In its latest comic, Marvel has killed off one of its biggest long-running characters.
The original Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner, is no more. The character, a mild-mannered scientist who would turn into the “green goliath” when angry, has been a regular feature of Marvel's comics since he was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962.
In a new series, Civil War II, Banner is shot with an arrow by fellow superhero Hawkeye, after the psychic Ulysses predicts that the Hulk will go on a murderous rampage. Lending added pathos to his death, the arrow is one Banner made himself; he had told Hawkeye only to use it in the event of a disaster.
When confronted by his superhero friends, Banner is nervous: “Oh, my God,” he says. “What – what did I do?”
“That’s the thing, Bruce,” he is told. “You haven’t done anything… Yet.”
Writer Brian Michael Bendis has defended the decision to kill off the popular character. “Fans may be outraged, and there are probably Hawkeye writers who I'm very good friends with who will also be offended," he told the New York Daily News. "But the point is that everything that happens in this issue is in character when you discover the hows and whys and wheres… We'll let people argue about it."
Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso added: “It will take a long, long time for our heroes to come to terms with his loss, and the circumstance surrounding his death will leave a huge scar on the superhero community.”
Civil War II also features a younger version of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and reveals a new incarnation of superheroine the Wasp – the first time this character has been “rebooted” in over 50 years.
Fans can take some solace in the suggestion that Banner’s death may be reversible – Bendis has said he has “plans” for Banner’s body, hinting that the character might be revived at a later date.
In the meantime, however, there is a new Hulk around to fill his shoes. Last December, a minor recurring character – Korean-American scientist Amadeus Cho – became the title character in a new Marvel series, Totally Awesome Hulk. Cho, “the seventh-smartest person in the world”, was previously a sidekick to another Marvel superhero, Hercules. While Banner would turn into the Hulk involuntarily whenever he became angry, Cho can transform at will using a device in his left arm.
Bruce Banner’s death is the latest in a series of recent dramatic changes. Earlier this month, Marvel introduced a new, female Iron Man called Riri Williams, a black teenager studying at MIT. In May, it was revealed that the original Captain America was actually an evil secret agent – leading to the writer, Nick Spencer, receiving death threats from angry fans. Last year, Thor’s title was passed on to breast cancer survivor Jane Foster, who took over as the new Norse god of thunder.
As Marvel’s various comic book series exist in a different universe to that of their films, Banner’s death in Civil War II has no repercussions for the film character, played by Mark Ruffalo, who will return next year in Thor: Ragnarok.
text was copied from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/marvel-has-killed-off-one-of-its-biggest-characters/