All it took was the God of Thunder, a massive explosion, and a phony death for Bruce Banner to be given a second chance at happiness.
There are few if any people who grasp what it means to be alone better than the Hulk, despite the fact that he is not the only one who has a keen comprehension of the notion. Through the years, Bruce Banner ‘s monstrous alter ego has been feared, despised, shunned, banished, and even by himself. Sadly, it seems that the Hulk’s lone chance of ever finding serenity would always be out of grasp. Or, to be more precise, it did until Hulk’s most recent conflict with the Mighty Thor provided the ideal circumstance for the Immortal Hulk to finally perish and for Bruce Banner to finally live.
The God of Thunder unintentionally became a Hulk after getting into a deadly fight with the book’s title character (by Donny Cates, Daniel Warren Johnson, Martin Coccolo, Matt Wilson, and Cory Petit of VC). This made Thor the greatest danger on the battlefield, but it also provided the Hulk a chance to grab hold of the Mjolnir imbued with All-Father power. Bruce banner guided his living spacecraft to an explosive finish with Odin’s assistance, one in which the God of Thunder assumed his rightful form while everyone else—aside from Thor and the Hulk—was rendered incapacitated. This allowed the two warriors to fully comprehend one another and offered Banner the chance to cease running by pretending to be dead.
It is almost shocking that Thor would give Banner the option to flee from it all after everything they have experienced over the years and most recently. However, Thor is one of the few individuals who truly comprehend what it means to be a Hulk, or at the very least, what it means to be imprisoned inside of one.
Nearly all of the upheaval Bruce Banner has ever experienced can be directly attributed to his immense strength and complete inability to manage it. Thor may not have to physically battle his inner demons, but he is aware of the emotional struggle it involves. As a result, he has no trouble telling the other Avengers that the Hulk was destroyed during their battle.
This new chapter in Banner’s life is exhilarating not because he can now go on any rampages like the Hulk, but rather because he is no longer in danger of practically crushing people around him. Because The Hulk was usually so close to those who didn’t comprehend the necessity for distance, it was always concerning that he was exactly what his name says.
The Hulk has continually shown himself to be a positive force when left alone if not one that goes nearly entirely unnoticed. Banner can live his life without worrying that his existence will cause irreparable harm to others now that everyone in the world, save from Thor and Sif, believes the Hulk is dead.
Additionally, it offers the entire planet an opportunity to breathe easier than it has in years. The fear the Hulk caused in others was something he would never be able to overcome, regardless of how many villains he battled or how many lives he rescued. The Hulk is always terrifying as a concept, whether it’s out of worry that another rampage will start or that his more kind gestures would unintentionally end human lives. Many inhabitants of the Marvel Universe would see the idea of being without one as a pipe dream.
Of course, there are other factors to take into account while analyzing the implications of the Hulk’s fictitious demise. Wherever Banner goes next, it’s impossible to predict, but you can almost always count on it to be a place where the Hulk is still noticeable. Banner, though, might be seeking the kind of solitary isolation he has been denied for most of his life. Where the Hulk goes is less important if Banner is in charge as long as it’s somewhere he can enjoy peacefully being “dead,” though.
