6 Times Bruce Banner Armored Up (Before Infinity War)
If you pay close attention to the trailer, it’s not hard to see why there is a vocal contingent that are sure Banner will pilot the very suit that was created to stop his berserker rampages. Near the beginning of the trailer, there’s a shot of Bruce standing next to the arm of the Hulkbuster armor while in Wakanda, and then later we see the Hulkbuster leap onto the battle field in a very “Hulk” way (also in Wakanda). Then, when you consider that Tony doesn’t appear in any of the Wakanda footage, Hulk in the Hulkbuster seems more and more likely.
To salute the fun possibility that it is Banner in the Stark Industries suit, we’ve gathered our favorite times in the comics and cartoons that Bruce Banner/Hulk has stunk up some armor. While there is only one instance where he piloted the actual Hulkbuster, there are a number of powerful suits the Green Goliath (and his alternate reality counterparts) have worn over the years.
Hulk Pulls a Trojan Horse
In Avengers Assemble #6 (2012), writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley tell a story where Thanos has come to Earth and stolen a Cosmic Cube. The galactic tyrant is well aware that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will be hot on his trail, so he makes a deal with the Brotherhood of the Badoon to halt them before they can reach him. He promises the reptilian species a position of power in the galaxy when he reshapes reality.
When a massive Badoon battleship tracks down The Avengers’ Quinjet, they find the heroes have teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Stark tells everyone else to stand down, while Iron Man and Thor breach the ship alone. As you might expect when Thor is involved, the duo aren’t exactly stealthy, and the Badoon are all over them immediately. The Guardians disobey Tony’s order and join the fray, at which point the plan seems to go awry. The Avengers twosome is overpowered and the Badoon are moving in for the kill — but then the real plan is revealed. It’s actually Banner wearing the Iron Man armor and, after stating, “Always wanted to do this,” the Hulk explodes out of red and gold suit in a truly awesome comic book moment!
Maestro + Destroyer = Maestroyer?
When Marvel rehashed many of its most acclaimed storylines and crossovers for the Secret Wars event in 2015, quite a few fans were wary of how they would turn out. However, the return of Maestro in 2015’s Secret Wars (and then his own miniseries Future Imperfect) was glorious. This was not the same future version of the Hulk we met in the 1990s, but he was very close in demeanor and appearance.
This Maestro ruled a Dystopia on Battleworld, with the naked ambition to overthrow God Emperor Doom and take control of the patchwork planet. To accomplish this, he traveled to Nordheim to obtain the Asgardian Destroyer armor. While he managed to find the ultra-powerful suit, he ended up trapped in an a Nordheim enchantment. This whole plot is a nice nod to The Incredible Hulk #461 (1998), where the original Maestro’s soul was placed into the Destroyer armor.
Maestro Takes Up the Weapons of the Fallen
The same Maestro from the last entry was freed by Doom when his help was required to squelch an uprising. However, this revolt ended in the destruction of Battleworld, and seemingly Maestro. But hey, this is comics, so he was saved, plucked from space by the Elders of the Universe.
The Collector recruited Maestro to take part in a new Contest of Champions, which happened to also be the name of the miniseries this took place in. The future Hulk bested every hero and villain thrown at him, and subsequently armed himself with the weapons of his fallen foes. He was equipped with the shield of Herr Kapitän (a Nazi version of Captain America), a Soulsword, an Accuser’s Universal Weapon, and the Iron Hulk armor. It turns out that in one of Marvel’s various realities, Tony Stark was caught in the gamma explosion rather than Bruce Banner and he became the Hulk. He then built himself an armor that could house the bulk of the Jade Giant. Simply awesome!
Hulk Works For S.H.I.E.L.D.
When Marvel relaunched the Hulk title yet again in 2013 as Indestructible Hulk, writer Mark Waid and artist Leinil Yu gave us a story in which Bruce Banner accepted that he couldn’t cure himself. Instead, he decided to work on managing his Mr. Hyde side, as well as doing more for the world as a scientist. He offered the use of the Hulk to S.H.I.E.L.D. in trade for a “state-of-the-art lab facility, a suitable support staff, and a sizeable budget.” S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill accepted the deal after Banner proved Hulk’s effectiveness against a priority target.
Banner adapted a S.H.I.E.L.D. issue biosuit to make the armor he wears in this series. His modifications include making the suit modular so that it expands with his transformation. He also cross-referenced Tony Stark’s Iron Man schematics when customizing the armor. Hulk wore this get-up less for defense against enemy combatants, and more for extreme conditions like severe cold or high pressure.
Nul, the Breaker of Worlds
The 2011 crossover event Fear Itself introduced the Asgardian God of Fear, Cul Borson. He was resurrected by the Red Skull and upon his return, he called down eight enchanted hammers from the heavens. These transformative weapons picked heroes and villains Cul deemed The Worthy, which basically meant they were bruisers capable of mass destruction. This group included Sin, Juggernaut, Attuma, Absorbing Man, Grey Gargoyle, The Thing, Titania, and… The Hulk.
Bruce Banner was on vacation in Brazil with Betty Ross when one of Cul’s war hammers touched down. As soon as he gripped the handle he became Nul, The Breaker of Worlds. Much like Mjolnir can transform an ordinary mortal into the God of Thunder, the Hammer of Nul gave the Hulk Asgardian armor and god-like power. While Betty had changed into the Red She-Hulk, she was still vastly overpowered and had to flea Nul’s wrath.
Banner & Doctor Strange Battle Nightmare
In the 2016 animated film Marvel’s Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, Doctor Strange summons the Hulk to help him stop a wave of monsters on Halloween. While effective at first, the Jade Giant reverts back to Bruce Banner mid-fight and is left unconscious for no apparent reason. Turns out the rampaging monsters and the Hulk’s sudden switch back are both part of a plot by Strange’s nemesis Nightmare to enter the waking world.
The sadistic villain is using the fear from nightmares to power a device that will open a portal and the Hulk is the key. So, in his night terror, Banner fights to regain control of the Hulk.
At one point, he shows up in Tony Stark’s Hulkbuster armor and administers a rapid-punch beatdown very similar to what occurs in the Avengers: Age of Ultron blockbuster. Just to clarify, this played out in a nightmare, not the real world. Regardless, it does set a precedent for Banner donning the armor designed to stop him.
Strange and Hulk teaming up is par for the course seeing as they make up two thirds of the original Defenders, but what was a fun addition to this storyline was the introduction of the Paranormal Containment Unit. Name doesn’t sound familiar? Well, they get renamed the Howling Commandos part way through the film!
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