A huge event is rocking the Marvel Universe and fans of all ages.
It centers on the Hulk.
It’s hit me in heart of all that’s geeky in me.
You see Hulk/Bruce Banner is a huge part of my life. The Green Goliath is a hero I’ve worshiped since childhood. I love Bruce Banner equally.
Uncanny X-Men was my first comic book I picked up in the grocery store racks.
But when Mom and Dad gave me a chance to have my first comic book subscription, I chose The Incredible Hulk.
You may be asking why in world did I choose this image with the Hulk in the background to lead off my tribute? Yes, that’s a polished Hulk at a bachelor party with a few familiar friends. (All in good time!)
Before our Hulk moments and Banner memories are revealed I want to give you a warning.
You’ve probably already the big news that hit this week but out of respect and just in case here’s a SPOILER ALERT!
If you have not read Civil War II #3 yet stop reading now. (And go grab it!)
Seriously.
OK.
Here it comes.
RIP Bruce Banner. This founding Avenger is dead.
Banner wasn’t even the Hulk anymore. When the All-New, All-Different Marvel Now arrived teen genius Amadeus Cho was The Totally Amazing Hulk and Banner was missing in action.
We recently learned Cho cured Banner of his gamma radiated curse. Banner was free.
In the pages of Civil War II, a young Inhuman with the power to see the future revealed a vision of the Hulk killing the Avengers. Iron Man, Captain Marvel and an assembling of Avengers, Inhumans and X-Men confronted Banner. Hawkeye shot Banner in the head and killed him. According to Clint Barton, Banner asked him to kill him if he turned into the Hulk again.
Did Banner really do it? Is Barton telling the truth?
I definitely believe in Clint Barton. I also believe in Bruce Banner.
After finally being free of the Hulk, Banner would make this sacrifice to save the world from the Green Goliath’s rampages.
Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez gave us a beautifully crafted chapter filled with shock and awe and heart and soul. I will sorely miss Banner but I can’t wait to see what stories will be told in the aftermath of his death.
I go way back with Hulk. I grew up glued to The Incredible Hulk on CBS. I marveled at Lou Ferrigno’s monster unleashed and cheered for Bill Bixby every week. I stayed through the final credits and listened to every note of that haunting theme song.
I didn’t have a neighborhood comic book shop. I would go into town with Mom or Dad to get whatever the grocery or drug store had on their shelves. It was frantic trying to not miss the next issues.
When I discovered and understood the mail order subscription service I was thrilled. My favorite comics would come direct to my mail box! I would never miss an issue or next chapter in the story ever again!
The twist: I could only choose one title. I agonized. Uncanny X-Men was my first comic book. I loved The Avengers. But I had to go with The Incredible Hulk. I marveled at the pages as my good Green Goliath beat down other monsters like the Bi-Beast or fought off those mean ole military men like Thunderbolt Ross while helping the innocents even though they feared him.
The Incredible Hulk holds another record in my geeky career. After X-Men I have owned more issues of Hulk than any other comic book. I have nearly every chapter of Peter David’s long run on the title helped rekindle my passion for comics after a brief departure (that’s another story) and I loved every incarnation from Joe Fix-It to a “Banner’s brain-in-charge of the Hulk’s brawn” leading The Pantheon, an army of scientists of soldiers out to save the world. I remember Banner volunteering in his old friend’s clinic living with AIDS in a 1991 issue. The Hulk emerged to save an AIDS patient and Banner didn’t care how his friend Jim Wilson contract the virus, he just cared about helping him.
Who could forget Banner’s Bachelor Party for Rick Jones? Banner was in control of the Hulk’s body and wanted to give his old ally a traditional sendoff before he married Marlo. The issue was hilarious and heartfelt as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes assembled for Bruce and Rick’s big event.
I cheered for the Green Gladiator in Greg Pak’s magnificent Planet Hulk epic. I told Mark Waid he was the best thing to happen to Bruce Banner in years after reading his Indestructible Hulk which made Banner and Hulk agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ironically I gushed to Peter David and Mark Waid about their Hulk runs at Emerald City Comicon here in Seattle. If you’re a comics rookie only familiar with Amadeus Cho or longtime fan from one of the many Hulk eras, dive into Marvel.com’s Hulk page and enjoy classic runs by Roger Stern, John Byrne or Greg Pak and discover one the most incredible men in the Marvel Universe.
I am sad about the death of Bruce Banner but I think this is a fitting end to an incredible man?
Banner was more than just a Jekyll to Hulk’s Hyde. Yes, Banner was a brilliant scientist cursed with a monster inside but he was a hero too. Banner was a good man who tried to either hide or harness the monster within and tried to give back to humanity with his genius and kindness.
May you find peace in the afterlife Bruce.
By Editor