Incredible Hulk

"How do I know I won't keep changing?" an anguished Dr. Bruce Banner asked himself in one issue of the Incredible Hulk comics. "Into that brutal, bestial mockery of a human - that creature which fears nothing - which soon despises reason and worships power! Soon, the sun will set again~ And here I sit helplessly, fearing I may again become the Hulk!"

Poor Dr. Banner's anguish began when he Spider-Man movie performing bomb tests. Seeing teenager Rick Jones driving towards the test site, Banner rushed to stop him and in the process was affected by gamma rays. While Rick Jones was unaffected, Banner began to transform into the Hulk.

Originally, Banner's transformations were triggered by the rise and fall of the sun. Later, his transformation would be triggered by emotions, most notably anger.

Sometimes grey, sometimes green, the Hulk debuted in 1962, but soon faced cancellation. The character did not enjoy a successful solo run until the 1970s. During his solo series, Banner gave his cousin, Jennifer Walters, a transfusion, leading her to become the She-Hulk. This in turn added even 1930's baseball cards guilt to the Hulk's already burdened conscience.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a major arc was introduced that explored the possibility that Dr. Banner had been mentally ill before getting hit with the gamma rays. In an effort to explain his Hulk persona (the one who offered such fun phrases as "Puny humans! Hulk smash!") writers introduced the theory that Banner had been abused as a child. As a result, Banner had suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder, his mind's way to try to deal with the abuse. The gamma rays merely magnified those problems. During this time, Banner underwent hypnosis as a way to combine the Hulk parts of his personality with the calmer Banner part. The result was a Hulk that was more cunning, powerful, and intelligent than before.

In the 2006 story, "Planet Hulk," the Illuminati, a group of covert superhero leaders, decided that the Hulk was a potential risk to Earth that needed to be eliminated. Thus, they sent him into space to live basketball cards a planet uninhabited by other sentient life. The ship malfunctioned, however, and landed on the planet Sakaar.

Sakaar was a violent planet, which seemed to fit Hulk's personality. After being captured, Hulk became a leader of the rebels and eventually rose to emperor status. But his happiness was short lived, as his rocket exploded, killing his Dark Shadows books lover, Caiera and destroying the planet.

A vengeful Hulk returned to Earth, determined to make the Illuminati pay for what they had done. Tragically, however, Hulk found out that it was one of his own allies that destroyed his ship and he was taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Essential storylines:

~ Planet Hulk
~ World War Hulk
~ Illuminati
~ Future Imperfect
~ Crossroads of Eternity

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