As a small child, Brian and his two sisters, Elaine and Susan and their Mother were physically and mentally abused by their violent alcoholic father. Brian regarded his father as a monster and believed that he had inherited a "monster gene" from him, and so promised himself that he would never have any children, for fear of bringing another Banner into the world.[2]
As an adult, Brian married a woman named Rebecca, earned his PhD in physics and found a job in Los Alamos, New Mexico working for the United States government on a project developing a clean way to create nuclear energy. The stress of his job eventually lead Brian to become an alcoholic himself, and he frequently lashed out at those around him. While drunk at work one day, Brian accidentally overloaded some machinery, causing an explosion that cost him his job. Despite his vow never to have children, Brian impregnated Rebecca, who gave birth to their only child, Robert Bruce Banner. Brian believed Bruce had inherited both the "monster gene" and genetic defects due to the accident in Los Alamos, so he ignored him completely and attempted to keep Rebecca away from him. He frequently left Bruce in the care of the neglectful Nurse Meachum. When Bruce woke up one Christmas morning and opened a present from his mother, a complex model, he assembled it easily despite his young age. This convinced Brian that his assumptions about Bruce were correct. As a result, he beat Bruce, and after she came to her son's aid, Rebecca as well.[3] After enduring years of heavy abuse from Brian, Rebecca attempted to escape from him with Bruce. Brian discovered his wife and son packing the car just before their escape, and he smashed Rebecca's head against the pavement, killing her in front of their young son.[4] Brian managed to stop Bruce from testifying against him at his trial for Rebecca's murder, saying that if he did so, he would go to Hell. Terrified, Bruce perjured himself, testifying that his father never abused him or Rebecca, and that his mother tried to run away for no reason.[5] Brian escaped conviction due to lack of evidence, but soon afterwards is arrested again when he drunkenly boasted about beating the law by bullying his son. Brian is imprisoned and later placed in a mental institution.[2] Bruce, meanwhile, is left in the care of his Aunt Susan, now known as Mrs. Drake.
After 15 years of confinement, Brian, who is believed fit for reintroduction into society, is released into a reluctant Bruce's care. Living with Bruce caused Brian's delusions to begin again and, on the anniversary of Rebecca's death, Brian and Bruce engaged in a verbal and later physical fight at Rebecca's grave on a stormy night. During the fight, Bruce accidentally killed Brian by knocking him headfirst into Rebecca's headstone.[2] The police department, sympathetic toward Bruce and having had enough of Brian’s violent behavior, ignores the evidence of Bruce having killed his father.[6] Thus, Bruce repressed the memories of Brian's stay with him and his subsequent death, making himself believe that, as the two of them fought at Rebecca's grave, Brian had simply beat him and left, later being killed by muggers.[3]
Brian's ghost would continue to haunt Bruce's alter-ego the Hulk after his death, often appearing to taunt him, stating that Bruce was no better than he himself; villains such as Mentallo, the Red Skull, Devil Hulk, and Guilt Hulk would also use the image of Brian Banner against the Hulk in an attempt to weaken him. One prominent storyline saw the Red Skull use mind-manipulating technology to make the Hulk see the Juggernaut as his father and use the Hulk to attack other heroes, but this plan failed when the Juggernaut praised the Hulk's efforts, something that the true Brian had never done.[7]
When Bruce Banner and the Hulk were fused back together after the events of Heroes Return, Bruce found himself in Hell, where he met several former adversaries, including his father, Brian. Bruce was terrorized by Brian, Leader, and Maestro. He eventually stood up to his father, attacking and strangling him before being returned to Earth by an image of his wife, Betty Ross.[8] Having faced his father, Bruce's haunting by him ceases.
When Bruce began to suffer from ALS, Mister Fantastic collected DNA from Brian Banner's corpse to cure him. Bruce subsequently visited his father's grave and laments his confusion over his feelings for his father, noting the fact that he now owed his life to the man despite his old issues with him.[9]
In Avengers: The Initiative, the hero Trauma, who has the power to change into an opponent's worst fear, took on Brian Banner's appearance to use against the Hulk during World War Hulk.
Recently, Bruce has implied that killing his father was not actually an accident, noting during a confrontation with Daken and Wolverine that he has managed to avoid causing any innocent deaths when he is rampaging as the Hulk—save for those occasions when he is under the control or influence of something else—and suggesting that it is unlikely that he would make such a 'mistake' in his more limited human form.[10] In an indirect manner, Brian's memory also resulted in Bruce stopping his fight with his son Skaar after the Hulk was restored following the final battle with the Intelligencia, Bruce recognized that he couldn't continue the fight with Skaar- regardless of how much either side might 'deserve' to die- without becoming his father all over again.[11]
During the "Chaos War" storyline, Brian Banner is temporarily resurrected after Death flees her realm, and transforms into a Guilt Hulk/Devil Hulk hybrid.[12] However, the Hulk overcomes his fear of Brian and defeats him after being encouraged by Jarella.[13]
Brian Banner has genius-level intellect. When Brian Banner was resurrected during the Chaos War storyline, he gained the ability to turn into a hybrid replica of the Guilt Hulk and the Devil Hulk. While in this state, Brian possessed power and strength relative to how powerful Bruce perceived him as being. As a ghost, Brian can possess gamma-powered beings.[20]
Other versions
An alternate universe variant of Brian Banner from Earth-58163 appears in House of M.[21]
An alternate universe variant of Brian Banner from Earth-8816 appears in Devil's Reign: Superior Four #1.[22]
Brian Banner, renamed David Banner, appears in Hulk, portrayed primarily by Nick Nolte and by Paul Kersey in flashbacks.[23] This version is a geneticist who experimented on and mutated his DNA, which his son Bruce inherited. While attempting to find a cure for Bruce's condition thirty years prior to the film, General Thunderbolt Ross halted David's research. Angered by this, the latter destroys his laboratory to prevent the military from using his data and tries to murder Bruce, believing he will mutate out of control. However, David accidentally kills his wife Edith when she tries to stop him before he is remanded to a mental institution while Bruce is taken into foster care. In the present, David is released and learns of Bruce's transformation into the Hulk. Seeing the Hulk as his "true son", David attempts to replicate his powers, giving himself the ability to absorb matter, and eventually fights the Hulk in combat, only to be killed.[24]
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