Hulk

"That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry."

- Bruce Banner

Doctor Robert Bruce Banner is a renowned scientist in the fields of, , and Gamma Radiation. He is one of the scientists who tried to recreate the Super Soldier Serum which originated Captain America decades before, but however, when an exposure to high levels of Gamma Radiation instead of Vita Radiation went awry, the mild-mannered scientist found himself plagued with a peculiar condition. When angered or provoked, he would transform into the rage-fueled and nearly mindless, green-skinned monster known as the Hulk.

Fearful of the damage that Hulk could inflict, Banner chose to live a discreet life in remote parts of the world, working to cure the sick and help the poor while trying to elude those who would take advantage of his ability to change into the enormous green menace.

When a mounting threat called for Banner's specialized scientific expertise, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury recruited him, knowing full well that the incredible strength of Banner's alter ego, Hulk, would be an additional asset to the Avengers. After the Avengers split up, he became good friends with Tony Stark and was also given the freedom to live in the world without being hunted down.

After the HYDRA Uprising, the Avengers regrouped to battle the growing threat of HYDRA. To make it so that the Earth could be safe without constantly needing the Avengers to protect it, Banner assisted Stark in creating Ultron, an artificial intelligence. The AI quickly turned against them, trying to cause the extinction of humanity. Hulk helped in the fight against Ultron and decided to go off the grid after the team successfully defeated him.

Early Life
Robert Bruce Banner was born on Thursday, December 18, 1969. As he grew up, he started going by his middle name. Bruce met Betty Ross while in college where they both fell in love. In, the couple participated in an experiment involving hallucinogens. They soon graduated and moved on to work together at Culver University as instructors. Banner later met Erik Selvig, another one of the university's instructors.

Gamma Accident
In 2005, Banner and Betty Ross were recruited by the US Army to work on a top-secret research project under the guise of researching radiation resistance called the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project. However, the project's true intention was to duplicate the results of Project Rebirth by making Super Soldiers using a combination of Bio-engineering and Gamma Radiation, replacing Abraham Erskine's original formula of Vita Radiation. The project was run under the watch of General Thaddeus Ross, the father of Banner's then girlfriend, Betty. A few months later, Banner became so confident that, in order to prove his work's worth, he decided to test it upon himself, injecting an early version of what was really a replication of the Super Soldier Serum with his radiation-resistance formula. However, the combination of the serum and an above lethal amount of Gamma Radiation caused Bruce to undergo a violent transformation. The effects of the procedure provoked Bruce Banner to develop the alter ego, Hulk, transforming him into a giant, green-skinned, muscle-bound titan with incredible strength, but who posed very little intelligence and was driven by fits of extreme rage; however, his transformations were temporary, being futurely triggered by the release of adrenalin when he became intensely excited or angry. An enraged, nearly mindless Hulk destroyed the lab, hospitalizing his lover Betty, and crushing General Ross' arm. In the wake of the accident, the military closes the entire lab building for a year and shuts down the entire Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project. Banner tried to visit Betty while she was in the hospital, but her father made him leave. Ross admited to Banner that the project is being developed as weapon, not just defense, also telling him that if he refused to let Ross use Hulk as a weapon, then the United States Armed Forces would come after him. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, and Betty's father, General Thaddeus Ross, Banner went on the run.

Three days after the accident, Ross met Banner in the destroyed lab, offering him to take him to another lab in Maryland. Banner refused, though blamed himself for all the people he hurt, including Betty Ross. Banner ran off, prompting Ross to order his troops to chase after him, only to find that Banner was gone.

The Chase
Banner, while escaping from Thaddeus Ross' troops, hid inside a trailer, unbeknownst to the driver. When reaching the Canadian border, the driver was pulled over for a vehicle inspection. Upon opening the trailer, the border patrol officers found Banner and brought him in for questioning. Enraged, Banner transformed into Hulk and tore up the freeway, before making his way to Canada.

In February 7, 2006, Banner tried to contact Betty one last time, but the email is intercepted by the military and she never receives it. During his run, Banner travels through the Dakotas and towards Idaho where an encounter with some State Troopers leads to violence.

Some time later, the scientist was spotted via satellite recon photo in Canada and Hulk sighted by locals along the United States/Canada who mistake him for a “.”

Meeting Nick Fury
"No, I don't think your gonna want to be doing that. At least I don't think the man I just met-the man inside you-wants to do that. He seemed like a decent enough guy who wouldn't want to hurt these people."

- Nick Fury to Hulk

While Banner was on the run, he visited a bar, not knowing he is being followed by Nick Fury, who was trying to find him and learn what General Thaddeus Ross' "Super-Soldier Program" did to him. He tried to earn Banner's trust by buying him a beer but he refused, saying he was "sort of a mean drunk."

Fury continues to try to earn his trust, until he eventually tries to test his abilities by making two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents appear to be dating and that one was cheating on the other with Banner which made Banner confused about the situation. The other started to fight Banner, but Fury tried to act like he was going to help him, but Peterson punched him in the face. This turned Banner into Hulk and he went on a rampage. Fury and everyone else in the bar were surprised by his transformation. Fury tried to calm him down, but Hulk yelled at him causing nearly all of the glass in the room to shatter. Fury didn't move at all. Hulk then ran out through the wall.

Two days later, Fury called a meeting for S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, including Phil Coulson. He told them that Hulk was only a secondary threat.

Failed Suicide Attempt
"The cell was just in case-" "In case you needed to kill me, but you can't. I know! I tried! I got low. I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show. You put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

- Bruce Banner to the other Avengers and Nick Fury

Seeing no end to his run from Ross, Banner went up to the top of a mountain in Arctic region of Greenland to shoot himself. He fired with his gun in the mouth but transformed into Hulk, who spat out the bullet. The enraged monster caused a quake followed by an avalanche and fell on the ice. Hulk then walked along the bottom of the ocean until he reached land.

This incident was detected by satellite, and this was the last sighting of Bruce Banner for at least five months. He would later be spotted in Rome, Italy, with an information provided by Interpol.

Banner wandered the world avoiding population centers, eventually heading to South America. In the way, he visited a Tibetan monastery, where a rug dealer got Internet access and he learned about a cellular biologist using the pseudonym "Mr. Blue", that could help him to search a cure for his condition.

Incident in South America
In South America, Banner discovered a lost boy named Miguel on his travels through the jungle. Banner offered to help the child and take him to a nearby village for directions. Banner was soon attacked by Espinoza and his men, under the impression that he was a spy. After being beaten into telling the 'truth' and confessing, Banner transformed into Hulk and destroyed the terrorist hideout.

Emil Blonsky and his team later arrived at the village discovering a path of destruction left by Hulk, whose whereabouts were still unknown.

Brazil
Banner eventually settled in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, working in a soft drink bottling factory that produced Pingo Doce while attempting to find a cure for his condition with the help of his Internet friend, "Mr. Blue". He also studied martial arts and meditative breathing techniques with a expert to help control his emotions and heart rate, and because of this, had not suffered a transformation for 158 days.

After Banner was cut while working in the factory, his blood dripped into a soda bottle where it was eventually drank by an ill-fated consumer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. General Ross used this incident to discover Banner's location, and sent a team to capture him, led by Russian-born British special operations expert Emil Blonsky. Following a ferocious battle in the soft drink bottling plant where he transformed into Hulk, Banner escaped Blonsky, and awoke in Guatemala.

Going Back Home
Following the advice of "Mr. Blue" to gather more information on the incident that started his transformations, in order to research a more effective cure, Banner traveled back to the United States after 17 days of losing sight of the soldiers, passing through Chiapas, Mexico, where he lived as a beggar and received alms that helped him in his journey. Upon returning home, he saw that a now-recovered Betty had continued working at Culver University and was dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson. He also met with his old friend Stanley, a pizzeria owner, who gave him a job as a delivery boy. Banner used this job to sneak past a security guard to continue his research, but discovered that the data from his accident and the project had been deleted. After Betty visited the pizzeria and saw Banner, she later reunited with him and gave him the missing pieces of their research that she secretly held after the first ever transformation of Hulk.

Battle at Culver University
Emil Blonsky reported to General Thaddeus Ross that Banner evaded them in Brazil due to the appearance of a large green monster. Ross explained to Blonsky that the monster was Banner, and that he was created accidentally during an experiment in radiation-resistance that was inspired by World War II era military bio-force enhancement research (or "Super-Soldiers", as Blonsky put it). Blonsky, seeking both revenge and power, volunteered as a test subject in order to capture Banner. He received a small dose of the mothballed promising version of the original Super Soldier Serum, created by Doctor Reinstein for Weapon Plus.

After a worried Leonard Samson informed the military of the scientist’s whereabouts, Blonsky led an assault on Banner at Culver University, during which Betty Ross was knocked unconscious. The ensuing battle outside the university proves to be futile for Ross' forces and they eventually retreat, though Blonsky, whose sanity is starting to falter, boldly attacks and mocks Hulk. Despite with the aid of a Sonic Cannon made by Stark Industries and Blonsky's increased strength, speed and agility, Hulk destroyed the equipment and crushed most of the bones in Blonsky's body. Hulk saved Betty from an explosion and escaped with her to the Smoky Mountain National Forest. After the battle, the nickname "Hulk" is reported in the media for the first time, during an interview to WHiH World News with the students Jack McGee and Jim Wilson, who were present during the conflict.

Meeting Mister Blue
"You should know that there is a flip side to this too. If we miss on the low side, if we induce me and it fails, this will be very dangerous for you." "Ha-ha-ha. Look, I've always been more curious then cautious and that's served me pretty well, so are we gonna do this?"

- Bruce Banner and Samuel Sterns

Banner and Betty hide out in a motel outside of Ashwood, North Carolina in the foothlls of the Smokies. Toward New York City, Bruce and Betty were making small stops along the way and both were located by Major Kathleen Sparr, using the locating system of S.H.I.E.L.D. They went to Grayburn College in Manhattan, where they met "Mr. Blue", a resident scientist named Samuel Sterns. Accompanying Sterns to his lab, Banner and Betty learned that Sterns has developed a possible antidote that could potentially cure Banner's condition, or merely reverse each individual transformation, while an overdose could kill him. Despite the risks, Banner agreed to test Sterns' antidote and was restrained and transfused with the cure mid-transformation, after being electrically induced into transforming; he was successful in returning him to normal.

Exhilarated by the success of the antidote, Sterns revealed that he has synthesized Banner's blood sample into a larger supply with the intention of using it to enhance the human condition to the next evolutionary level. Appalled by what Sterns had done and fearful of Hulk's power falling into the wrong hands, Banner attempted to convince Sterns to immediately destroy the blood supply but was shot by a tranquilizer from one of General Thaddeus Ross' snipers.

Duel of Harlem
"What are you saying? You think you can control it?" "No no no, not con-not control it, but, I don't know, maybe aim it."

- Betty Ross and Bruce Banner

As both Banner and Betty Ross were taken into custody, a freshly healed Emil Blonsky, seeking Hulk's power, demanded that Samuel Sterns subject him to a transfusion of Banner's synthetic blood. Sterns warned that the combination of the Super Soldier Serum and the Gamma Radiation in the blood would be an unpredictable combination that could turn him into an "Abomination". Blonsky was less than concerned about this, and Sterns promptly administered the transfusion. As Blonsky mutated into the monstrous Abomination, he knocked Sterns aside and an irradiated sample of Banner's blood-derivative dripped into an open wound on Sterns' temple, causing his cranium to mutate and expand.

Seeking a challenge to match his new strength, the Abomination went on a rampage through Harlem. Banner, realizing that he was the only one who could stop the Abomination, convinced General Thaddeus Ross to release him. He jumped from Ross' helicopter as it hovered over the city, hoping the fall would stimulate his adrenal glands into triggering a transformation. Banner's plan succeeded and after a brutal battle Hulk managed to defeat the Abomination by strangling him with a high-tensile chain, though he released his grip after a plea from Betty. The Abomination collapsed, and Hulk fled the scene with the Army in pursuit.

Gaining Control of Hulk
Thirty-one days after his fight with Abomination, Banner arrived at Betty Ross's cabin in Bella Coola, British Columbia. He left Betty a note along with a necklace that he reclaimed after she had to sell it. Now more focused on gaining control over his transformations into Hulk, and Hulk itself, Bruce entered a meditative stance. His eyes turned green as he pushed his heart rate higher and a grin appeared on his face.

Moving Countries
Banner crossed the border from Pakistan into India. An incident involving some local mercenary bandits forced him into transforming into Hulk and protecting local residents from the attempted terrorist attack.

Initiation
"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." "Thanks."

- Iron Man and Bruce Banner

Banner had been working as a doctor in Kolkata, India having not transformed for over a year. He was tricked into contact with Natasha Romanoff by a little girl and was brought into the Avengers Initiative and asked to find the Tesseract.

Attack on the Helicarrier
"Target acquired. Target engaged. Target angry, target angry!"

- A pilot trying to stop Hulk's rampage After meeting and befriending members of the team on the Helicarrier, Banner and Tony Stark began research on the recently captured Scepter of Loki. He and Stark talked about the negative sides of their skills, Stark referring to the shrapnel in his heart and Banner talked about his constant fear of Hulk's destructive powers. They also talked to Steve Rogers about what Nick Fury's true intentions with the Tesseract were. As they completed their work and waited for the information, Fury arrived, demanding to know why Stark had been downloading all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. At the same time Rogers arrived, having discovered HYDRA weapons powered by the Tesseract. Natasha Romanoff and Thor tried to convince Banner to remove himself from the situation as they believed he was being manipulated by Loki. When the team began to spark unnecessary arguments, Banner became so annoyed due to Loki's influence that he unintentionally picked up the Scepter. The team was able to snap him back to reality just as the computer located the Tesseract. Before Banner could inform the team of the Tesseract's whereabouts, the brainwashed Hawkeye led a team of mind-controlled soldiers into the ship and destroyed one of the engines, causing Banner and Black Widow to fall into the weapons cache room. Banner transformed unwillingly despite Romanoff's efforts to calm him down; as soon as he fully became Hulk, he saw Romanoff and gave chase. Although she managed to evade him for a long time, Hulk was able to catch up to her and throw her against a wall. Before he could kill her with another hit, he was intercepted by Thor. As Hulk's rage increased during his fight with Thor, he was able to survive direct hits from Mjølnir and throw the Asgardian across the room serveral times. At one point he ripped the wing off a fighter jet and hurled it at Thor. During the fight Hulk attempted to lift Mjønir, but even with his incredible strength, he was unable to move the hammer, which only increased his rage. As the fight got more more intense, Nick Fury and Maria Hill were left with no other choice than to send a fighter jet to shoot at Hulk, as they feared he would destroy the Helicarrier and kill everyone aboard. When the jet began firing at Hulk, Hulk's enforced skin was able to deflect the bullets leaving him unharmed. Outraged by the attack Hulk roared, left Thor and leaped at the jet. He was able to rip it apart in the sky causing it to spin out of control, the pilot attempted to eject, Hulk caught him and threw him across the skyline, fortunately, the pilot survived. Hulk fell to the ground as the jet exploded. He eventually transformed back into Banner and woke up naked in a warehouse where he had crashed through the ceiling. He learned that he had been watched falling by a security guard. Banner made sure that he did not harm anybody during his crash landing, the security guard asked him if he was in fact an alien, to which Banner assured him he was not, the man then told him he had a condition, which Banner could not argue with. The security guard gave Banner some new clothes and a motorcycle and Banner made his way back to New York to assist the Avengers.

Battle of New York
"That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry."

- Bruce Banner

Banner returned to fight in the battle of New York and re-teamed with the Avengers, he apologized to Romanoff for attacking her earlier. He then finally revealed his secret of keeping calm: he is always angry. Banner transformed into Hulk and took out a Leviathan with one punch, then aided the Avengers in the battle. Steve Rogers gave all the Avengers detailed orders on how to fight the Chitauri army, and turned to Hulk and simply ordered him to "smash", to which Hulk simply smiled and leapt into battle. Hulk threw himself at the Chitauri army, immediately killing many soldiers climbing buildings, using his incredible strength and leaping abilities he was able to leap high in the air and hit the Chitauri Chariots out of the sky. He also killed several Leviathan creatures, at one point battling on top of one along side Thor, together they killed it and as they took a moment to catch their breath, Hulk punched him across the room, getting revenge for their earlier fight. Hulk entered the Stark Tower and threw Loki against the wall. Loki screamed at Hulk that Hulk was unworthy to fight him, not listening to the speech Hulk beat Loki into submission. Hulk left Loki, unable to move, and rejoined the battle. At one point Hulk became surrounded by Chitauri Chariots who all fired down at him together. As the battle looked almost hopeless, the World Security Council eventually sent a missile to destroy Manhattan. Stark flew the missile to the Chitauri's Wormhole, destroying the Chitauri ship and thus killed all the other soldiers. Stark was able to escape the closing Wormhole but his suit shut down in the process. Hulk caught Stark as he fell and brought him to the other Avengers. For a moment it seemed Stark had made the ultimate sacrifice and had suffocated in space, however Hulk roared in his face, waking him up. Later, all of the Avengers silently ate at the Shawarma Palace. They were interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to aid in the battle. After Loki was sent back to Asgard with Thor and the Tesseract, Banner and Stark drove away in one of Stark's sports cars as the Avengers went their separate ways.

Freedom
After fighting in the Battle of New York, Banner was able to show that he could keep Hulk under control. Nick Fury made it so that Banner could move around in the world without being afraid of being arrested or kidnapped.

A Therapy Session
"You with me?" "I was. Yeah. Mmhm. Where were we at, um." "You're actively napping?" "I was-I-I drifted." "Where did I lose you?" "Elevator in Switzerland." "So you heard none of it?" "I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist. It's not my training."

- Tony Stark and Bruce Banner

Some time after his battle against Aldrich Killian, Tony Stark came to Dr. Banner to talk about his traumas. But Banner fell asleep near the beginning of the session, so Stark told Banner more stories about his life, to which Banner again quickly fell asleep.

Targeted by HYDRA
Bruce Banner was mentioned by Jasper Sitwell as one of the numerous individuals who posed a threat for HYDRA's plan, as concluded by Arnim Zola's algorithm for Project Insight.

The Genius of Banner
S.H.I.E.L.D. resorted to use many inventions developed by Banner that maybe did not have the use he intended to have, but were useful in other ways.

For example, Nick Fury explained that he used Tetrodotoxine B, an anti-stress serum developed by Banner, to slow his heart to a beat per minute to fake his death following a HYDRA assassination attempt.

In order to defeat Marcus Daniels, Leo Fitz used the Gamma Power Reserve designed by Bruce Banner to modify the stage lights of the Portland Symphony Orchestra to emit concentrated beams of light.

Banner created the Retreat, a place nicknamed "the house that Banner built"; it looks like a log cabin on the outside, but the inner walls have Vibranium lining. Inside, there is a Hulk-sized fist print in the wall.

Avengers Reassembled
Banner received an apartment from Tony Stark in the new Avengers Tower. The team eventually reunified to take down HYDRA bases around the world. During this time, Banner developed a romantic relationship with Natasha Romanoff. Some time later, the Avengers discovered through Maria Hill the whereabouts of Loki's lost scepter, which had been taken to a secret HYDRA Research Base in Sokovia. The heroes attacked the fortress protecting the laboratory with Hulk destroying armored vehicles and bunkers defending the outpost.

Afterwards, Banner met up with Romanoff, who, after gently touching his hand made Hulk calm down and turn into Banner back again. After gathering up and headed back to the Avengers Tower, Banner and Stark started decoding the secrets of the Scepter for the use of the Ultron Program. Once everyone left, J.A.R.V.I.S. awakened Ultron, who proceeded to eliminate him after telling about Ultron's meaning and existence.

Following Stark's victory celebration at the Tower, the Avengers and guests played tryed to lift Mjølnir. Banner sat with Romanoff who opted not to play. When Thor expressed the people were not worthy enough, Ultron, now with a robotic body, played a loud screeching noise through the speakers, questioning how could they be worthy. Following his speech that he no longer had "these strings holding him down", Ultron forced drones from the Iron Legion to begin an attack on the Avengers. So he would not loose control, Banner hid behind the Tower's bar with Romanoff.

Ultron began mocking the Avengers, following but Thor had enough and smashed the broken body apart. However, this did not stop Ultron, who in fact started mass-producing Ultron Sentinels and his placeholder body until he got his hands to Vibranium.

After the Battle of Sokovia, Hulk escaped in the Avengers Quinjet, cut off its communications, and put it in stealth mode so he would not be tracked. Fury later assured Romanoff that Banner is safe and alive, however they would not be able to track him due to the cloaking systems that Stark had applied on the ship.

Personality
The incident at Culver University caused Banner to become obsessed with finding a cure for his mutation. He is afraid of hurting someone unintentionally, so he tries not to get close to something or someone that leaves him stressed. He supplemented his scientific pursuit by learning meditation and breathing techniques, gaining a greater control over the transformations. Bruce is compassionate and tries to avoid any situations where he may lose control and transforms.

When he transforms, his personality regresses to a more child-like state and he has little recollection of events after he returns to his normal human form. In his earliest transformations, Banner appeared as a savage with no real ability to distinguish friend from foe. Because of this, he was responsible for the deaths of two scientists, an army officer, a police officer from Idaho, and two Canadian hunters when he was a fugitive. Hulk gradually attained a better reasoning capacity over time, becoming able to show affection and demonstrating a capacity to work collaboratively with others. Despite the savage state, Hulk has some degree of memory. This was proven when after his fight against Thor, he still held a grudge long enough to punch him after they worked together.

However, Banner has been shown that out of all the Avengers, he is the one they respect but fear the most. Even Romanoff, who is calm in almost every situation, fears him as shown twice when she pulled a gun on him in the hut when he appeared to lose his cool, but, in truth, he wanted to see if she was truly alone or not, and on the Helicarrier, when they were blasted out of the lab and he transformed and attacked her, showing terror in her face, very rarely does that happen with her.

Powers
According to Samuel Sterns, the transformation is triggered when an electric pulse generated on the amygdala (when Banner loses control or the pulse is induced) increases the gamma radiation of Bruce's cells. Betty Ross' reagent allows the cells to absorb the energy temporarily, which then abates, resulting in a chemical reaction that produces a myostatin primer. When Hulk transforms back into Banner, the excess muscle mass and energy is dissipated. The total time of transformation falls anywhere between seconds to several minutes, depending on the initial adrenaline surge, which will be determined by the original stimulus. Despite Banner's initial inability to control the transformations, he managed to attain some level of control through training and practice, and Banner's consciousness is buried within Hulk, influencing his behavior to a very limited extent. Now Banner is able to trigger his transformations at will, remaining angry in a controlled state, which allows Hulk to be much smarter and self-controlled in battle. In combat, Hulk often uses his strength to throw heavy objects (such as like cars and forklift trucks) or his smaller opponents in order to defeat his enemies, such as when threw a human sized Emil Blonsky more than 40 feet away with just one kick or when he threw Loki around repeatedly while holding him by the leg. Hulk has never demonstrated a maximum output or limit to his strength, and very few individuals have been able to match his strength, such as the Abomination, who despite his greater strength succumbed to Hulk's when he endangered the life of Betty Ross, Thor, who was hit hard enough by Hulk to make his nose bleed, or Iron Man, who had to develop a special Armor to battle him in case of need. Hulk's strength also extends to his legs, allowing him to leap great distances, such as when he traveled from Brazil to Guatemala in a single night, covering at least from 1500 to 1600 miles in over 7 to 10 hours, or great heights with precision, such as when reached the top of Stark Tower from ground level in a single leap, or when he caught Iron Man in mid-fall when Stark came back through the Wormhole over New York City.
 * Transformation: Bruce Banner subjected himself to a combination of a recreated version of the Super Soldier Serum and an exposure to high levels of Gamma Radiation, in an attempt to develop a result similar to the original Project Rebirth from World War II. As a result, Banner is able to transform into Hulk when his heart rate increases to high levels or he loses control of his emotions. As Hulk, Banner is a giant green-skinned humanoid with immense strength fueled by his rage, meaning the angrier he gets the stronger he becomes, and is one of the most powerful beings on Earth.
 * Superhuman Strength: Hulk´s primary power is his immense superhuman strength. His strength allows Hulk to rip steel as if it was made of paper, to break vehicles with a punch, to stop a speeding Humvee in its tracks by stomping it into the ground, leave a dent after punching a wall made of an extremely durable silicon-carbide Vibranium alloy, or to kill a massive Leviathan with a single punch.
 * Superhuman Durability: Hulk is able to withstand blows and attacks of considerable force; even high caliber bullets bounce off him and fire causes much less damage compared to a human. His bone, skin and muscles have an extreme density and he possesses a high degree of resistance to injury, pain, and disease. Hulk also withstood multiple energy blasts from Chitauri weaponry, extreme cold in the Arctic, great impacts from heights of over six miles. Only beings with tremendous force or extremely powerful weapons can harm him, such as when Hulk was painfully pierced by Abomination's skeletal spikes, and when a blow from Thor wielding Mjølnir knocked him out for a moment. While Hulk did survive quite a few blows from the Iron Man Armor: Mark XLIV with little discomfort, he got a tooth knocked out in the confrontation, and was ultimately defeated when Iron Man succeeded in knocking Hulk out with a massive punch, making him being thrown against a tall building that quickly collapsed.
 * Superhuman Endurance: Hulk has substantially greater endurance than a normal human. His body counteracts fatigue toxins that build up in his muscles during physical activity, allowing Hulk to run and fight for a long time, and his enraged state, during a fight, allows him to maintain peak output for hours on end and still continue to become even stronger as his anger escalates.
 * Superhuman Speed: Regardless of his size, Hulk's superhumanly strong legs allow him to run at speeds that are far beyond the natural physical limits of a human being. He also possesses enhanced reflexes and agility proportionate to his size, but his large size can still be exploited by smaller foes to use to their advantage.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his high resistance to physical harm, Hulk is not invincible and can be injured. However, Hulk is capable of recovery from wounds that would be fatal in a human being, and is able to heal from injuries with far greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Grievous bodily harm has also proven to be a trigger for Banner's transformations, and he has recovered from otherwise fatal injuries sustained in his normal form. Banner said he tried to put a bullet through his mouth but the "other guy" merely spit it out. Hulk also has an enhanced immune system; Samuel Sterns described that a synthesized sample of Banner's blood would make humans impervious to diseases.

Bruce Banner's Abilities
"Finally, someone who speaks English." "Is that what just happened?"

- Tony Stark and Steve Rogers


 * Genius Level Intellect: In his Bruce Banner persona, Banner possesses a genius level intellect, famous for being one of the foremost geniuses of his generation. Phil Coulson also compares him to.
 * Master Scientist: Banner is one of the world's renowned scientist in fields such as biochemistry, nuclear physics and, especially, gamma radiation. His knowledge was even praised by Tony Stark, who said that Banner's work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. Banner is also highly skilled in computers and engineering.
 * Physician: Banner possesses enough medical knowledge to help the sick and injured while in living in India.
 * Martial Artist: Banner learned and meditative breathing basic techniques in Brazil from a martial arts expert.
 * Expert Tactician: Over the years, Banner has become an expert in developing strategies to go unnoticed and run from the government and military, using his intellect to quickly evaluate his surroundings and develop escape strategies. He has also become very skilled at going undercover.
 * Multilingualism: When he lived and traveled in South America, he demonstrated fluency in English, Portuguese and Spanish. He also demonstrated fluency in Bengali, as seen during his time in Kolkata.

Hulk's Abilities

 * Combatant: As Hulk, while having no formal training, he is a formidable hand to hand combatant simply due to his great physical attributes. Hulk often engages his enemies using brawling techniques that make full use of his strength, and also employs pieces of his immediate environment to fight with, often to use as thrown objects to strike distant targets, and sometimes for melee attacks or protection.

Equipment

 * Stretchable Pants: A pair of trousers made with a flexible microfiber fabric. After the Battle of New York, when Bruce Banner was consecrated member of the Avengers, he acquired the uniform with the main feature of not damaging after his transformations. The material was shown extremely durable on several occasions, like when the team attacked the HYDRA Research Base and when they staged the War against Ultron.

After the Culver University's incident, Banner used several pieces of equipment while he was a fugitive and some of these were destroyed or confiscated by United States Armed Forces. To prevent clues, Banner avoided the use of credit card, identity documents and phones. The materials he used included:


 * Wrist-Mounted Cardiovascular Monitor: A gauge used to monitor Banner's heart rate, helping him to prevent a transformation into Hulk. The first monitor was destroyed after Banner's transformation in Brazil. The last one seen was given by Betty Ross and seized by United States Armed Forces.
 * Laptop Computer: Cheap laptop with an encrypted instant messaging software installed, used to chat with "Mr. Blue" a.k.a. Samuel Sterns. Bruce always carried it in a backpack, so he could maintain a communication where he was.

Allies

 * Betty Ross - Former Lover, Former Colleague, Former Co-Ed and Co-Creator of Alter Ego (along with Bruce Banner himself and United States Armed Forces)
 * Leonard Samson - Rival turned Friend and Psychotherapist
 * Stanley - Friend
 * Avengers - Former Teammates
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Team Leader and Friend
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Collaborator, Colleague and Close Friend
 * Thor
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Love Interest
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (First Incarnation) - Enemy turned Ally
 * Nick Fury
 * Maria Hill
 * Phil Coulson
 * Jasper Sitwell † (former)
 * Erik Selvig - Former Colleague
 * Samuel Sterns - Former Ally
 * Rick Jones
 * Helen Cho
 * Martina - Former Colleague
 * Vision - Co-Creation
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - Enemy turned Ally
 * Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver † - Enemy turned Ally

Video Game Only

 * Red King - Enthraller
 * Caiera - Commander
 * Charlie-27 - Fellow Thrall
 * Beta Ray Bill - Fellow Thrall

Enemies

 * United States Armed Forces - Reluctant Ally, Co-Creator of Alter Ego (along with Bruce Banner himself and Betty Ross) and Former Chaser; currently maintaining Neutral Relations
 * Thaddeus Ross - Reluctant Ally
 * Joe Greller
 * Ross' Unit
 * Kathleen Sparr †
 * Emil Blonsky/Abomination
 * Loki
 * Chitauri
 * Espinoza
 * HYDRA
 * Wolfgang von Strucker †
 * List †
 * Ultron † - Co-Creation
 * Ultron Sentries †

Video Games Only

 * U-Foes
 * Vector
 * X-Ray
 * Ironclad
 * Vapor
 * Enclave
 * Jupiter Leader
 * Ceres Leader
 * Minerva Leader
 * Vulcan Leader
 * Bi-Beast
 * Kyklops
 * Glenn Talbot
 * Guardians of the Galaxy
 * Star-Lord
 * Gamora
 * Drax the Destroyer
 * Groot
 * Rocket Raccoon

Behind the Scenes

 * An alternate opening sequence scene was shot for The Incredible Hulk, though it was eventually cut from the final draft of the movie. In the scene, Bruce Banner travels to Greenland to commit suicide due to his incurable Hulk transformations. Banner shoots himself in the mouth, which only serves to trigger his transformation into Hulk, whose appearance destroys the glacier he was on. This scene is still considered canon because it is referenced in The Avengers by Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner.
 * Additionally, within the deleted scene is a Captain America "easter egg" in the form of the silhouette of his body and shield encased in ice; though it is widely cast aside as a subtle nod anyway as it contradicts the continuity of the Cinematic Universe based on his placement. This is disregarded due to the scene remaining canon through spoken account and not by what is visually present in the deleted scene.
 * There are several noticeable visual differences between Hulk in The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers, despite the fact they are both in the same continuity. Hulk in The Incredible Hulk is slightly taller than he is in The Avengers, although this cannot be collaborated because Hulk in The Avengers was hunched over. He is more slender in The Incredible Hulk than he is in The Avengers, and has darker green skin, and in The Avengers he has a shorter hair cut. Their faces are also slightly different. Much of these differences are because Mark Ruffalo is using motion-capture to actually play Hulk, whereas Hulk was entirely CGI in The Incredible Hulk. As well, it's very likely that due to Banner's apparent weight gain (as Mark Ruffalo looks bigger than Edward Norton), Hulk takes on a size and appearance based on Banner's physicality; therefore, in The Incredible Hulk, he would be "skinner" and taller, as opposed to The Avengers, being shorter and stockier.
 * Hulk/Bruce Banner is one of a few characters who are played by different actors in different films. The others are James Rhodes, Howard Stark, Thanos and Fandral.
 * Hulk has a total of ten words spoken in Marvel Cinematic Universe: "Hulk... Smash!" (two times), "Leave me alone", "Betty" and "Puny God".
 * In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce is given a mailed package with the name "David B." on it. This is a reference to the TV series , where the character was renamed to David Bruce Banner.
 * So far, Tony Stark has appeared in every Marvel Cinematic Universe film that Bruce Banner was in.
 * Mark Ruffalo was uncredited for his appearance in Iron Man 3.
 * To prepare for the role of Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mark Ruffalo worked with motion capture expert Andy Serkis.
 * In the non-canon video game Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon, Hulk is brainwashed by the Red King and made to fight in the arena on Sakaar under the name the "Green Scar". When the Guardians of the Galaxy chase the Red King into his palace to steal his piece of the Universal Weapon, Hulk defends him alongside his fellow thralls Charlie-27 and Beta Ray Bill and their commander Caiera, but they are defeated by the Guardians.
 * There was an idea for Hulk to turn gray during the Hulkbuster battle in Avengers: Age of Ultron, as a reference to his original comic book incarnation, but it went unused.