Bruce Banner

Doctor **Robert Bruce Banner**, M.D., Ph.D., is a renowned scientist and a founding member of the Avengers. Highly respected for his work in Biochemistry, Nuclear Physics, and Gamma Radiation, Banner was commissioned by Thaddeus Ross to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America. However, Ross elected not to inform Banner what he was creating. During the experiment, Banner was exposed to dangerous levels of gamma radiation (rather than vita radiation). As a result, the mild-mannered scientist found that when angered, provoked, or excited, his body and brain would transform into a huge, rage-fueled, primitive-minded creature known as **Hulk**.

For five years, Banner remained on the run from the United States Army, and at one point attempted suicide. When the attempt failed, he chose to live a discreet life in South America while also communicating with Samuel Sterns to cure himself. However, when General Ross sent a team led by Emil Blonsky to apprehend Banner, Banner was forced to return to New York City. He recruited the help of Betty Ross and Sterns to cure him of his affliction, but was captured shortly thereafter at Grayburn College. Blonsky, who had received a variant of the Super Soldier Serum, was administered Banner's gamma-irradiated blood, transforming him into the Abomination. This new threat forced Ross to allow Banner to turn into Hulk and battle Blonsky, before allowing Banner to escape.

After the Asgardian Loki attacked S.H.I.E.L.D., Banner was personally recruited by Natasha Romanoff into the Avengers Initiative, and was tasked with Tony Stark to track down the Tesseract. Despite losing control and attacking the Avengers during the Attack on the Helicarrier, Banner joined the Avengers during the Battle of New York, assisting them in defeating Loki and his Chitauri army, averting the Chitauri Invasion.

Banner had become good friends with Stark and relocated to Avengers Tower, free to live his life without apprehension. In the wake of the HYDRA Uprising, the Avengers regrouped once more to battle the ever-growing threat of HYDRA, successfully capturing Baron Strucker. With the Scepter in their custody, Banner assisted Stark with creating Ultron, an artificial intelligence peacekeeping program. Ultron, programmed to protect Earth at all costs, deemed humanity and the Avengers as peace's greatest threat and focused on annihilating them. Banner and Stark created Vision as a deterrent to Ultron, and participated in the Battle of Sokovia to dismantle Ultron's threat. Banner went AWOL, and instead commandeered a Quinjet and left Earth.

During interstellar travel, Banner came across a wormhole that caused him to crash on Sakaar. There, the stressful environment prevented him from returning to his human form, causing him to remain in Hulk form for two years. Hulk became a gladiator for Grandmaster and was soon revered as a beloved champion, choosing to turn his back on Earth and enjoy the life of an admired warrior. However, when Thor arrived on the planet, Hulk fought against his old friend in the arena. In the wake of their fight, Thor informed Hulk that Asgardwas under threat due to Hela's return. Eventually, Banner reemerges, agreeing to help Thor in his plight. He transforms back into Hulk and aids the Asgardians in their fight, defeating Fenris and allowing the Asgardians to board the *Statesman*vessel. Then, as Ragnarök was unleashed, Banner joined them on their voyage to Earth.

En route to Earth, the *Statesman* was attacked by the Black Order, and the Asgardians quickly massacred. Banner fought their leader Thanos, who quickly defeated him before Heimdall was transported back to Earth, where he warned Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and later Captain America of Thanos' arrival. Finding himself no longer able to transform into Hulk, Banner operated a Hulkbuster armor to aid the Avengers in the Battle of Wakanda. Although Banner and his allies managed to kill off Thanos' forces, Thanos personally arrived in Wakanda to retrieve the Mind Stone. He effortlessly subdued Banner and the other heroes and completed the Infinity Gauntlet, wiping out half of the universe's population. Banner was one of the survivors.

After the Snap, Banner merged his consciousness and Hulk into one being, which combined Hulk's raw strength and physique with Banner's mind and intelligence, becoming an adored celebrity. In 2023, he rejoined the Avengers to help them use Pym Particles and the Quantum Realm to travel through time. After traveling back to the Battle of New York in 2012, Banner successfully acquired the Time Stone and returned to the present. Using the Nano Gauntlet, Banner elected to use the Stones to initiate the Blip, resurrecting all the lives claimed by the Snap. In the aftermath of the Battle of Earth, he helped Captain America return the stones to their respective timelines.

Eventually, Banner returned back to human form, and began investigating the origin of the mystical Ten Rings after Shang-Chi harnessed them in the Battle of Ta Lo.