Hulk (Marvel)

"Don't make me angry.. you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

- Bruce Banner

Robert Bruce Banner/The Hulk is a superhero of the comic books, cartoons and movies of the same name - although a creature of rage and destruction, Hulk has a human side and this separates him from the more monstrous opponents such as Abomination or the Leader - Hulk is often confused and alone in the world and wants to be left alone yet is forever hounded by heroes and villains alike, this forces Hulk to fight and this only serves to make him angrier and stronger.

Under the monstrous exterior and rampaging Hulk has a gentle side, especially towards Betty - the one woman he truly loves and one of the few friends Hulk truly trusts. Hulk began life as Bruce Banner and suffered an abusive childhood at the hands of his cruel father, who murdered his mother in front of his eyes and bullied him into silence under threats that he would go to Hell if he did.

Although Bruce managed to escape his father and grow to become a world expert on gamma-radiation his past never truly left and when he was caught up in a freak accident his inner-anxieties gave birth to the Hulk, a creature born of Bruce's rage at the world, yet despite its naturally aggressive nature Hulk often showed restrained (at least by his standards) - suggesting that Bruce had some limited control over the being - though as Hulk became more angered his actions became ever more hard to control.

Bruce would come to see the Hulk as a monster and indeed most of the world viewed him that way to but in reality Hulk was misunderstood, wishing to be left alone and willing to defend the world from truly monstrous opponents despite his mistreatment.

In at least on future, known as Future Imperfect, Hulk is shown to have ultimately lost his battle for humanity and devolved into the dictator known as Maestro - however present Hulk rejected this future and claims he can make things right.. whether Hulk can achieve this or not is unknown but the "Green Giant" has never been one to back away from a fight - especially if the cause is just.

Early Years
Robert Bruce Banner is the son of Dr. Brian Banner, an atomic physicist, and his wife Rebecca. Although Rebecca deeply loved Bruce, who returned her affection, Brian hated their child. An alcoholic, and very, very angry man, Brian was driven by an insane jealousy of Bruce for being an object of Rebecca's love. Further, Brian believed that his radiation work had altered his DNA and given him a mutant son. Brian then abused Bruce and finally murdered Rebecca, then was placed in a mental hospital. After that, Bruce was raised by his aunt and father's sister, Susan Banner, who understood his great pain and rage over his childhood sufferings thanks to his crazed father, and raised him with love and care as if he were her own child. Bruce, grew up from then on as a highly withdrawn, intellectually gifted youth, in fact, a child prodigy.

After graduating from Science High School, Bruce studied nuclear physics in Navajo, New Mexico, at Desert State University as the star student of Professor Herbert Josiah Weller. He also studied for a time at Pennsylvania State University, where he met Walter Langkowski. He obtained his doctorate in nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology, alongside Philip Sterns.

Eventually, as an adult and a genius in nuclear physics, Banner wished to pursue philanthropic brands of science, but couldn't receive any financial funding for his projects, and thus in lack of other options, went to work at a United States Defense Department nuclear research facility at Desert Base, New Mexico. There Banner met General Thaddeus Ross, the Air Force officer in command of the base, and his daughter Betty Ross. Banner and Betty eventually fell in love with each other. Banner designed and oversaw construction of the "Gamma Bomb" or "G-bomb," a nuclear weapon possessing a high gamma radiation output.

The Hulk
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 escort 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 frequently transform into the vastly powerful, gray-skinned, humanoid monster named "the Hulk".

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 Hulk were triggered by the release of adrenalin 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. While the military attempted to contain Hulk, he thwarted their every attempt, with Rick Jones, feeling responsible for Banner becoming the Hulk, trying to help keep him away from the military. Hulk ultimately thwarted an attempt to destroy America by the Gargoyle, another being mutated by gamma radiation. Hulk changed back into Banner and help cure the Gargoyle, who helped Banner escape back to the U.S., where, with the help of Rick Jones, he maintained his identity as the Hulk a secret and attempted to keep the Hulk contained at night.

Early Adventures
When Bruce next turned into the Hulk, his skin was green, a skin tone that remained the most constant for the Hulk. Banner became a target of the so-called Toad Men, who sought to invade Earth. Although at first their attempts to exploit Banner's intelligence made him appear to be a traitor to his country, Banner was able to use his might as Hulk to thwart the Toad Men's invasion and cleared his name.

In an effort to control his transformations, Banner began using a Gamma Ray Projector to force transformations into Hulk and Banner vice-versa, however his Hulk persona was reluctant to transform back into Banner. After the Hulk was shot into space and passing through a radiation storm Rick Jones briefly found himself able to control him. They worked together to stop the Circus of Crime. Jones' control over the Hulk faded away. Hulk's transformations were not limited to nightfall after this adventure.

Hulk next foiled a hoax perpetrated by the Russian agent Boris Monguski aimed at trying to learn the secrets of the Hulk's strength, saved Betty from the underground ruler Tyrannus, and battled the Chinese General Fang. When Gamma Base was the subject to sabotage, Hulk was blamed and the Fantastic Four were called in to deal with him. This led to the first of many clashes between Hulk and the Fantastic Four's Thing. In the aftermath, the scientist Karl Kort was ultimately held responsible. Shortly thereafter, Hulk prevented Metal Master from invading Earth.

The Avengers
Hulk became a pawn of Loki who tricked Hulk into battling his half-brother, Thor. This plot was foiled, leading to Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp joining forces to form the Avengers and defeat Loki. Hulk was a founding member of the group and together they clashed with Dr. Doom. The group's mistrust in him became apparent when they were manipulated by the Space Phantom, prompting Hulk to quit. The Avengers began hunting down their unpredictable former ally. Hulk found an ally in the Sub-Mariner, and clashed with the heroes, Thor in particular, but Hulk was defeated and disappeared in the water.

Hulk soon resurfaced in New York City seeking revenge against the Avengers, clashing with them as well as the Fantastic Four, leading to a rematch with Thing. The battle ended with Hulk being swept away in the New York harbor. Hulk resurfaced back in New Mexico where he was tricked by the Avengers into aiding them in preventing the Lava Men's attempt to eradicate human life on Earth's surface.

While hiding out in a cave near Hollywood, Hulk was disturbed when the Green Goblin's plot to use the Enforcers to kill Spider-Man encroached into his hiding spot, leading to a brief clash between Hulk and Spider-Man before Hulk fled the scene. Later, Hulk was manipulated into battling his former Avengers comrades Giant-Man and Wasp by their foe the Human Top.

Powers and Abilities
The Hulk's most prominent power is his super strength, which grows with his level of adrenalin (or in his own broken English, "Madder Hulk get, Stronger Hulk get!"), helping accompish feats such as lifting an entire mountain, or tearing through walls of battleship steel. He also has a moderate form of invulnerability, being able to chuckle at high caliber bullets hitting his light green flesh and once having swam across the Pacific Ocean for a whole week without rest. Should something damage his body, like Wolverine's claws, his body has a regenerative healing process that patches him up at lightning speed. His super strong leg muscles not only allow him to run at incredible speeds, but also travel long distances by jumping through the air. He also has uncanny reflexes that contridict his massive size. Finally, the Hulk has shown to be able to resist telepathic assaults, and can see astral forms.