Chase of Bruce Banner

"The Bruce Banner Manhunt is still not over. This shadowy figure, renowned as a doctor and professor at the Culver University Science Department, has once again slipped through the authorities' hands and is still on the run."

- Nick Fury, in a typed report The Chase of Bruce Banner, also known as the Bruce Banner Manhunt, was an organized search issued by the United States Army for scientist Bruce Banner, who transformed into the Hulk following the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project. The search was spearheaded by Thaddeus Ross, who was determined to dissect the Hulk and weaponize the transformation process.

Deemed a fugitive by the government, Banner traveled around the world in order to elude Ross' troops, disappearing whenever they tracked him down. He disappeared for at least five months after a failed suicide attempt in Greenland and then for almost five years after being spotted in Italy. In 2011, Banner resurfaced in Rio de Janeiro after Ross connected a gamma poisoning incident to the soft drink bottling factory where Banner was working.

After learning that his assets failed to capture Banner, a desperate Ross re-activated the enhancement project, using Emil Blonsky as a test subject. Following a destructive clash at Culver University in Virginia, Blonsky followed Banner to New York and arrested him. A sudden turn of events, however, resulted in Ross releasing Banner in order to fight Blonsky, who had mutated into the Abomination. Banner successfully defeated Blonsky before being allowed to escape by Ross, who later brought the manhunt to an end.

Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project
"Let me emphasize that what I'm about to share with you is tremendously sensitive, both to me personally and the Army. You're aware that we've got an Infantry Weapons Development programme. Well, in WWII, they initiated a subprogram for Bio-Tech Force Enhancement." "Yeah, Super Soldier."

- Thaddeus Ross and Emil Blonsky Following the, General Thaddeus Ross started the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project in an attempt to recreate Project Rebirth, a government program issued during World War II that was designed to create "super soliders" to fight the Axis Powers. The project initially struggled, as it was killed by the United States Congress after the public learned that the military was using captured terrorists as test subjects.

Ross' daughter Betty, a professor at Culver University, convinced her boyfriend and colleague Bruce Banner to join the project. Both were unaware, however, that Ross was keeping his true intentions private by making them believe the project's goal was radiation resistance.

Transformation of Bruce Banner
"He was so sure about what he was onto that he tested it on himself. And something went very wrong..."

- Thaddeus Ross By 2005, Banner had grown confident to the point where he decided to test the formula upon himself. But the imperfect serum, combined with an almost lethal amount of Gamma Radiation, caused Banner to turn into a green-skinned creature that would become known as the Hulk.

Following the transformation, the Hulk embarked on a rampage that resulted in the deaths of two scientists and a military officer. Ross, meanwhile, sustained minor injuries while Betty and several graduate students were sent to the hospital.

The Manhunt Begins
"You've been sitting here for three days with something enormous cooking inside you! We need to know what we're dealing with and we can't wait any longer. We're not going to squander the opportunity--" "It's not an opportunity! People hospitalized... your own daughter in a coma. And I'm responsible. It's not a piece of data anymore. It's a nightmare!"

- Thaddeus Ross and Bruce Banner Fascinated by the Hulk, Ross tried convincing Banner to unleash the bestial creature so the Army could experiment on it. Banner, however, was unable to deal with what he had done to Betty and fled from the discussion. When Ross attempted to bring him in through physical force, Banner escaped by disguising himself as a janitor. After discovering that Banner had escaped, Ross deemed him a fugitive and set out to capture him.

American-Canadian Border Incident
Bruce Banner sought to leave the United States of America in order to evade Thaddeus Ross. Banner hid in a trailer which was driving to the Canadian border at Idaho. During inspections, Banner was found by the patrol officers, who learn that he was wanted in Virginia for tearing down Culver University. Now being arrested and scared, he rid himself of his handcuffs and transformed into the Hulk and threw a rampage on the highway, throwing the trailer in the process in a furious rage. He had collapsed the border and left a massive trail of wreckage in his wake, killing one of the state troopers. On the scene of the wreckage after Hulk fled, Ross recovered Bruce's shattered watch.

The Greenland Suicide Attempt
"I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out."

- Bruce Banner In 2007, Banner, who has grown incredibly sick of being hunted by Ross traveled to Greenland to commit suicide alone in the desolate, snowy landscape where no one could find him, in hopes of finally ending the worldwide chase for him.

When he had opened his revolver in the vast, icy, uninhabited area and placed it in his mouth, it triggered his transformation into the Hulk, who spit out the bullet, rendering him practically unkillable. The Hulk then shattered the landscape in a fit of rage - the event was captured via satellite. Shortly after, the Hulk then transformed back into his human form. This was the last sighting of Banner for nearly five months.

The South American Jungle
"Who sent you? CIA? DEA? Our own spineless government?!" "Please don't make me angry. You wouldn't--" "I won't make you angry... I'll make you dead!"

- Espinoza and Bruce Banner Banner settled in the South American continent and while wandering in the jungles of South America, he found a lost child named Miguel who was the son of a man among those of a terrorist cartel. Banner aided him to the closest village, which was indeed Miguel's home, but unfortunately for Banner, who was oblivious that the village was run by criminals was attacked by the terrorists.

The leader of the arms dealers, Espinoza confronted Banner himself under the belief that he was a spy working for the United States Government, while in reality he was that of the contrary. Espinoza began yelling at Banner, ferociously beating him in order to find out which government he was working for. Banner tried to warn Espinoza to not make him angry, but the criminal shrugged it off and taunted him. Banner then underwent a fit of furious rage as the Hulk and laid the village to waste.

An American three-man team, led by Emil Blonsky and consisting of Bill Mantlo and Greg Pak was searching for Espinoza and while walking through the jungle, they witnessed glimpses of the rampage, including an explosion and a jeep thrown near them. Arriving at the destroyed village, Blonsky found Espinoza and the criminals all dead and Miguel alone still awake. Miguel, despite not being a fluent English speaker told Blonsky of the events and the "American" who helped him. Ross was bewildered by the events, marking that the manhunt wasn't over.

Banner, on the other hand, was working as a factory worker which bottled Pingo Doce sodas and settled in the Rocinha favela slums. Banner proved useful in the community and befriended some of his co-workers, including Martina. However, because he was American, some of his co-workers, including the Tough Guy Leader targeted and bullied him because of his ethnicity. In Brazil, he established a hideout in the slums of Rocinha and made contact with an anonymous individual who went by Mr. Blue. Despite his efforts in pursuing exotic flowers, he could not succeed in creating an antidote for his condition.

Milwaukee Gamma Poisoning
"A man drank one of those Guarana Sodas. Guess it had a little more kick than he was looking for."

- Kathleen Sparr While working at the Pingo Doce bottling factory, Banner had accidentally cut his finger. Not wanting to be exposed, he had checked the bottles and found a drop of his blood next to them. He wiped it off and assumed himself to be safe. However, he didn't see a second drop of his blood fall into one of the glass bottles, which later was mixed in with the soda and shipped to the United States of America.

The bottle ended up in a household in Milwaukee. A man drank the bottle and became fell ill from gamma sickness after drinking the soda. This report was brought to the Pentagon and Kathleen Sparr gave the report to Thaddeus Ross. He had ordered his men to look for a white male in the bottling factory, absolutely positive that the man responsible was Banner. Ross grouped up the field members of the Strategic Operations Command Center, including Emil Blonsky, who was on loan from the Royal Marines. The team took a plane to Brazil.

Ambush in Rio de Janeiro
"We've got a bogey of some kind. Please advise." That is the target! Use every tranq you've got! Do it now!"

- A military soldier and Thaddeus Ross The night of the ambush, Banner sensed the SOCC team, led by Blonsky chasing after him. He then got out of his bed and rappelled down to Martina's house, who lived directly below him. While Blonsky and the SOCC team blew charges to his door and tranquilized "Banner", they found that he already escaped - a pillow, pajamas and a wig was in place to make it look as if he was sleeping. Blonsky downed Banner's dog Ricky and the team concluded that he was already out of the house. Thinking that they were gone, Banner thanked Martina and fled.

On the ground, Banner spotted Blonsky and slowly walked away, but the SOCC field team noticed him and gave chase. They chased him throughout the Rocinha slums, through a basketball court, and down the streets, later going through various homes: Banner made it with his heart-rate rising, and ultimately had lost two of the members of the field team. Banner encountered Ross, who was hidden securely in a van with Sparr and more SOCC assets.

While running from the team chasing after him, he accidentally ran into a gang of men, chief among them was his xenophobic co-worker. The gang attempted to attack him, but Banner temporarily downed them as he made his escape to the bottling factory, with both the SOCC field team and the Brazilian gang after him. Banner made it into the factory, with both groups chasing him. Blonsky, who had separated from the SOCC group noticed Banner going into the factory and led the remaining team inside.

"He was not alone, sir. We had him and then something hit us, something... Something big hit us! It threw a- a forklift truck like it was a softball! It was the most powerful thing I've ever seen."

- Emil Blonsky

Despite Banner's efforts, the Brazilian gang made it to him first and beat him inside the factory, throwing away his backpack containing his laptop and placing him in a hold for his co-worker to taunt and beat him. Banner then noticed the SOCC field team taking their positions, and glanced at his watch worriedly, as it was close to hitting 200 beats per minute. Banner tried to warn the gang of what was going to occur, but they shrugged it off as just another idle taunt. Blonsky fired a tranquilizer, but accidentally hit one of the members of the gang. Banner’s heart rate hit 200 bpm and then began to transform into the Hulk.

The xenophobic co-worker kicked Banner while he was transforming, severely injuring his foot. The Hulk dragged him away before throwing him screaming through two glass windows into a wall, killing him. This startled the remaining people in the group as they ran away. However, Banner got ahold of one of them and killed him, while the last one escaped. Blonsky and the SOCC soldiers shot at the Hulk, but their ammunition did little to nothing to his near-impenetrable skin. When one of the soldiers threw a grenade at him, he pushed a tank full of soda at two of the soldiers, killing them. With only Blonsky surviving, he shot at the Hulk, but he retaliated by throwing a forklift truck, much to his horror. The Hulk then escaped the factory, not to be seen again.

At Banner's home, Blonsky argued at Ross about the existence of the Hulk and it's immense destructive potential. In the forests of Guatemala, Banner transformed back into his human form and with the help of a passerby, Banner got a lift to the next town.

Returning to the United States
In a desperate effort to capture the Hulk, restoring faith in the mission now that he had resurfaced in Brazil, Thaddeus Ross introduced Emil Blonsky to the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project and revealed that it was also a version of Project Rebirth, which had amped the physical skills of Steve Rogers into the heroic Captain America. Ross promised Blonsky that he could replicate the results of Project Rebirth by injecting Blonsky with the Super Soldier Serum. Although the process was painful, the injections granted Blonsky superior strength, speed and durability in comparison to his Strategic Operations Command Center comrades.

After travelling to Chiapas, Mexico, living as a homeless man on the streets, Banner finally muddled up enough money to purchase new clothing and a way back to the United States of America seventeen days after his previous transformation into the Hulk. Banner travelled to Culver University in Virginia and saw Betty Ross flirting with Leonard Samson, who was her new fiancee after Banner went on the run. Banner took up a job at a pizza parlor belonging to an old acquaintance of his, Stanley Lieber. He used a guise as a pizza delivery boy to sneak into Culver University in an attempt to further his research in finding a cure. Unfortunately for Banner, the information regarding the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project had been deleted.

Capture of Bruce Banner
"You all have copies of the correspondence. The aliases Mr. Green and Mr. Blue have been added to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Operations Database. If he comes up for air, we'll be waiting. If he makes a peep, we'll hear him. And when he slips up, we'll be ready."

- Thaddeus Ross A day following the Battle at Culver University, Banner and Betty escaped to New York City to meet Samuel Sterns, who went by "Mr. Blue" when collaborating with Banner without using anything that would trace the United States Armed Forces to their location. The three conducted an experiment to create the antidote that Banner had been longing for in Grayburn College.

Thaddeus Ross and his team, however, knew of "Mr. Blue" and later realized that Sterns was Banner's contact in Brazil. With that provided, they traced him to New York City at Grayburn College. Ross, Kathleen Sparr and their field team, led by Emil Blonsky traveled to New York City to apprehend Banner.

All of a sudden, Blonsky marched in and knocked down Betty before grabbing and slapping Banner by the face and angrily confronting him in an attempt to unleash the Hulk. However, his efforts were a failure, as he was already injected with the antidote. When a military soldier came in to stop Blonsky's rage, he knocked out Banner with blunt force.

Banner, who was recovering from the concussion he had received was then taken outside on a stretcher outside Grayburn College. Ross confronted him outside the building, threatening that if the Hulk was really gone that he would place him away in prison for the rest of his life. Banner and Betty were taken into a cargo helicopter.

Harlem Battle
"Tell them to bring everything they've got and head for Harlem."

- Thaddeus Ross

Following Banner's capture, Kathleen Sparr interrogated Samuel Sterns about the Hulk. Sterns told her that duplicating the Hulk was practically impossible, since what had occurred in 2005 was only a freak accident. A furious Emil Blonsky, hungry for power that equaled the Hulk killed Sparr and forced Sterns to comply with his demands. When Sterns had undergone the transfusion procedure with Banner's blood, and it transformed Blonsky into a monstrous creature that was briefly dubbed as the Abomination. Blonsky fled the lab, wreaking havoc on the streets of Harlem with his newfound powers. Thaddeus Ross reluctantly allowed Banner to fight Blonsky as the Hulk. In a major duel between the two forces, Hulk emerged victorious. For his heroic actions, Hulk fled from the scene, and the manhunt was called off.

Aftermath
"I see my future unfolding. It is an illustrious future defined by power and influence. A future that begins this very instant. Assist me in gathering my work and eluding the authorities and this effulgent future will be yours also, my little Russian darling."

- Samuel Sterns to Natasha Romanoff

During the Duel of Harlem, Sterns, who was injured back at his labratory was accidentally injected with Banner's blood through an open wound on his forehead, causing him to go insane as well. Natasha Romanoff, who was sent there by Nick Fury found Sterns, who was prophesying of his vivid, tyrannical future. However, Sterns' insanity was short-lived, as Romanoff shot Sterns when he had attempted to embroil her in his plots and took him into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody. Following his defeat, Emil Blonsky was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody and placed into the Vault.

In 2012, Banner hid in India and worked as a doctor, helping the poor and managing to avoid a transformation for nearly a full year. Banner was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Natasha Romanoff on orders of Nick Fury as part of the Avengers Initiative. Banner fought in the Chitauri Invasion alongside Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Romanoff and later, Clint Barton against Loki and the Chitauri. Their heroic actions granted them the name the Avengers. At a point, the World Security Council considered applying Blonsky into the Avengers, but S.H.I.E.L.D. forbid releasing him. In 2016, Thaddeus Ross was promoted to Secretary of State following the Attack on the IFID Headquarters, and became a key player in the Sokovia Accords, triggered by, alongside the incident in Lagos; The Battle of New York , the Battle at the Triskelion and the Battle of Sokovia.