Desert Base, New Mexico. Their Banner met General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross, the Air Force officer in command of the base, and his daughter Betty. Banner and Betty Ross eventually fell in love with each other. Banner designed and oversaw construction of the "gamma bomb" or "G-bomb," a nuclear weapon that had a high gamma radiation output.

Banner was present in the instrumentation bunker at the test site for the first underground test detonation of the gamma bomb. Observing that a civilian had breached security and entered the restricted test area, Banner told his colleague Igor Starsky to delay the countdown while he tried to get the civilian to safety, Starsky, secretly a Soviet agent, did nothing, confident that Banner would die in the explosion, bringing the project to a halt. Reaching the civilian, a teenager named Rick Jones, Banner threw him into a protective trench. Before Banner could get himself to safety, the gamma-bomb detonated, and intense waves of radiation reached the surface. Banner was irradiated with highly charged, radioactive particles. Due to an unknown genetic factor in his body, Banner was not killed by the radiation, which instead caused him to transform frequently into the vastly powerful, green-skinned named "the Hulk" by the military present at the test site.

At first Banner changed into the Hulk at sunset and reverted to human form at dawn. However, Banner's body eventually changed so that his transformations into the Hulk were triggered by the release of adrenaline when he became intensely excited, no matter what time of day or night it was. Usually the Hulk possessed little of Banner's memory and intelligence and was easily enraged. Hence, the Hulk was a menace, continually hunted by military forces commanded by the implacable General Ross. For a short time Banner managed through radiation treatments to maintain enough of his own personality when he became the Hulk to control himself in that form, and he even became a founding member of the Avengers in this form. But once again the Hulk lost Banner's intelligence   and became a brutish menace. For a surprisingly long time Banner managed to conceal the fact that he was the Hulk, but his secret inevitably became public knowledge. For years Banner wandered the world as a hunted fugitive, cursed by his recurring transformations into the bestial Hulk.

One day Banner went to visit his beloved cousin Jennifer Walters, a Los Angeles based lawyer. At that time Walters had been defending a hood named Lou Monkdon, whom gangster Nicholas Trask had framed for murder. While Walters drove Banner to her home, one of Trask's henchmen shot her. To save his cousin's life, Banner improvised an emergency blood transfusion. The transfusion of Banner's mutated blood mutated Walters herself, causing her to become   the She-Hulk.

Finally, scientist Leonard "Doc" Samson captured the Hulk and succeeded through unknown means in separating Banner's psyche and atomic structure from the larger atomic structure of the Hulk. Hence Banner and the Hulk were now two separate beings. The Hulk, escaped, and no longer having Banner's buried personality to restrain him in the least, became a greater menace than ever before. Banner became leader of a new government task force to capture the Hulk, called the new Hulkbusters. Banner also finally married Betty Ross, believing himself free of the curse of turning into the Hulk.

Realizing there was only one way to reign in the Hulk, Banner agreed to merge with the monster. But the stress of the re-integration fractured Banner's subconscious, creating the street-smart gray Hulk. During this time, he spent several years in Las Vegas, sometimes operating as an enforcer calling himself Mr. Fixit (or "Joe Fixit.") The smart-mouth Fixit was an ill-tempered, wisecracking, thuggish brute whose personality resembled that of his father and the fraternity boys who surrounded him in college. It was also at this time that Joe Fixit began his a short-lived relationship with the future wife of Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler. In this state of the Hulk, Banner again found himself changing into the Hulk at night and into his human form in the light of the day.

Soon after, the swirling mess of persona and mentalities took their toll on the ever-flustered mind of Dr. Banner, and a battle for supremacy and control took place in Banner's subconscious. With assistance by the Ringmaster and his hypnotic abilities, Doc Samson tapped into the subconscious of Banner and reached his separate incarnations. Through this hypnosis, Banner, the green Hulk, and the gray Fixit all aligned to face their true inner demons-- Banner's unresolved issues with his abusive father and the murderer of his mother. With this realization, Banner was able to fuse these mentalities together, finding peace of mind. However, a green but intelligent version of the Hulk emerged. He had the mentality of Dr. Banner but the body and abilities of the Hulk.

Unfortunately Dr. Banner soon realized that he must once again keep his temper in check, as if he let his rage loose, the mentality of the savage green Hulk would soon take over, albeit in the form of Banner's human body. Without the strength of the Hulk and filled with the Green Goliath's rage and belief of his old abilities, he proved to be a great danger to himself. This was, however, not to last. During the assault of the being known as Onslaught, the Hulk asked Jean Grey to let the green Hulk loose from its mental prison in order to use his maximum potential and abilities to defeat the menace. In a strange twist, Banner became divided. Then Banner physically went away to a parallel world created upon Onslaught's defeat, where he once again became the savage green Hulk. Remaining on Earth was a cold, somewhat unfeeling but intelligible version of the jade monster. This version of the Hulk also found himself allied with Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur), who made Hulk into one of his Four Horsemen.

This surly version of the Hulk remained in this state, never changing until much later when the consciousness of Banner was awakened from a personal hell where he was trapped in his own subconscious and haunted by his memories of his father, his future self (the Maestro), the Leader, and his past Banner and Hulk incarnations. Banner's freedom and escape from this subconscious hell was only achieved through self-realization and the understanding that his true strength came from within, proving his redemption from his fears. Upon this realization, Banner was guided to consciousness though the visage of his true love, Betty.

Though never a team player, the Hulk joined forces with the Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, and Namor, the Atlantean Sub-Mariner, to defeat the techno-wizard Yandroth and his ultimate computer, the Omegatron. Thereafter, this loose-knit band of Defenders would unite periodically to oppose threats to humanity. The original Defenders reluctantly re-formed when Yandroth surfaced again to menace the world. Though the heroes defeated his plan, Yandroth used his sorcery to levy a deathbed curse upon their heads, binding them to come together in times of crisis.

After the events of the M-Day, Banner sought refugee and peace in Alaska, where he lived as a hermit loosely connected to the town community. He was eventually tracked down by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., who required his help in defeating the Hydra space weapon called the Godseye, which could detonate all the nuclear bombs in the world. Sent up as the Hulk, he discovered that the Godseye was actually a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon that could match the strength of any enemy. In the ensuing battle, the Godseye found that though it could try, it could not match the increasing power of the Hulk, and it exploded.

A S.H.I.E.L.D. commissioned space shuttle was sent to retrieve the Hulk, or so he believed. Seizing the opportunity to be rid of the Hulk, a group of superheroes known as the Illuminati decided to jettison the shuttle into space, to a planet with no intelligent lifeforms. Unfortunately, there was a navigation error, and the Hulk landed on Planet Sakaar, a planet full of barbarian tribes, gladiator battles and ruled over by a corrupt empire. The planet was situated near a portal, which gave it access to several different cultures and technologies. Weakened by his travel, Hulk was taken captive and sold into slavery and sent to the Great Arena to die in the games. After overcoming the first challenge set before him, Hulk was given the opportunity to be pardoned by the Red King, but instead he chose to attack him and was knocked out by the Red King when he became distracted. The Hulk soon joined several others in a group that would have to learn to fight together and, in result, he became warbound. The Hulk and his team of misfit warriors overcame the challenges set before them and became known as great warriors throughout the planet, inspiring many to rebel against the Red King.

Soon thereafter, Hulk and his team were forced to fight a captured Silver Surfer who struck them fiercely. Hulk, angered by Silver Surfer's betrayal, attacked the Surfer and inadvertently released him from the disc implant embedded within him. Freed of the implant disc that kept him prisoner, the Surfer destroyed the rest of the implant discs embedded in the rest of the warriors. The Hulk declined the Silver Surfer's offer of transportation back to his world so as to finish things on Planet Sakaar. Hulk then stood with his freed warbound companions against the tyrannous Red King.

After several hard fought battles, the evolution of Miek, and finally gaining the confidence of Caiera the Oldstrong, Hulk and the Warbound confronted the Red King. With those few still loyal to him, the King in his Death's Head Armor did battle with Hulk. As he soon saw he was no match for the Green Scar, the Red King activated a rupture under the very surface of the planet. In an act of desperation, Hulk leaped into the molten earth and forced the splitting plates back to their proper assemblage, literally saving Sakaar. The Hulk gave the King a finishing blow, knocking him clear of the city walls. Finally, the Wildebots came upon the Red King and finished him off once and for all.

Hulk was proclaimed the Green King, and all those on Sakaar worshiped him and his Queen, Caiera. She told her king that she would bear him a child, and it seemed that the Hulk's life of running and fighting was over. However, the Hulk was not destined for a happy ending as the ship that brought him to that world soon exploded, killing his wife and unborn child sending Banner into a rage like no other. He and his Warbound journeyed to Earth seeking revenge on the planet's heroes for their part in Sakkar's destruction. Once they arrived, the Hulk crushed Black Bolt on Attilan and took the city of New York as his battleground. Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Doctor Strange all fell before the Hulk and his Warbound too. Even old sparring partners such as the X-Men as well as new threats like the Gamma Corps couldn't even slow the Hulk's rampage.

Hulk fitted his defeated foes with Obedience Disks just like the ones he and the other gladiators on Sakaar were forced to wear and made them battle one another in order to experience the ordeal he was put through. It wasn’t until the Hulk prevented Mister Fantastic from killing Tony Stark during one of the gladiator matches that he revealed his true intentions. Hulk claimed he came home for justice, not murder, but Hulk does not want the world to forget what he feels their heroes truly are: liars, traitors and killers. No matter how many times Stark or Richards try to explain they had nothing to do with the shuttle explosion that killed his adopted home world, the Hulk will not listen.

Soon a nearly insane Sentry arrives on the scene and a cataclysmic battle ensues between him and Hulk. Sentry unleashed forces that nearly destroyed what was left of New York, but ultimately, Hulk averted that disaster by defeating the Sentry. Having reverted back to the form of Bruce Banner, it seemed that World War Hulk had come to an end. However, Miek had other plans. Miek tried to injure Banner, so he would transform back to his gamma powered counterpart, but Rick Jones pushed Banner out of the way only to have Miek’s spear thrust through his body. Miek got what he wanted, and Banner did turn back into the Hulk but it was only because he intended to destroy the Hive King for stabbing his friend. Miek continued to explain how it was really his plan to let Hulk think the heroes of Earth destroyed Sakaar as he watched men loyal to the Red King load an old warp core onto the Hulk’s shuttle in hopes that it would kill him. Now faced with the truth, Hulk’s anger was completely out of control, and as he told the heroes he would hate them forever because this would never have happened if not for their interference, he also told Tony Stark to stop him because he hated himself as well for his part in the destruction.

Stark called upon the combined power of various satellites to finally put an end to the Hulk’s rampage. Banner was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and was placed three miles below the Mojave Desert. The Warbound was also placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, but they escaped after saving New York from being split in half by an expanding chasm the Hulk created.

While Banner was incarcerated at Gamma Base, a new mystery revealed itself when long-time Hulk foe, the Abomination, was found murdered in his homeland of Russia. A team comprised of Iron Man, General Ross, Samson, She-Hulk and Commander Maria Hill went to investigate only to determine the only suspect that could have done this was the Hulk. The perpetrator soon revealed himself on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and it was indeed a massive creature referring to itself as the Red Hulk. This new incarnation of the Hulk decimated the likes of She-Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and even Rick Jones in his new powered up identity of a creature named A-Bomb. Banner was set free when the clash between the Red Hulk and A-Bomb caused a big enough earthquake to damage his prison. The potential threat to Banner's life triggered his transformation into the Green Goliath, and the Hulk wasted no time in confronting his new nemesis. The Hulk, caught unprepared for the Red Hulk's fighting style, was defeated in their first meeting - suffering a broken arm in the process - but the outcome was much different during their second meeting. The Hulk found a potential weakness in the Red Hulk and exploited it. Once the Red Hulk was beaten, the Hulk left before he could find out the Red Hulk's true identity. However, Banner has been spending his time trying to track down the Red Hulk before he can do anymore damage. On his journey, Banner ended up in Las Vegas where the Hulk had to team up with Sentry, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and even Brother Voodoo to quell a pack of Wendigos from devouring everyone inside a casino.

Sometime later, the Grandmaster came to Hulk with a proposition: if Hulk chose to participate in a game and won, Grandmaster would bring his love, Jarella, back to life. Hulk agreed and was told he could pick a group of allies to aid him in the game. Hulk chose his former teammates in the Defenders: Namor, Silver Surfer, and Doctor Strange. When the time came to meet their opponents, the Collector appeared with the Hulk's nemesis, the Red Hulk, and his team: Baron Mordo, Terrax and Tiger Shark - now known as the Offenders. With the game underway, each member of each team was paired up on separate battlefields. The power levels of each pair were too evenly matched, but in a wicked turn of events, the Red Hulk impaled the Hulk on a trident, killing him. The Hulk would eventually be resurrected by the Grandmaster to attend to an out of control Red Hulk, but the Hulk would still be left broken-hearted over the loss of his beloved Jarella – much to the satisfaction of the Red Hulk.

The events following the Defenders/Offenders War would be even more satisfying to the Hulk's new nemesis when Banner would become a captive of M.O.D.O.K. and A.I.M., and a quartet of heroes attempted to infiltrate the underground base. At the end of Hulk's war with the heroes of Earth, the satellites Stark used to end the Hulk's rampage were hacked into by M.O.D.O.K. for the sole purpose of interfacing with Banner's irradiated cells. With this information, and the help of a seemingly traitorous General Ross, A.I.M. intended to create an army of gamma-powered soldiers. What they did create was Doc Samson's evil split personality, the monstrous A-Bomb, and the Red Hulk. When Doc Samson turned on his group and attacked She-Hulk, leaving Ben Urich and his photographer-by-day, superhero-by-night, Spider-Man to fend for themselves against the Red Hulk, an enraged Banner released his alter-ego to save them. The battle between the Hulks left the base in ruins, but it appeared it would be the last time these behemoths would ever clash again. The Red Hulk used his power to absorb radiation to drain Hulk dry, leaving Banner unable to ever transform into the Green Goliath again.

Banner was rescued by A-Bomb, and the two of them fled to the place where Rick used to cage Hulk for the night when Banner was first affected by the gamma bomb that changed his life forever. While in hiding, Norman Osborn got word of Banner's predicament and sent Ares to find out if the claims were true. Between A-Bomb's strength and Banner's brain, Ares was defeated. Bruce and Rick went their separate ways, leaving Bruce to start a new life without the burden of being the Hulk. His first stop: New York to trick Reed Richards and retrieve the Hulk's personal belongings when he was the Green Scar. Next on his agenda was to give those items to Skaar and begin his training should the Hulk return. Banner decided Skaar needed to learn all the things his savage childhood denied him. Aspects like teamwork, developing friendships, resisting temptation and so forth, and to this end, Banner pit his son against the likes of Juggernaut, Daken, Tyrannus and an impromptu battle against the new Harpy - Marlo Chandler.

Despite being rid of his monstrous alter-ego, Banner is still considered a dangerous man because of his superior intellect, and it was quite apparent how uncomfortable he made the attendees of General Ross' memorial service when he showed his face to deliver a farewell speech. Still, Banner was allowed to say his peace and leave without incident, but a secret meeting with his new ally, the Red Hulk, gave the appearance Banner may have been behind the general's death all along.