Bruce Banner's ultimate plan to get rid of the Hulk may be his most brutal ever. Aware that, when he dies, the Hulk will survive and there will be no one else left to stop him, Bruce has implanted miniaturized nuclear devices in the Hulk's brain, hoping that the explosion will rid the world of the Jade Giant once and for all.
After traveling through space and different realities in the Multiverse, Hulk has finally arrived in a place he can call home: a planet where every living being has been mutated by gamma radiation into a Hulk, creating a peaceful and advanced civilization. The Queen of the planet, Monolith, welcomes Hulk as a god (because he is responsible for their mutation) but also finds out that there is something wrong in his body: someone has implanted miniaturized nuclear bombs in his head. Hulk #12, by Ryan Ottley, Donny Cates, and Marte Gracia, reveals that the bombs were put there by Banner himself, as his "last gift to the Hulk".
Banner Has Put Miniature Nuclear Bombs Into Hulk's Brain
In the current Marvel continuity, Bruce Banner thinks he has finally put the Hulk under control. The scientist has used a mix of science, meditation, and magic to turn his brain into a "control room" from where he pilots Hulk's body as if it were a spaceship. Meanwhile, Hulk's personality is trapped in the "engine room", where his unleashed rage fuels the entire body.
However, Banner is aware that this solution is not permanent, so he has prepared one last resort plan to hopefully kill the Hulk. While the Jade Giant is technically immortal, the explosion of the nuclear devices in his head will hopefully scatter his body into enough tiny pieces that it will be impossible for him to regenerate.
Banner's New Plan To Kill Hulk Proves He Is More Unstable Than Ever
Banner's plan seems even more reckless than usual. First of all, as he admits, there is no guarantee that this will kill Hulk. The Immortal Hulk series has established that the Hulk is functionally immortal, and he can survive even after Banner dies, which is exactly what scares the scientist. Banner hopes that the explosion will reduce the Hulk's body into tiny pieces and scatter them far enough that they won't be able to stick together again to regenerate. However, he is ignoring the effect that such a powerful explosion could have on anything and anyone near the Hulk at that moment, meaning that he is willing to sacrifice innocent lives for his goal. Also, what will happen to the bombs when Hulk will, one day, transform back into Bruce Banner?
Bruce Banner has been very unstable recently, even by his standards. The creation of "starship Hulk" has further fragmented Banner's psyche, making it even more fragile and vulnerable to attacks, as the emergence of Titan, Hulk's strongest and most evil persona, proves. This foolish and reckless plan to kill Hulk with miniature nuclear bombs simply proves that Bruce Banner must be at the lowest - and most dangerous - point in his tragic life.
Hulk #12 is available now from Marvel Comics.