Hulk

*"Hulk is strongest there is!"*
―Hulk
***The World-Breaker***

#### Childhood

Bruce Banner was the child of renowned scientist, Brian Banner. Even at an early age, Bruce demonstrated that he had a keen intellect, something that his father nurtured with nothing but pride. But as the years went by, the expectations of his father grew and by the time Bruce was only six, Brian would violently punish Bruce should he fall short of those expectations. Despite this, Bruce's love of science never really faltered and he continued to hone his brilliant mind.

However, things took a turn two years later, when one day, in a drunken rage, Brian murdered Bruce's mother when she stepped in to defend her son. Brian Banner was arrested and committed, while Bruce was placed in the care of his aunt, Susan Banner. Bruce spent the rest of his adolescence raised in her loving care.

#### "Promising Career"

Once Bruce graduated high school, Bruce attended multiple Universities and excelled in them all. Perhaps, the most notable developments in this time were the relationships that were forged. It was during a lecture that Bruce first met a student with a mind that could rival his: Tony Stark. It didn't take long for the two to become academic rivals, competing with each other at any chance they got. However, despite what they thought of each other, they both could put agree to put aside their differences when it came to a third rival: Victor Von Doom.

It was during this time that Bruce first met Betty Ross and the two eventually fell in love. After graduation, the two would continue to work together a bio-nuclear research facility. There, the two developed breakthrough nano-meds, which held to potential to cure many diseases and allow the human body to regenerate at a superhuman rate. However, seven years had passed since that initial development and within that time, the two had been unable to produce a true breakthrough. While Betty remained optimistic, yet realistic, Bruce began to grow frustrated and bitter, especially as his old rival, Tony Stark, was becoming an enormous success. Many times Tony offered to buy out Bruce and Betty's work, as a means of keeping their lights on, but each time, Bruce would decline, usually seeing the offer as something that came from a place of pity and superiority.

However, the two were far from danger of going under, as their research would often receive sizable military grants from Betty's father and an anonymous donor, whom Bruce often assumed was Tony. However, the donor would eventually reveal themselves to Bruce as Nick Fury, who was interested in the nano-meds as a means of reproducing the elusive super soldier serum. While Bruce initially wanted no part of this, his curiosity regarding the formula and what it could do for mankind got the better of him and he eventually accepted Fury's research and notes.

By the turn of the Twenty-First Century, Bruce Banner had all but become a joke in the scientific community, having spent years researching and having practically nothing to show for it. Betty had regretfully departed from the project, accepting a position at Stark Industries, leaving Bruce as the sole member of the project. With Betty gone and each test producing failure after failure, Bruce's bitterness, resentment, and anger was reaching all time highs. However, Bruce believed he was on the right path to making the nano-meds work and solving the mystery behind the super soldier serum. He believed the answer lied in gamma radiation.

#### The Gamma Pulse

After a year of testing with gamma radiation, Bruce, along with many others, had learned about the survival of Captain Steve Rogers. With his return, Fury changed Bruce's mission from recreating the super soldier serum to extracting and isolating the serum from Steve's blood, effectively throwing out years of Bruce's research.

By this time, Tony Stark had made himself known as Iron Man, leaving Bruce with the feeling of being "an ant amongst giants." However, once he explained his intentions, Steve Rogers willingly let Bruce take as many blood samples as he needed. However, Bruce ended up burning through more samples than he originally intended, producing more failures. On the brink of despair, Bruce turned to his old notes regarding the nano-meds and gamma pulse. With the few samples he had left, he began to combine his research, looking to see if he could instead improve on the serum itself.

After running isolated tests for a few weeks, Bruce contacted Fury, stating he had a breakthrough and was ready to move on to test subjects. When Fury came in for a demonstration, something went wrong and the test subject, a mouse, died in a truly horrific fashion, bursting from the inside out. Enraged by the lack of progress Bruce had on the project, Fury issued him an ultimatum: to isolate the serum from Rogers' blood like he was originally ordered or to be dropped from the project, effectively ending Bruce's career.

However, Bruce was certain he was on to something, as his prior tests yielded positive results. Unbeknownst to Fury, Bruce ran a few more tests with the nano-meds and gamma pulse, reducing his sample supply to only a single vial. However, the results he gathered provided a much higher success rate than his previous tests and would certainly result in a stronger being. He sat in his lab, staring at the reults, questioning what actions he would take and whether or not he would truly get recognition for simply isolating a formula from a blood sample. Negative thoughts filled his mind, feelings of inferiority and resentment. If only he could show them all his worth. Show them what he had discovered. Eyeing the remaining vial of Steve Rogers' blood, Bruce made his decision. Mixing the blood with a revised nano-med formula, Bruce injected himself with the concoction and exposed himself to gamma radiation via gamma pulse. As the radiation bathed him, he felt strength he had never felt before. Then he felt his mind start to go before he suddenly roared to the skies.

### The Hulk

#### Rampage Across New York

*"Leave me alone..."*
―Hulk
With his mind scattered, Bruce, now the Hulk, destroyed his lab before making his way into New York city. There, he mindlessly rampaged, destroying everything in his path and causing untold amounts of destruction. However, after causing seemingly directionless carnage, Hulk began to travel on a clear course right towards the Triskelion, SHIELD HQ. Once he arrived, Hulk spent no time before laying waste on the building, which was only halted by the deployment of Captain America. Hulk was able to eventually overpower him, but Hulk's rampage was halted once again, by a lone mortal who stood between him and the Captain. Though the man's pleas reached the Hulk momentarily, Hulk shook them off and went in for the kill. However, Hulk was then struck by a massive bolt of lightning as the man transformed, revealing himself as Thor to the world. Hulk re-engaged Thor and initially found himself hopelessly outmatched, as the thunder god's blows sent him flying throughout the city. Despite this, Hulk would eventually become angry enough to gain the upper hand.

However, before Hulk could resume his rampage, he was attacked and confronted by Iron Man. Faced with the man Bruce had grown to resent, the Hulk engaged Iron Man. Hulk roared and struck erratically, blinded by his rage at Tony Stark while Tony himself attempted to talk sense into his old colleague. However, Tony's words fell on deaf ears as Hulk continued his onslaught until Iron Man was joined by both Captain America and Thor. Together, the trio finally managed to bring Hulk down until, in an act of desperation, he unleashed a thunderclap, disorienting the trio.

Yet, before Hulk could finish off the downed heroes, he caught a glimpse of Betty Ross watching on, with a look of horrific recognition etched upon her face. She called out to Bruce, causing Hulk to be overwhelmed with shame. He quietly muttered that he be left alone before leaping out of the city.

## Personality

*"You're a fool, Banner."
"I know. And I'm not done learning my lesson."*
―The Leader and Bruce Banner
Before his first transformation into the Hulk, Bruce Banner was an insecure man shackled by his feelings of inferiority and self-pity. Though he truly wishes to be a great scientist, those feelings were often overshadowed by his desire for respect and acknowledgement. For under his timid and demure nature lay a jealous and angry man.

After his first transformation and the destruction that followed as a result, Banner's behavior changed drastically. He became a pariah and worked constantly to keep his emotions in check. As a result, Bruce became more cautious and fearful, trying everything he could to prevent another transformation and risk harming others. Banner's feelings of inferiority and self-pity grew into feelings of self-loathing and depression. As such, Banner began to care less and less about his physical appearance and how much sleep he got, often appearing as a disheveled shell of his former self. For the longest time, he viewed the Hulk as nothing more than a danger and threat to humanity whose presence needed to purged and never be recreated. Banner hopes that he can find a cure for the Hulk and ultimately redeem himself for the man and monster he once was.

As the Hulk, all of Banner's insecurities, fears, and loathing boils to the surface, transforming him into a violent, rage driven, yet almost childlike monster. In his first transformation, Hulk was little more than a screaming, mindless and savage beast, but as time went on, even in the small time that he was in this form, Hulk had already started to show signs of attaining better reasoning and speech, uttering the above quote at the climax of his first incident. As Banner's personality changed combined with more transformations, Hulk began to undergo more of a psychological change, becoming more capable of affection and empathy. Despite this, Hulk still maintains much of the violent and savage instincts of his earliest self and remains one of the most dangerous beings on the planet.

### Likes

* Silence
* Isolation