>Bruce Banner's Dark Childhood Was Built Up Over Time >Over the years, gamma radiation has resulted in a number of interesting transformations in both heroes and villains, but none were affected quite like Bruce Banner/Hulk. When he was first exposed to the gamma bomb, his transformation into the powerful Hulk was unlocked. It was usually triggered by heightened emotion, though at times it was also triggered by the moon's rise and fall.>So the question then became: why was a rage-fueled powerhouse unleashed from a brilliant but largely emotionless scientist? This was a lingering question pondered by many writers, though Bill Mantlo was one of the first to really start to explore the childhood abuse and trauma that influenced the creation of the Hulk years later.>During the iconic Crossroads era, Bruce Banner started to reflect and remember more of his childhood, specifically the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Brian Banner. In Incredible Hulk #312 by Mantlo and Mike Mignola, a group of beings known as the Triad, who had guided a mindless Hulk through the alternate dimension, dived deep into his mind.>The Triad (eventually revealed to be avatars created by Bruce Banner's psyche) uncovered a few tragic moments from Bruce's past that highlighted the abuse he suffered from a scared, hateful alcoholic father, along with his mother, Rebecca. A traumatic Christmas morning where his father revealed his true feelings for him, and the eventual murder of his mother at Brian's hands stood out.>This issue even revealed the last time that Bruce Banner saw his father after his release from prison. A vicious argument at his mother's gravesite would later end with his father walking off into the night, never to be seen again. However, that wasn't quite how it ended for everyone involved in that confrontation.
>For one month in 1997, most of Marvel's line underwent the Flashback event, which released a "minus one" issue largely set in the past. These issues were either fun little asides from the current storylines or incredibly impactful reveals that completely changed everything. Peter David and Adam Kubert decided to hit hard during the Flashback event to reveal a truth Banner hid even from himself.>The Incredible Hulk's #-1 issue starts off on a lighter note, with Stan "The Man" Lee himself making an appearance in one of the Jade Giant's dreams. He's there with a traveling theater troupe, all of whom are fully prepared to perform a piece designed with one goal: to uncover a repressed memory that changes much of what Bruce Banner remembers about his own past.>Bruce's arguments with his father after his release from prison were further revealed in the issue, which was set shortly before his ill-fated test of the gamma bomb. Brian's hatred of his son, fueled by his own fears that radiation exposure created a mutant monster, reached a new murderous level that culminated in their confrontation at Rebecca's grave.>Brian attempted to kill his son, kicking him hard to the ground. Bruce, who had spent years repressing his rage and emotions after he watched his father kill his mother as a child, lashed out in anger, fear, and vengeance. He kicked back hard at his father, who was thrown back into Rebecca Banner's gravestone.>Hulk would see much better fights, but it was nonetheless impactful. Brian Banner slumped to the ground, lifeless, his blood smearing the gravestone while Bruce Banner screamed, cried, and laughed into the night. The traumatized Bruce would then repress this memory, altering it so he could move on without the knowledge that he had killed his father, accidentally or not.
>However, this fracture in his mind would have greater consequences when the Hulk soon came around, contributing to the various shades and personalities who would later appear, such as Joe Fixit. And while the death of Brian Banner was a tragic and important moment in both Bruce Banner and Hulk's life, it unfortunately wasn't the end of his influence over his son.>Bruce Accidentally Killed His Father And Fractured His Mind >Many storylines, like Peter David and Dale Keown's Incredible Hulk #377, would dive even further into these key moments of Bruce Banner's life, even though the reveal of his involvement in his father's death wouldn't come for years. However, Brian Banner became his own dark personality in Bruce Banner's mind here, and this would continue to grow and evolve over the years.>Events like the resurrective Chaos War would introduce Brian Banner's connection to the Devil Hulk, one of Bruce Banner's darkest alter egos. However, this would be recontextualized once again in the now-iconic Immortal Hulk storyline, another must-read for Hulk fans that dives deeper into the horror of Marvel's monster than ever before.>The abuse that led Bruce Banner to repress his anger, rage, and even memories started as a child, leaving a lasting impact on the man who would become Hulk. However, it was the accidental murder of his father and subsequent fracturing of Bruce Banner's mind that would play such a heavy role in Hulk's various developments over the years, setting up one of his greatest stories ever.
I would say what bruce did was pure self defence it's clear his father was going to kill him so he killed him before he could kill him. end of story expect for the fact that he repressed the memory of what he done and well we know the rest.
