Hulk

"I know you're angry." "Oh, no, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

- Wanda Maximoff and 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 in World War II, but 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 fell in love. At, the couple participated in an experiment involving hallucinogens.

They soon graduated and moved on to Willowdale, Virginia, working together at Culver University as instructors, where Bruce specialized in, , and was a member of the Bio-science Department. During that time, he was involved in a praised work on anti-electron collisions and Gamma Radiation, becoming one of the foremost geniuses of his generation. Banner later met Erik Selvig, another one of the university's instructors.

Gamma Accident
In 2005, Banner and Betty Ross were recruited by the United States Armed Forces to work on a top-secret research project under the guise of a research of radiation resistance, called the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project, a subprogram within Infantry Weapons Development. 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 a promising version of what was really a replication of the Super Soldier Serum, made along with military scientists using 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 sporadically triggered by the release of adrenaline when he became intensely excited or angry. An enraged, nearly mindless Hulk caused an explosion on the campus and destroyed the lab, hospitalizing his lover Betty, killing two scientists and an army officer, and crushing General Ross' arm. In the wake of the accident, the military closed the entire lab building for a year and shut 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 admitted to Banner that the project was being developed as a weapon, not just defense, also telling him that if he refused to let the Army use Hulk for military purposes, then his troops would come after him.

Three days after the accident, Ross met Banner in the destroyed lab, offering him to take him to another workplace in Maryland. Banner refused and blamed himself for all the people he hurt, including Betty Ross. Banner ran off, hiding in the janitor's room and using the clothes available for disguise, while prompting Ross to order his troops to chase after him, only to find that Banner was gone. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, Banner went on the run.

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 2006, Banner tried to contact Betty one last time, but the email was intercepted by the military and she never received it. During his run, Banner travelled through the Dakotas and towards Idaho, where an encounter with some State Troopers led to violence.

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

Meeting Nick Fury
"No, I don't think you're 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 was being followed by Nick Fury, who was trying to find him to 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 continued to try to gain his trust, until he eventually tried to test his abilities by making two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents appear to be dating, with one cheating on the other with Banner, which made Banner confused about the situation. Agent Peterson started to fight Banner, but Fury tried to act like he was going to help him and the disguised spy punched the Director in the face. This turned Banner into Hulk and he went on a rampage. Everyone else in the bar was 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 of several 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 the Arctic region of Greenland to shoot himself. He fired with his gun in his 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, before being spotted in Rome, Italy, with information provided by Interpol.

Arriving in South America
Banner wandered the world avoiding population centers, eventually heading to South America, where he would look for vascular plants that could inhibit radiation and therefore, find the key to cure his condition. On 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 in his search.

In South America, Banner discovered a lost boy named Miguel on his travels through the jungle. He offered to help the child and take him to a nearby village for directions soon before being attacked by the criminal leader Espinoza and his men, under the impression that he was a spy working for the government. 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 the Brazilian slums of the Rocinha favela, Rio de Janeiro, working as a handyman 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 an expert to help control his emotions and heart rate, and because of this, had not suffered a transformation for 158 days.

Although avoiding the daily stress, he was constantly victimized by xenophobia of his coworkers, being supported by the friendship of his colleague and neighbor Martina, also by the company of his mutt, Ricky. The search for a cure for his condition drove Banner to study a flower described in the book "Inventory of Rare and Endangered Tracheophyta of Amazônia," and he finally received it that day. Banner contacted "Mr. Blue," to inform him of the discovery. His friend advised him to try a high dose of the component extracted from the plant, and he was able to produce a serum using homemade laboratory equipment.

Banner tried the serum on a drop of blood, and while it seemed to be successful at first, it triggered a reaction that made the cells explode. Informing "Mr. Blue" of the failure, the scientist insisted on meeting Banner in person, as living with Gamma poisoning could be more dangerous than the eventual risks of their meeting, and convinced him to send a blood sample.

A few days later, Banner received news from "Mr. Blue," that preliminary blood tests showed significant gamma reduction, but that in order to develop an appropiate antidote for Banner he would need more data. Banner realized he should return to Culver University to retrieve it.

Ambush in Rio de Janeiro
"Leave me alone..."

- Hulk

After Banner was cut while working in the factory, his blood dripped into a soda bottle where it was eventually drunk 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.

General Ross and his unit located Banner's house and burst in to shoot him with tranquilizer ammo, but Banner fled through the window and momentarily hid with Martina at her house, in order to deceive the military. Blonsky and the other soldiers pursued Banner through the streets and rooftops of Rocinha, while Banner tried to slow down his heart rate to prevent his transformation. While fleeing, Banner came across General Ross, realizing he was the man behind the chase, and also a man who almost got into a fight with him when Banner prevented him from harassing Martina earlier at the factory. This man also pursued Banner with his friends to the bottling factory in order to beat him. Blonksy located Banner in the factory and approached to witness the appearance of Hulk, as the transformation was triggered by the men beating him. Following a ferocious battle in the soft drink bottling plant, Hulk incapacitated the men and the soldiers except Blonsky, who watches the green titan in astonishment. Banner escaped from the factory and fled into the jungle, awakening in Guatemala the morning after the incident.

Going Back Home
Taking 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 Lieber, 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
After a worried Leonard Samson informed the military of the scientist’s whereabouts, Blonsky led an assault on Banner at Culver University. The soldiers chased Banner into the library and locked him into a walkway. Ross ordered tear gas fired through the window which caused Banner to transform into Hulk. His monstrous persona jumped out the window and was attacked by the Strategic Operations Command Center. Hulk attempted to reach Betty, but the firegun from the army angered him, causing him to fight back and destroy several Humvees. The ensuing battle outside the university proved to be futile for Ross' forces and they eventually retreat, though Emil Blonsky, whose sanity was starting to falter after injecting a new version of the Super Soldier Serum, boldly attacked and mocked 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, after kicking him into a tree.

Betty approached Hulk as an began firing on them. Hulk blocked the gunfire and threw a piece of debris at the helicopter, knocking it to the ground. Banner shields Ross from the 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 foothills of the Smokies. Toward New York City, they 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, having a meeting with "Mr. Blue", a resident scientist named Samuel Sterns. Accompanying Sterns to his lab, Banner and Betty learned that Sterns had completely the possible antidote that could potentially cure Banner's condition, or merely reverse each individual transformation. However, in order to test the antidote they would have to trigger a transformation, and an underdose would prove futile and make the Hulk wreck havoc again, 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.

Captured
"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, 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 as he crashed on the streets.

Duel of Harlem
"Any last words?" "Hulk...SMASH!"

- Abomination and Hulk

Hulk charged toward his enemy and got speared off his feet. Hulk then smashed a police car in half and used the pieces as boxing gloves, repeatedly punching Blonsky into the pavement so hard it caused a crater. After reaching back for one more punch, Blonsky kicked him through a wall into a nearby building. Blonsky climbed the wall and Ross ordered the helicopter to open fire on him, chasing him to the roof. The helicopter chased Blonsky across the rooftops. Blonsky lunged and grabbed the helicopter just as Hulk arrived and grasped him. The helicopter crashed on a rooftop. The two faced off again and Blonsky pinned Banner against a wall and stabbed him in the chest with his exposed elbow. However, seeing Betty in danger angered Hulk and he overpowered Blonsky, slamming him into the wall just as the helicopter caught fire. Hulk thunder-clapped his hands together to blow out the fire saving Betty and Ross. Blonsky hit Hulk from behind with a concrete pillar on a high-tensile chain. Abomination turned his attention to the Ross' but Hulk smashed a large crack in the roof where Blonsky's foot got caught and the pillar hit him in the head. Banner grabbed the chain and began strangling him. Poised to deliver a final blow, he was stopped in the act of killing by the intervention of Betty. Abomination collapsed, and Hulk fled the scene with the army in hot 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. After his first success in controlling the Hulk, Banner mow more focused on gaining control over his transformations into Hulk instead of supressing them. 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 several 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 him, 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
"Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry." That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry."

- Captain America and 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, said "Puny God", 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 Acura 2012 Stark Industries Super Car 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
"I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist. It's not my training, I-I don't have the-" "What? The time?" "Temperament."

- Bruce Banner and Tony Stark

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 Tetrodotoxin 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.

War on HYDRA
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 began to develop a romantic relationship with Natasha Romanoff. Romanoff developed a lullaby that she found could successfully make Hulk transform back into Banner.

Battle of Sudan
"This is what I get for waiting in the car."

- Bruce Banner

While Banner was occupied with a scientific examination, J.A.R.V.I.S. informed him that Natasha Romanoff was in need of assistance from the other Avengers in Sudan. Banner went into the team's Quinjet in order to fly to her location. As the other Avengers ran out to fight the HYDRA agents, Banner stayed inside the Quinjet, waiting for further instructions.

HYDRA soldiers found him in the jet and shot it with one of their tanks, trying to kill him. Unfortunately for them, the explosion only made Banner transform into Hulk, allowing him to help his allies in the fight. Together, the team was able to defeat the soldiers and their leader, Jensen.

Attack on the HYDRA Research Base
Some time later, the Avengers discovered through Maria Hill the whereabouts of Loki's Scepter, which had been taken to Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's secret HYDRA Research Base in Sokovia, where it had been used by Doctor List to conduct experiments on individuals with powers. The heroes attacked the fortress protecting the laboratory with Hulk destroying armored vehicles and bunkers defending the outpost. Romanoff performed the lullaby with Hulk to get him to calm down and turn back into Bruce Banner. On the way back to the Avengers Tower, Banner listened to classical music. Natasha then came to him and told him that the lullaby worked better than ever.

Designing Ultron
"You want me to take the scepter behind everyone's back and use it to bring Ultron to life?" "Yeah, we don't have time for a city hall debate."

- Bruce Banner and Tony Stark

Once they got back to the Avenges 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.

Celebration
"What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" "A guy did me wrong. There've been a lot of people in my life, all of them fighters. Then there comes this guy, who's not like anyone I've ever met; he doesn't want to be a fighter."

- Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff

To celebrate the victory on HYDRA, Stark organized a party in the Avengers Tower. During the party, Natasha Romanoff flirted with Banner, making him realize the two had feelings for each other. Steve Rogers spoke to Banner, telling him that Romanoff was clearly flirting with him. Rogers insisted that Banner should not let the chance for a happy life go passed, noting that Romanoff had flirted with him in the past but the way she spoke to Banner was more than mere flirting. As Rogers walked away, Banner pondered this before questioning how much Romanoff had flirted with Rogers in the past.

Attack on Avengers Tower
‎"Ultron?" "In the flesh."

- Bruce Banner and Ultron

During the victory celebration at the Tower, the Avengers and guests attempted to lift Mjølnir. Banner sat with Romanoff who opted not to play. When Banner tried to lift the hammer, he pretended to turn into Hulk, which none of the others found funny, except Romanoff. Thor then teased them that none of them were worthy enough to lift the hammer.

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. In order not to lose control, Banner hid behind the Tower's bar with Romanoff. Ultron began mocking the Avengers, but Thor had had enough and destroyed Ultron's body.

Argument
"Tony, maybe this might not be the time..." "Really? That's it? You just roll over and show your belly, every time somebody snarls?" "Only when I've created a murder-bot!"

- Bruce Banner and Tony Stark

After a brief battle, the lead Ultron robot was destroyed, although it claimed it would attack again. With the team gathered together, Stark began examining the robot to understand what caused it. He learned that it had destroyed J.A.R.V.I.S.' mainframe in a rage. Thor stormed in and grabbed Stark by the throat, accusing him of bringing destruction to the Earth; Stark defended himself however claiming that he was coming up with a solution to end a war that would destroy the Earth. Banner was not convinced by Stark's argument. The team later learned that Ultron had built himself a new body and had killed Wolfgang von Strucker, that he was planning on stealing Vibranium from Ulysses Klaue and that he had made an alliance with Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

Duel of Johannesburg
"You listening? That little witch is messing with your mind. You're stronger than her, you're smarter than her, you're Bruce Banner."

- Tony Stark to the Hulk

The Avengers soon went to South Africa to keep Ultron from getting Vibranium. As the others were fighting Ultron, Banner remained in the Quinjet. Wanda Maximoff found Banner and forced him to turn into Hulk using her mental manipulation powers. Under her control, Hulk started destroying the city of Johannesburg. Iron Man then got his Hulk Buster Armour and fought with Hulk, trying to get him to stop. Eventually, the battle ended, but the damage it caused was huge. The Avengers regrouped, forced into hiding.

The Farm
"Where in the world am I not a threat?" "You're not a threat to me." "You sure? Even if I didn't just... there's no future with me. I can't ever... I can't have this, kids,"

- Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff

With the public ridiculing them for the Hulk's rampage, the Avengers went to Hawkeye's home. While there, Banner took a shower and when he was finished, he found that Romanoff was waiting for him. Banner explained her that they cannot be together because he could present her a threat, but also because he cannot make children. She told him about her training in the Red Room, where she was sterilized, which made her unable to have children. They planned to elope together after defeating Ultron.

Nick Fury also arrived at the farm and spoke with the group at length about stopping Ultron. Banner then realized that Ultron wanted to improve his body. So he needed Helen Cho and the Cradle devise to build for him the ultimate body. While Banner was brought back to the Avengers Tower by Fury, the Avengers flew to Seoul to take the synthetic body from Ultron, and Stark went to the NEXUS base in Oslo to find the person who prevented Ultron from obtaining nuclear launch codes.

Birth of Vision
"If we’re wrong about you, if you’re the monster that Ultron made you to be…" "What will you do?"

- Bruce Banner and Vision

Tony Stark and Clint Barton returned to the Avengers Tower. Barton brought with him the Cradle with the synthetic body in it, but he said that Ultron had kidnapped Natasha Romanoff, so he went to search for her. Stark reveled to Banner that J.A.R.V.I.S., who was not destroyed by Ultron as he thought, was the person who prevented from Ultron to get the nuclear codes. Stark tried to convinced Banner to help him put J.A.R.V.I.S. inside the body. At first, Banner refused but Stark claimed that it was the only hope they got to stop Ultron. Banner then agreed to help him.

As the two were almost finished, Steve Rogers with Wanda and Pietro Maximoff came and ordered them to shut it down. After Banner and Stark refused, the two and Barton fight against the three with Banner personally threatening Wanda Maximoff and assuring her that he could kill her without losing control and transforming into the Hulk. As Stark and Rogers began attacking one another, suddenly Thor came in and revived the synthetic body with his lightning.

The living body jumped out and briefly attacked Thor until he looked out over the city, the living body apologized and called itself the Vision and claimed to wish to assist them to fight Ultron. Thor explained that he had seen the Vision in his vision and the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, that is in the Vision's forehead. At first, the team did not trust him, but as proof of his honor, Vision handed Thor Mjølnir.

Rescuing Black Widow
"You’re not going to turn green?" "I’ve got a compelling reason not to lose my cool." "I adore you. But I need the other guy."

- Black Widow and Bruce Banner

The Avengers tracked Ultron down in Sokovia, where Natasha Romanoff was being held. While the other Avengers were busy facing off against Ultron and his sentinels, Banner managed to sneak into Ultron's lair and break Romanoff free. Determined to make good on their earlier plan to run away together, Banner told Romanoff that he did not want to change into the Hulk, but Black Widow kissed him and pushed him over the edge of a well, forcing the transformation. Moments later, Banner emerged as the Hulk, ready for the battle. With Romanoff clinging to his back, Hulk began jumping through the air, trying to reach the flying city of Novi Grad. Crash landing on solid ground, Hulk and Black Widow ran off in separate directions to deal with Ultron's forces.

One Last Fight
Hulk joined the Avengers, protecting the key that could drop the city and thus cause global destruction. Ultron summoned his sentinels, and they reached the key and activated it. The team defended it and made Ultron distraught. Hulk then hit him strongly and threw him far away. Hulk was far from the battle, and Romanoff tried to calm him back to his human state. Her calming technique was interrupted by Ultron, who was at the controls of the Avengers' own Quinjet, raking Hulk with gunfire. Hulk grabbed Romanoff and bore her to safety on a newly arrived S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier that had been brought by Nick Fury and Maria Hill, before leaping after Ultron. He threw him from the jet and then took control of it.

Disappearance
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are?"

- Thaddeus Ross

After the battle was over, and the Avengers succeeded in saving the world and defeating Ultron, Hulk escaped in the Avengers Quinjet. Natasha Romanoff tried to make him disable the plane's stealth mode, but he cut off its communications, keeping with the stealth mode so he would not be tracked. Nick Fury later assured Romanoff that Banner was 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
"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?" "Fella done me wrong." "You got lousy taste in men, kid." "He's not so bad. Well, he has a temper. Deep down, he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anybody I've ever known. All my friends are fighters, and here comes this guy, spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win."

- Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff

Bruce Banner is shown as a mild-mannered, mysterious, shy and analytical man of science. The incident at Culver University caused Banner to become somewhat mentally troubled and obsessed with finding a cure for his mutation. He is compassionate and afraid of hurting someone unintentionally, so he tries not to get close to something or someone that leaves him stressed.

When he transforms, his personality regresses to a more primitive state with his senses amplified to such an extent that it is difficult for his brain to process it all. In Banner's own words, he describes the experience as "It's like someone poured a liter of into my brain." When Banner returns to his normal human form, he has little recollection of events aside from fragments and images.

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. However, while extremely aggressive and destructive, Hulk only attacked when provoked as a form of self-defense and wanted to be alone, often fleeing and ending up in areas uninhabited by humans like caves or forests to calm himself.

Ever since his first transformation Banner was terribly afraid of the Hulk and the risk of him hurting those around him. He abandoned everyone and everything he cared about and became a fugitive for five years to prevent Hulk's power from falling into the wrong hands, while desperately searching for a cure and attempting to avoid transforming at all costs. On some occasions, he lost the hope of getting rid of his other persona and showed suicidal tendencies, attempting to kill himself once.

Hulk keeps fragments of Banner's personality and gradually attained a better reasoning capacity over time, becoming able to show affection, demonstrating a capacity to work collaboratively with others once they've established a rapport with him, be aware that his name is "Hulk", and demonstrating he's capable of directing his savagery at foes instead of allies. Betty suggested that this is because Banner's mind is still within the Hulk and can influence his behavior.Over time, he supplemented his scientific pursuit by learning meditation and breathing techniques, gaining a greater control over the transformations.

Banner discovered that by focusing during the moment of transformation he can control the Hulk's destructive behavior or at least "aim" it at a desired target, first seen during the Duel of Harlem. Banner usually has a love interest to act as the Hulk's handler and soothe him back into his normal state. The Hulk would check his aggression if Betty Ross desired it and would be lullabied into a calmer state by Black Widow.

After having shown some success in controlling the monster, he seemed to have abandoned the search for a cure and redeemed himself, helping sick people in poor areas of the world. Thus, he appeared to be more comfortable and sarcastic in various situations with fellow Avengers. Tony Stark encouraged Banner to see the Hulk as an ally rather than a destructive curse by pointing out that Hulk technically saved his life when the Gamma exposure accident occurred. Eventually Banner became confident enough to bring out Hulk voluntarily knowing he won't attack his allies.

However, Banner is the Avenger his teammates are the most wary of despite their camaraderie and often don't call Hulk to a battle unless strictly necessary. Though Banner is able to suppress his transformations through emotional intelligence, he has been known to lose control or be manipulated into lose control. Should he be completely overwhelmed with rage, he loses all reason and becomes a volatile rage monster. For example, he once attacked Black Widow on the Helicarrier, when they were blasted out of the lab and he transformed and attacked her, and when the Scarlet Witch used her mental manipulation powers on him in South Africa to force him to transform. After the War against Ultron, Hulk himself decided to abandon his Avengers friends much like he did when he defeated Abomination.

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.
 * 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. In combat, Hulk often uses his strength to throw heavy objects (like cars and forklift trucks, for example) or his smaller opponents in order to defeat his enemies, such as when Hulk threw a human sized Emil Blonsky more than 40 feet away with just one kick or when he hurled 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 ultimately 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 Hulkbuster Armor to battle him in case of need.
 * Super Leaps: 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.
 * Superhuman Durability: Hulk is able to withstand blows and attacks of considerable force; even high caliber bullets bounce off him and flames cause him little damage. 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 several miles (though the impact knocked him unconscious, forcing him to revert back into Banner). Only beings with incredible 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 Hulkbuster with little discomfort, he got a tooth knocked out in the confrontation. In addition, Hulk's durability is also tied to his anger level. During the fight against the Hulkbuster, he slightly calmed down, which slightly reduced his durability after witnessing the destruction that he caused in South Africa, allowing Iron Man to use the advantage, hammering Hulk with a massive punch, which sent him flying against a tall building, knocking him out.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Hulk has substantially greater endurance than a normal human, allowing him to run and fight for a long time. 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 superhuman strength of his 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 nigh-invulnerability to physical harm, Hulk is not completely invincible and can be injured. However, Hulk's physiology has an extremely high rate of cellular regeneration. 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. These attributes make him extremely difficult to kill, even if he is in his human form.

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

- Tony Stark and Steve Rogers

"You know bio-organics better than anyone."
 * 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 . Bruce also became disciplined in emotional intelligence, employing meditative breathing techniques and anger management to better control his pulse rate and thus his transformations.

- Tony Stark


 * Master Scientist: Banner is one of the world's renowned scientist in fields such as, and, especially, Gamma Radiation. His knowledge was even praised by Tony Stark, who said that Banner's work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. While programming Vision, Stark also said that Banner is extremely skilled in the scientific discipline of . He is experienced in the fields of computers and engineering as well. Hence Banner was able to help Stark construct the Hulkbuster, create the Ultron AI, and download J.A.R.V.I.S. into the Vision android.
 * Physician: Banner possesses enough medical knowledge to help the sick and injured, while living in India.
 * Martial Artist: Banner learned and basic meditative breathing 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 some knowledge in Portuguese and Spanish. He also demonstrated fluency in Hindi, 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 using them as range projectiles to strike distant targets, while 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 became a 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 Ultron Offensive.

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
 * Leonard Samson - Rival turned Friend and Psychotherapist
 * Erik Selvig - Former Colleague
 * Stanley Lieber - Friend
 * Rick Jones
 * Plant Manager - Former Boss
 * Martina - Former Colleague
 * Ricky - Pet
 * Samuel Sterns - Former Ally
 * Avengers - Former Teammates
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Team Leader and Friend
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Collaborator, Colleague and Close Friend
 * Thor - Former Teammate
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Love Interest and Former Teammate
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Former Teammate
 * James Rhodes/War Machine - Former Teammate
 * Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver † - Enemy turned Teammate
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - Enemy and Enthraller turned Teammate
 * Vision - Co-Creation
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (First Incarnation) - Enemies turned Allies
 * Nick Fury
 * Maria Hill
 * Phil Coulson
 * Jasper Sitwell † (former)
 * Helen Cho
 * J.A.R.V.I.S.
 * Laura Barton - Hostess

Enemies

 * United States Armed Forces - Reluctant Ally
 * Thaddeus Ross - Reluctant Ally
 * Joe Greller
 * Strategic Operations Command Center
 * Kathleen Sparr †
 * Emil Blonsky/Abomination
 * Loki
 * Chitauri
 * Espinoza
 * HYDRA
 * Wolfgang von Strucker †
 * List †
 * Ultron † - Co-Creation
 * Ultron Sentries †

Video Games Only

 * U-Foes
 * Simon Utrecht/Vector
 * James Darnell/X-Ray
 * Michael Steel/Ironclad
 * Ann Darnell/Vapor
 * Enclave
 * Jupiter Leader
 * Ceres Leader
 * Minerva Leader
 * Vulcan Leader
 * Bi-Beast
 * Barbaria
 * Kyklops
 * Glenn Talbot

Trivia

 * The Hulk has the distinction of being the only Avenger to somewhat finish both main villains in both The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron; smashing Loki multiple times in Stark Tower, taking him out of the fight only for him to be capture by the rest of the Avengers after the battle and throwing Ultron back into the floating part of Sokovia only for Scarlet Witch to rip out his power source.
 * Bruce Banner appeared in the non-canon short film While You Were Fighting, where he met Thor in a café and they discussed why they had not been invited to the Avengers Civil War.

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 Marvel 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 on screen in Marvel Cinematic Universe: "Hulk... Smash!" (twice), "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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Loki using Hulk to attack the Helicarrier is a reference to Loki using Hulk to destroy a train track to lure out Thor, and unwillingly creating the Avengers in the process in the main Marvel Comics Universe.
 * Mark Ruffalo was written into Captain America: Civil War at one point but was removed as Marvel felt the Hulk's current whereabouts were too huge to be revealed in the packed film; he did however make a very short cameo on video.
 * Hulk is one of the two main protagonists to defeat the main antagonist of their debut film without any assistance. The other being Ant-Man.