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- "In pursuit, sir. Banner has a good lead."
"Stay on him, Captain! He must not escape!" - ―Emil Blonsky and Thaddeus Ross[src]
The Bruce Banner Manhunt was an attempt by the United States Army to track down Bruce Banner following an experiment which turned him to the monstrous Hulk. Emil Blonsky was recruited for the manhunt, and he participated in several attacks on Hulk along with the army, some led by Thaddeus Ross and others by Glenn Talbot. Blonsky was given the same serum which Banner used, which caused his mental state to deteriorate until he was turned into a monstrous Abomination which Hulk defeated.
Background[]
Bruce Banner worked for the United States Army's Project Gamma Pulse as a scientist trying to improve soldiers' physical prowess. However, the experiment went wrong, resulting in Banner turning into a monster known as the Hulk. Banner went on the run and attempt to kill himself, but the Hulk spit the bullet out. Banner attempted to seclude himself in Porto Verde and monitored his heart rate to avoid turning into the Hulk.[1]
Manhunt[]
Ambush in Porto Verde[]
- "Something attacked us in there, General. It was not a gorilla."
- ―Emil Blonsky to Thaddeus Ross[src]
Emil Blonsky managed to track Bruce Banner down to Porto Verde and chased him into a factory, which the Army then blew up, trapping Banner under the rubble. Banner transformed into the Hulk and broke free, fighting through the soldiers. A significant amount of damage was caused, but Hulk fought through the soldiers, destroying one of their helicopters. Blonsky then arrived in an armor and challenged Hulk, but Hulk managed to defeat Blonsky and the rest of the troops before fleeing, leaving Blonsky behind. Thaddeus Ross approached Blonsky and revealed to him that Banner and Hulk were the same person and that Ross believed their body to be the property of the Army.[1]
Fighting in New York City[]
The Army located the Hulk in New York City, so Thaddeus Ross sent a strike team to get him. The Army attacked Hulk, when Rick Jones contacted Hulk, asking him to destroy an Enclave building. Hulk destroyed the building, attracting the Army's attention. As the Hulk fought the Enclave during one of their weapons tests on the public, the military attacked Hulk, who fought them off while stopping the test.
Meanwhile, Ross had a doctor administer the serum which Banner had made to Emil Blonsky.[1]
Attempted Cure[]
Banner went to Samuel Sterns, who said that the United States Army had data which would help him cure Banner of the Hulk. Hulk therefore went to the army's base in New York City and attacked it, destroying the base and stealing the data for Sterns. The Army started interfering with Sterns' machines, so Hulk searched multiple bases and destroyed the signal jammer despite resistance from the Army.
The Enclave stole a drum of nanites from the Army, which Sterns needed for the cure. Hulk and the Army both went looking for the drum in several garbage trucks, leading to fights between Hulk and the Army which Hulk won.[1]
Missile Strike[]
- "There are a lot of civilians in the area, Major."
"Collateral damage is acceptable." - ―Soldier and Glenn Talbot[src]
Glenn Talbot arrived in New York City and met with Emil Blonsky, to whom he shared concerns about Thaddeus Ross' insistence that Bruce Banner be kept alive. Blonsky hesitantly accepted Talbot's order to use lethal methods, and the Army attacked the Hulk with a sonic attack followed by weapons despite the heavy amount of civilians in the area. Hulk defeated the soldiers and destroyed the transmitter for the attack before fleeing, prompting Talbot to order the soldiers to fall back and claim that Hulk was responsible for the damage.
Talbot ordered a missile strike despite Blonsky noting that it was a populated area, and Rick Jones warned him to get to a less populated area. Hulk evaded the missiles while Jones traced the targeting system to a satellite and fought Blonsky again, defeating him. Jones figured out the Talbot was behind the attacks rather than Ross, so he and Hulk made a plan to lure news helicopters to an army barracks. Once they reached the barracks, Talbot believed the helicopters to be their enemy, so he ordered a missile to get launched at them. Hulk destroyed the missile launchers and left, forcing Talbot into hiding. However, Hulk chased them down, forcing a further retreat. Talbot retaliated by kidnapping Jones, but Hulk saved him and brought him to a safe place.[1]
Battle at Culver University[]
Bruce Banner returned to Culver University in hopes of retrieving the data from the original experiment for Samuel Sterns. He reunited with Betty Ross while Emil Blonsky watched them. Banner saw Blonsky and tried to run, but Thaddeus Ross had Banner surrounded and stopped Betty's attempts at getting through to her father. This angered Banner, prompting him to transform into the Hulk and destroy the Army deployment points which had been set up around the university. Hulk went to check on Betty, but was attacked by Blonsky, who had been physically enhanced by Banner's serum. However, Hulk managed to defeat Blonsky and destroy the helicopters which the Army sent to attack him. One of the helicopters nearly crashed into Betty, but Hulk saved her and ran while the Army began medical treatment for Blonsky.[1]
Temporary Truce[]
- "Hulk's at war with the Army and the Enclave. They're at war with each other. If Hulk could choose one side, would he? Or would he just destroy everything in his path?"
- ―Bruce Banner[src]
Betty Ross called Bruce Banner to explain that Thaddeus Ross would be leading an attack on one of the Enclave's Paragon Corporation buildings, asking Banner to protect Thaddeus. Banner turned into the Hulk and fought the Enclave's forces, but Thaddeus viewed Hulk as a target of opportunity and ordered his men to attack Hulk as well. Hulk ran to the Enclave base and destroyed it, prompting Thaddeus to realize that they needed his help to bring the Enclave down. The Enclave then attacked Hulkbusters, freezing their armors in hopes of stealing them. Rick Jones heard about this and suggested that Hulk stop them out of fear of what the Enclave would do, and Banner hesitantly agreed. He defeated the Enclave and fled as the army arrived, prompting the Hulkbusters to wonder if Thaddeus was wrong about him. Hulk came across one of the Hulkbusters, who said that he did not want to fight, asking for help holding the Enclave back while the soldier tried to destroy an Enclave F-POD. The two worked together to destroy it, and the soldier promised to mention Hulk's help in the report.
Meanwhile, Emil Blonsky recovered from his injuries sustained at Culver University. He told Thaddeus Ross that the serum was a miracle, and Ross agreed, authorizing Blonsky to receive the full treatment.[1]
Glenn Talbot's Vendetta[]
Rick Jones told Bruce Banner about an experimental weapon that Thaddeus Ross was moving due to a lack of trust in Glenn Talbot. Hulk went to steal the cannon, but Talbot's soldiers arrived and stole it first. Hulk retrieved the cannon from the soldiers and took it to Jones, who said he would destroy it and warned Hulk about Talbot. Talbot kidnapped Betty Ross and held her at Empire State University, where Hulk arrived and fought through his forces. Hulk fought through Talbot's forces until betty was able to reveal that she was Thaddeus' daughter, prompting the Hulkbuster present to free her and report what had happened to Thaddeus.
Thaddeus Ross approached Talbot with his troops, but Talbot donned a Hulkbuster armor and attacked the Army in retaliation. Wanting to end his conflict with Talbot, Hulk arrived and started fighting him. Talbot started a detonation sequence on the armor, threatening to kill Banner along with the many civilians in the area, but Hulk threw Talbot into the sky, allowing the armor to detonate without killing anyone.[1]
Enclave's Bio-Weapon[]
The Enclave deployed a bio-weapon in the city, prompting the Army to set up a perimeter. Hulk brought Samuel Sterns to the building so he could decontaminate it. Hulk fought the Army while Sterns activated the cure for the weapon before ejecting himself from the building. The Army turned their attention to Sterns, who Hulk brought safely back to Empire State University.[1]
Hulk's Cure[]
Bruce Banner, Samuel Sterns, and Betty Ross prepared Banner to receive the cure for the Hulk while the Army watched. Emil Blonsky got tired of waiting and started to approach the building while Sterns administered the cure, unaware of whether it worked or if they simply suppressed a single flare-up. Sterns revealed that he grew more of Banner's blood and the two argued over whether it should be destroyed, when Banner was suddenly shot with a tranquilizer dart and taken away by Thaddeus Ross' soldiers. Blonsky then broke into the lab and held Sterns at gunpoint, demanding that Sterns give him the ability to turn into a monster like the Hulk. Sterns put Blonsky through the process, turning him into the monstrous Abomination.[1]
Duel of Harlem[]
Betty Ross scolded Thaddeus Ross for capturing them, when they saw that Abomination was rampaging in the streets of Harlem. Bruce Banner realized that the Hulk was the only one who could stop Abomination, so he jumped out of the helicopter and crashed into a building, triggering a transformation into the Hulk. Hulk and Abomination fought, and Abomination threw a taxi at the helicopter, causing it to crash onto the roof of a building. Thaddeus and Betty escaped the helicopter before it exploded, but were trapped on the building, so Hulk went and put out the fire. Abomination attacked on top of the building, but Hulk defeated him and left. Betty scolded Thaddeus before leaving her father.[1]
Aftermath[]
With the United States Armed Forces no longer after him, Hulk was able to focus his efforts on the Enclave and defeat them once and for all.
The NSA listened to Bruce Banner's audio diary and phone calls which occurred during the manhunt.[1]