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Hulk (2014)

Hulk, Vol. 1: Banner D.O.A.

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It's an all-new direction for the Hulk! Following the shocking events of the Indestructible Hulk finalé, Bruce Banner lies at death's door, shot in the head by an unknown assailant. If he survives, it won't be as the Bruce Banner we've known! Only the Hulk can save Banner...if he even wants to! How will the Hulk wreak vengeance on Banner's attacker? How can he? As a new threat enters the scene, Banner goes to a dark place, and he could drag the Avengers right along with him! To stop the Hulk from destroying the Avengers, a dangerous plan is put into play. What forbidden knowledge will Tony Stark use in an attempt to cure Bruce Banner's brain damage? And even if the cure works, what will it cost? Experience a whole new twist in Hulk history!

Collecting: Hulk 1-5

104 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2014

6 people are currently reading
96 people want to read

About the author

Mark Waid

3,235 books1,313 followers
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.

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5 stars
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112 (29%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Jeff .
912 reviews824 followers
August 27, 2015
The Incredible Hulk has been around a long time and he’s gone through many writers, some of whom have toyed with the Hulk persona - Gray Hulk, Green Hulk, Dumb (with various shades of dumbness) Hulk, Smart Hulk, Crafty Hulk. These are the basic highpoints. There were others, briefly. To wit:

Top Ten Versions of the Hulk

1. Camp Counselor Hulk – Hello Muddah! Hello Faddah! Hulk smash Camp Granada!



2. Big Top Clown Hulk – Three ring circus of mayhem!



3. Geologist Hulk – I’ve got your soil sample right here, pal!



4. Ballerina Hulk – He’s got the moves, but the trouble was finding him a tutu in his size."



5. Hulk the Gardener – Like another half-wit, Chance, he likes to garden and he already has a green thumb.



6. Prom King Hulk – He sat on the corsage.



7. Long Live Murica Hulk – Hulk smash puny commies!



8. Chef Hulk – How many ways can you cook a can of baked beans, big guy?



9. Motivational speaker Hulk – Sadly, this one only lasted one issue. Hulk smash puny, Dale Carnegie!



10. Dog whisperer Hulk – Hulk love puppies!



Before someone Anne says, “You ass, this isn’t a review”, here:

Mark Waid’s done some interesting things during his run (one of the better writers for this character), but here he’s running on fumes. Going against the basic tenets of the Hulk (healing factor, invulnerability, et. al.), Waid does a reverse “Flowers for Algernon” and reduces Bruce Banner to a simpleton.

It’s not horrible, but I don’t know how much more Waid has left in the tank for this character.
Profile Image for Anne.
4,831 reviews71.5k followers
June 12, 2015
3.5 stars

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
If you're picky about that sort of thing...

Someone shot Bruce Banner juuuuust right, lodging bullets in the perfect position to keep him from transforming into the Hulk.

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Then they kidnapped him, and posed as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in order to get the World's Best Brain Surgeon to come in and keep him alive while they harvested DNA & other goodies off of his comatose body.

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The surgeon knew Bruce back in his college days, so we get to see some flashbacks. I was unaware of this, but, apparently, there's a pecking order among smart people, and Bruce was too nerdy to hang with the regular nerds.
He had to eat his PB&J at a lunch table all by himself.

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So there he is lying on a table, brain exposed to the air, when {spoilers removed} happened, allowing him to escape!
First order of business?
Fight a bear!

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Ok, no. That didn't happen. But it would have been really cool!
What really happened?
So, when Bruce transforms into Hulk he rapidly heals, right? Well, this time around he's rapidly healing wrong. His brain is all janked up from the bullets & surgery, and all of the synapses are fusing with the wrong fuckifIknow stuff in his noggin.
Long story short...he's got brain damage.

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By now, S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to keep Bruce safe from whoever did this to him. But the folks who were poking around in his head managed to get enough DNA to clone a lump of goo, put it in a jello mold, name it Abomination, and send it after Hulk.

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However, if Bruce transforms into the Hulk to save his friends, it will cement the brain damage...permanently!
Not really. Tony can fix that shit.

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The ending leaves it open for a new kind of Hulk, thanks to Mr. Stark's favorite cocktail.
I'm unsure how well this will work in the future, but for now I'm interested in seeing how it all plays out.

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Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,839 reviews13.5k followers
March 20, 2015
Like Mark Waid’s other Marvel series, Daredevil, Hulk gets a reboot as adjective-less Hulk for no particular reason. At least in Daredevil it was because Matt moved to the West Coast. Here? No clue, I didn’t read Indestructible Hulk Volume 4 so not sure what happened there. They told him his armour was crap so he took it off and Marvel said “new #1 time!”? From what I can tell anyway, that’s the only change from that series and this.

So someone’s shot Bruce Banner in the head for some reason. Bruce might no longer be the brainy opposite of Hulk as his injury has reduced him to a simpleton, much like Hulk minus the strength! And here comes Abomination for the umpteenth time! Hulk (yawn) smash…

Considering he walks in the same circles as geniuses like Tony Stark and Reed Richards, reversing brain damage shouldn’t sound as impossible as it does in the real world - and, in the Marvel Universe, it isn’t! Tension: gone! But as Maria Hill tells him, if Banner keeps turning into the Hulk while he, Banner, is still recovering from his head injury, he won’t heal properly, like broken bones not set correctly. He can’t Hulk out and fight Abomination - he could get permanent brain damage and wind up a vegetable! Wasn’t this a plot from one of the Rocky movies?

The subtitle - Banner DOA - is just stupid because at no point is Banner dead, and the question posed on the cover - Who Shot Bruce Banner? - is barely explored. We are left unsatisfied as the motives for the shadowy organisation behind the shooting are never revealed, nor are they recognisable as characters when we do see them.

And why would they want to create an Abomination anyway? It seemed like they wanted to harvest Banner’s DNA to create their own Hulks/Abominations, but they already had that - so why were they still chasing Banner? Because they wanted to see yet another fight between Hulk and an Abomination? Like Tony Stark and Extremis, Abomination gets used way too much in Hulk stories.

There’s little substance to this volume as it seems to be a lame excuse for another lengthy Hulk/Abomination battle with some Avengers tossed in and little else. The whole Banner-as-simpleton storyline is presented and wrapped up in a couple of issues. The measly four-issue length underlines the disposable nature of the book (most Marvel trade paperbacks are five or six issues long). Waid’s Hulk, reboot or otherwise, remains unimpressive and increasingly tired and stale - no wonder he left the title after this!
Profile Image for Subham.
3,080 reviews104 followers
March 16, 2022
This was a fun read!

It starts with Hulk being shot and SHIELD trying to fix him as he has become dumb and they go to a town in Colorado and we see SHIELD trying to fix this mess but what they do is make it worse and the we see the effects of it, Banner vs Abomination and the Avengers coming in and the deep action they take to save their friend but what happens next with Iron man and Hulk changes everything. Its a death and a rebirth and leads to one of the greatest stories ever! Its awesome and yeah its short but the sequence of event sis great and pays off the stories that started in the previous volumes really well plus that scene with Maria and Matt was fun too. The art by Bagley not the greatest here but was still fun to read through.
Profile Image for Terence.
1,172 reviews393 followers
November 4, 2015
Bruce Banner was shot in the head. Two shots went into his brain and it appears he will never be the same again.

I know this may sound nitpicky, but how on earth could someone actually shoot Bruce Banner. The explanation was very neat, but I remember the line where Banner tried to kill himself and the other guy spat the bullet out. It just feels overly convenient that this could happen.

Bruce has significant brain damage.
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It even effects The Hulk.
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I am interested to see what this will mean for Bruce and The Hulk in the upcoming volumes.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
February 15, 2015
After the interesting cliffhanger at the end of the last volume of Waid's Hulk, I had high hopes for this new volume, and there are some innovative new ideas at play. However, by the end of the volume they've all outstayed their welcome and we're back to some semblance of the status quo, which is disappointing. However, considering the last time a volume of Hulk opened with someone getting shot, we were subjected to Loeb's Hulk, this is definitely a step up. With Banner basically out of action, Iron Man, Maria Hill, and some other supporting characters have to hold their own to keep the ball rolling, and for the most part they manage it. Mark Bagley's artwork is great as always, but I do feel that he's a bit wasted on Hulk books; his art lends itself to more dynamic heroes like Spider-Man or Captain America, whereas his Hulk always looks a little out of place.
Profile Image for Anna Kay.
1,462 reviews160 followers
April 19, 2015
Way to short for anything to actually happen and what did was mostly unsatisfying, or one-dimensional (both the majority of the time, actually). Anyone know of any GOOD Hulk comics for me to read?
Profile Image for Kyle Berk.
643 reviews12 followers
Read
April 22, 2021
Very fast paced story with lots of questions to be asked and then answered. Lots of fun, Waid on writing, Bagely on pencils.

What if Bruce Banner had to undergo brain surgery?
Profile Image for Jeff Powers.
806 reviews6 followers
June 8, 2015
The Hulk series has taken an odd turn in the Marvel universe. And unlike many other popular titles right now, still keeps its story pretty dark and serious. The general premise is nothing too new, to be honest. We have seen it before, a hundred different versions of the Hulk/Banner persona. We are left with a super-intelligent version of the Hulk, who comes off vaguely similar as the current Superior Iron Man. Driven, but incredibly selfish. While not a terrible series, I did manage to be entertained enough through the two volumes, I am interested to see where Marvel takes this classic monster/hero, into the next iteration of the Marvel universe. And while I love a smart Hulk, rocking a sexy mohawk and beard, my hopes are for something a little more fun next time around.
Profile Image for Alex E.
1,774 reviews13 followers
July 31, 2020
Bruce Banner is left for dead after two gunshots to the back of the head. Shield is able to keep him alive, but at what cost?

Waid's final tale about the Hulk is a good mix of Banner and Hulk personalities. Well, in Banner's case, lack of personality. His treatment for the gunshot has left him in a state such that his iq has dropped significantly. Shield places him in a small idyllic town to keep him calm and work through this new mindset. However, the villains who shot Banner find out where he is, create a clone of the Abomination, and send him after the Hulk. This leads to more brain damage as their battle is quite brutal. The avengers arrive to help and specifically Tony Stark takes Bruce to try and repair his mind using extremis. The results leave us with the question of how well did the cure work, as it appears it not only brought Bruce's intellect back, but magnified it significantly.

I thought Waid found a good place to stop his story, leaving it very much open ended for the next writer to come in and play with the ultra smart Bruce Banner. This of course leads to the question what does this mean for the Hulk as well?

Overall, it was a good run for Waid with the Jade giant. I wouldn't say it is one of the great Hulk runs, but had some fun story lines that allowed Bruce Banner to be more of the star at times. Definitely check out this volume if you enjoyed Waid's run so far.
Profile Image for Ian.
1,434 reviews6 followers
March 7, 2026
Book 1.
Bruce Banner has been shot twice in the head and a neurosurgeon's attempt to save his life leaves him with brain damage that is only exacerbated by him turning into the Hulk. However, who else will be able to stop a simulacrum of the Abomination grown from Banner's own cells?

Much of the Hulk's history has involved him and others trying to save him from his transformations but here we're given the interesting twist that it is Banner's frail human physiology that is endangered, risking the loss of his mind as a genius scientist. Often the threat has been Banner losing himself to the Hulk's personality, so this is a different take on the risks of their dual personalities.

Whilst it's nice to see a credible threat like Abomination (but not the real Abomination, sadly) turn up, along with the inclusion of the Avengers, there's not much here to write home about. Sadly none of the mysteries about who shot Banner or who was manipulating his recovery are resolved, so the book feels a bit of non-event overall. Not bad, just not gripping either.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
22 reviews
June 23, 2017
Very different story from Mark Waid!!

I never saw a story like this one!! Lots of character moments with a very altered Banner. Forget everything you knew about the Hulk! This saga pulls out all the stops!
If you like complex stories don't miss this one!
Profile Image for Wilde Sky.
Author 16 books40 followers
November 17, 2018
A super hero is shot.

I found this book very disappointing, after about twenty pages I was lost.
Profile Image for Renata.
2,981 reviews447 followers
October 19, 2015
mmm I feel like the depiction of brain damaged Bruce is a little... problematic... but I don't feel qualified to go into it. just a little simplistic for such a complex issue! and very tidily resolved! although the murder mystery was not. Perhaps Hulk, Vol. 2: Omega Hulk.

but, as ever, I'm 500% here for Bruce and Tony being stone-cold bros.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,615 reviews294 followers
October 29, 2016
Well that was just silly. There are a few nifty ideas but the script just can't make any of them really credible. This is quintessential comic book schlock.
Profile Image for Krzysztof Grabowski.
1,886 reviews8 followers
March 22, 2021
2.5/5

Seria Indestructible Hulk spod pióra Waida miała swoje momenty na tyle dobre, iż zapamiętam kilka rzeczy, jak np. wizytę Hulka w Jotunhaimie. Na pewno też w pamięć zapada finałowa sekwencja serii, kiedy ktoś strzela Bannerowi w tył głowy, wywołując takie a nie inne skutki. Hulk się nie pojawia, Banner pada na podłoże? Powstało kilka pytań? Kto? W jaki sposób? Po co?

Pierwszy tom nowej serii pt. Hulk, nie daje nam jasnych odpowiedzi. Widzimy złych, ale nie wiemy kim tak do końca są. Wiemy, iż całe zamieszanie było im potrzebne, aby pobrać od Bannera materiał genetyczny i stworzyć kolejną wersję Abominacji. Dowiadujemy się też w jaki sposób w ogóle można tak zranić osobę, która zamienia się w zielonego olbrzyma. Teraz czas na konsekwencje.

A te są zadziwiająco opłakane. Jeden strzał zrobił z Bannera jednostkę upodobnioną do ludzi opóźnionych w rozwoju. Łatwo wpada w gniew, gdy dostaje od przybranych dziadków pudełko z jedzeniem i nie jest go w stanie sam otworzyć. Zupełnie jak dziecko. Jednocześnie każdy tu wiem, co się stanie gdy mężczyzna straci nad sobą panowanie... Fajna scena, kiedy część agentów szybko reaguje, aby oddalić od Bannera kilku nietolerancyjnych typów.

Spektakl z Abominacją nie podobał mi się wcale. Fajnie, że w jego trakcie włączają się Avengers. Fajnie było zobaczyć Hulka z jakimś przedmiotem w ręce. Reszta totalnie banalna i wyświechtana. Nie czułem w ogóle wagi podjętych tutaj decyzji, zwłaszcza, że wszystko zmierzało do jednego rozwiązania (i prosiłem w myślach, aby tego nie zrobiono...)
Końcówka była niezła, zwłaszcza gdy sprawę w swoje ręce wziął Tony Stark. Czuć, że Avengers "dbają" o swoich. Po Bagley'u spodziewałem się naprawdę więcej niż dostałem, aczkolwiek całość jest poprawna. Taki jest cały, nowy Hulk. Poprawny, choć ma kilka fajnych pomysłów i de facto ocena jest nieco zawyżona. Aczkolwiek sam koncept mi się bardzo podobał.
Profile Image for Mr. Stick.
490 reviews
May 16, 2025
"DON'T HESITATE, DOCTOR. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. THE MAN BEFORE YOU IS SUFFERING FROM A SEVERE CRANIAL TRAUMA, AND YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE THE ONLY THING KEEPING HIM ALIVE. HE'S ALSO A DOCTOR. HIS NAME IS ROBERT BRUCE BANNER."
- The mysterious man in the shadows to the brain surgeon he just abducted to save Hulk.

In the previous volume, somebody put two bullets in the back of Bruce Banner's head. While Bruce has pissed off his employer, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill, more often than a door-to-door salesman, she didn't do it.
Anyway, he's still alive but severely brain-damaged. What'll happen if he Hulk's out again? Will he just be a giant green vegetable? A lot of what-if's.
Mark Waid keeps his run going with one of my favorite artists, Mark Bagley.
Could be better. Could be worse. Three stars.
Profile Image for Vishualee.
248 reviews
April 1, 2018
It's terrible when tragedy strikes smart people.

Who shot Bruce Banner in the head?

This is a recurring question in this volume. The people who did this are too powerful, intelligent even. They possess technology that are powered by materials from the negative zone. They are capable of animating another hulk by means of Banner's blood. With such great power, comes great irresponsibility. Though we see these people and learn their motives, there is no background or a name to them. They simply operate as fake S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

Maria Hill, The Avengers, Daredevil and an old aquaintance from Banner's past make appearance in this explosive story.

The artwork has good details, and brings character expressions to life.
Profile Image for Sean.
4,327 reviews25 followers
December 10, 2021
I love the idea of what happens to Banner and the mystery of who shot him, however both are dealt with in strange ways. The mystery is just alluded to and there is next to no movement there. As for Banner, his new condition could have been a strong plot point for some time but it seems to have been mostly resolved in four issues. While I understand his new status quo could definitely change that, I still see it as a missed opportunity. I loved Mark Bagley's art, as always. Overall, a decent new start with some missed chances.
Profile Image for Villain E.
4,109 reviews20 followers
March 11, 2019
So we needed a new Hulk #1, why? This is the same writer as Indestructible Hulk and follows directly on that story. Why would we not keep going?

At the end of Indestructible Hulk, Bruce Banner was shot in the back of the head. Not enough to kill him, but enough to do brain damage. The Hulk can heal, but if everything isn't in the right place it doesn't heal well.

So I guess it's not Indestructible Hulk because he's destructible?
Profile Image for Brent.
2,279 reviews196 followers
September 15, 2019
Just OK: this was my turkey for Friday 13. I'm less than satisfied because it seems obvious that Waid has to pick up the pieces from his run and set them back in order for the next talent. Bagley turns in his usual fine storytelling, but little can rescue this, even interesting character twists and turns. There is more magic than science to Banner, his brain, and the bullet... and not only can I not remember who shot him, it ceases to matter or interest us in this sequence.
One to grow on...
Profile Image for Angela.
2,597 reviews72 followers
June 15, 2018
Banner has been shot in the head by a shadowy organisation who want his genetic information. Can he survive? Can he get better? This is a decent storyline which shows how well thought of Banner is in the Marvel universe. I particularly liked the Avengers reactions. A good read.
Profile Image for Terry Collins.
Author 190 books28 followers
December 30, 2018
Some fascinating ideas lost to an endless slugfest ... Waid always writes a solid story, but the tragedy of a brain damaged Bruce Banner getting worse with each transformation is lost in the rush to get to the next superhero battle.
534 reviews2 followers
November 30, 2017
It was alright. It works better as a decent prologue than a great story on its own.
Profile Image for Sean.
46 reviews
December 24, 2019
Enjoyed the pencils and inks, but the colors could've complimented them more. As Waid typically does, he created a compelling story and I'm interested to read where it goes.
Profile Image for Annie.
151 reviews8 followers
February 10, 2020
I loved this, i'm a massive fan of the Hulk and cannot wait to see where this goes, i need to know who the bad guys are and if they are who i think they might be.
Profile Image for César Ojeda.
340 reviews8 followers
July 30, 2021
Waid hace un excelente trabajo con Banner y su introducción como Doctor Green. Un arco necesario si se quiere entender la aparición de un Hulk lúcido en la serie de Avengers de Hickman.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews