Bruce Banner Finally Admits Why Hulk Hates Him Again (& It’s Unforgivable)

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Incredible Hulk #14! The relationship between Bruce Banner and the Hulk in Marvel Comics has never been worse than it is right now. While fans have had a pretty good idea as to why that is throughout the latest run of The Incredible Hulk, it wasn’t until the most recent issue that the real reason for the animosity between them came to light. That reason is a decidedly unexpected one, and utterly unforgivable.

In The Incredible Hulk #14 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein, Bruce Banner is hitchhiking to Las Vegas when he’s run down by a semi truck and instantly killed. His soul is then sent to a hellish world known as the Hulkscape, which seems to exist within Banner’s shared psyche with the Hulk, given that Hulk is like a god in this ‘realm’ while Banner is his prisoner. However, despite the nature of this hellscape, it is there where it’s revealed why the Hulk hates Banner so much.

As Banner is speaking with his own subconscious that’s taken the form of a skeletal Rick Jones, Bruce reveals the dark truth behind his broken relationship with Hulk, and it all has to do with one person: Betty Ross. Some time ago, Betty developed her own gamma alter-ego akin to Bruce and Hulk in the form of Harpy. However, unlike Banner, Betty accepted her ‘other’ and even came to love that version of herself. But Banner wouldn’t have it, and tried to cure Betty of her Harpy ‘curse’ without her consent – and Hulk didn’t like that one bit.

Hulk Vol. 5 by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley

Like Bruce, Hulk is madly in love with Betty Ross, which is why she was the only person who could calm the Hulk down for the majority of his Marvel Comics history. However, unlike Bruce, Hulk accepts Betty for who she is, including and especially when it comes to Harpy. Therefore, when Bruce tried to erase Harpy from existence without Betty’s consent, he presented himself as a direct threat to the Hulk’s true love, putting Bruce at the very top of Hulk’s ‘most hated’ list.

What’s interesting is that Hulk actually hates Bruce more for what he did to Betty than for what Bruce did to him. In Hulk Vol. 5, Banner trapped Hulk’s psyche in a swirling hellscape of pain and suffering, which was used to power Hulk’s physical form that was piloted by Banner’s psyche. Banner hijacked Hulk’s body and tormented his mind for his own gain, which is what many fans believed to be the reason behind Hulk’s utter hatred of Bruce during this latest comic run. However, after this issue, it’s confirmed that Betty is actually the cause.

The Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

While the Hulk has always been in love with Betty Ross, he also formed a physical relationship with Harpy during The Immortal Hulk. The two were intimate during that storyline, both in their gamma-mutated forms, which allowed Hulk to have an actual physical relationship with Betty for the first time. But more than that, Hulk had a relationship with Harpy, with that being the form of Betty that Hulk found the strongest connection with – and Bruce Banner was trying to kill her.

Everything about what Banner did to Betty is egregious, but what really makes it unforgivable in the Hulk’s eyes more than anything else is where that has led her. Right now, Betty (and Harpy) is working for the Eldest, the Hulk’s current main antagonist. This elder monster is using Betty for her own evil purposes, and Betty was driven right into her arms by Bruce. That’s why, after he finally admitted it, it’s clear to Marvel Comics fans why the Hulk hates Bruce Banner so much, and why he will never forgive him.

The Incredible Hulk #14 by Marvel Comics is available now.