Marvel officially confirms that it is permanently replacing Bruce Banner as the Hulk

Bruce Banner can no longer transform into Hulkwhich means the Marvel Universe has to find another character to replace him. Across the Marvel multiverse, Bruce Banner is caught up in an obsessive crusade to get rid of the Hulk once and for all. From his very first transformations on Earth-616, Banner has attempted to either kill or contain the Green Goliath, dedicating his scientific brilliance to building elaborate neural dampeners and synthesizing chemical suppressants that could keep the Hulk at bay, with inconsistent results. He has also isolated himself and begged his fellow Avengers to build prisons that can hold the Hulk, only for these attempts to backfire.

The futility of Bruce Banner’s attempt is explained by Marvel’s Hulk mythos, which states that the Hulk is a fundamental cosmic constant that Banner may be able to escape. IN Hulk: The Endan elderly Banner wanders a desolate post-apocalyptic earth, desperately wishing for death, only for the Hulk to forcefully heal him indefinitely. The Immortal Hulk revealed the existence of the green door. Whenever Banner or any other gamma mutant dies, their soul is pulled through this threshold and their body returns to life. Literally and figuratively, the Hulk is impossible to separate from Bruce Banner’s mind and body.

What’s even worse for Bruce Banner, he often needs to transform back into the Hulk, just when he thinks he’s already left behind his monstrous alter ego.

Infernal Hulk #8; Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson; Art by Adam Gorham & Matthew Wilson

Bruce Banner reveals that he cannot access the Hulk in The Infernal Hulk #8

Eldest has achieved the impossible, removing the Hulk from Bruce Banner to create the Infernal Hulk, an all-new gamma monster powered by demonic energy. This is an unexpected blessing for Banner, who finally enjoys a peaceful life as an ordinary human. However, Banner cannot escape the negative consequences of Hulk’s departure. With the Infernal Hulk threatens to take over the worldthe Avengers almost ask Banner to regain control of his gamma alter ego, to which he replies that it is now impossible as the Elder has permanently severed his link to the monster.

Currently, it is impossible for Bruce Banner to transform into the Hulk, but there are several alternatives. Since “the best way to take down a Hulk is always another Hulk,” The Avengers receive help from Skaar, and Betty Ross appears to return to her Red She-Hulk, Harpy, or Red Harpy form just in time to fight the Eldest and the Infernal Hulk. On a dark note, these efforts may all be for naught, which Infernal Hulk is set to defeat several A-list Marvel heroes and turn them into an entire army of demonic creatures.

Bruce Banner’s story has a tragic ending no matter what he does

Infernal Hulk screams as bullet holes send smoke out of his body

Bruce Banner gives up his dream of a peaceful life away from the Hulk now that the Infernal Hulk promises to plunge the world into total darkness. Accessing the Soul Cage with the help of Brother Voodoo may be the first step to righting his wrongs, but both helping and not helping lead to pain for Banner. Doing nothing spells doom for Earth, and helping means he’ll have to deal with the Hulk’s anguish all over again. Since Elder used the Fractured Son to create the Infernal HulkBanner may end up awakening another facet of his Hulk’s personalities.

12 Strongest Hulk Rivals in Marvel Lore, Ranked by Power Level

Bruce Banner’s Hulk is famously the strongest around – and a title like that attracts many rivals for the crown, including some Avengers.

As Bruce tries to isolate himself from humanity in order to protect the world, his efforts are invariably sabotaged by outside forces, as seen in Planet Hulkwhere his peaceful exile on the planet Sakaar is brutally ended by a warp core explosion that obliterates his new kingdom and kills his wife, sending the Hulk back on a path of vengeance. When Banner tries to outwit his condition, he only postpones the tragedy, as when he successfully integrates his consciousness into the Doc Green persona, only for Doc Green to become arrogant and strip all other gamma mutates of their powers.

What do you think of the original? Hulk can return?

Infernal Hulk #8 is now available from Marvel Comics

Incredible Hulk Last Call Comic Art by Dave Keown

First appearance: The Incredible Hulk (1962)
Alias: Robert Bruce Banner
Alliance: Avengers, Defenders, Horsemen of Apocalypse, Fantastic Four, Pantheon, Warbound, SMASH, Secret Avengers
Franchise: Marvel