- "Stop your bawling, you weak little speck of human trash!"
- ―David Banner[src]
David Banner was a genetics researcher and the father of Bruce Banner.
Biography[]
Hulk[]
David was a genetics researcher who, in his quest to improve on humanity, experiments on himself; after his wife, Edith Banner gives birth to Bruce, David, seeing that Bruce was not normal, barely showing emotion and gaining patches of green skin when he does, feels that he is responsible, realizing that his experiments on himself have affected Bruce. Trying to find a cure for Bruce's condition, David has his research shut down by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross; going into a rage over the loss of his work and the hopelessness of Bruce's situation, David accidentally destroys his laboratory and kills Edith during a fight, before being arrested and confined to a mental institution; blocking his memories of David killing Edith, which haunt his nightmares, Bruce is taken into foster care.
Some years later, David was released from mental hospital and gets a job as a janitor at the research institute Bruce works at, in the same field as his father. Confronting Bruce on the night after he was blasted with radiation and nanobots, David reveals his relationship to him (Bruce had previously thought his biological father was dead) and steals some of his mutated DNA. Experimenting with Bruce's DNA on animals, David also sees his son's first transformation into the Hulk, which he soon becomes obsessed with copying.
Releasing three dogs he had mutated to kill Betty Ross, who had confronted him over what has happened with Bruce, David calls Bruce and tells him of this. Defeating the mutant dogs and saving Betty, Bruce is tranquilized and taken to a military facility, which David follows him to. As Bruce is held captive, David subjects himself to the same devices that gave Bruce the power to change into Hulk, giving himself the power to absorb the properties of everything he touches. Finding Betty, David tells her that he will turn himself in if he was allowed to see Bruce one more time, also revealing to her that he had intended to murder Bruce (believing he would mutate out of control) when his research was originally shut down and that instead he ended up killing Edith when she tried to stop him.
Taken to Bruce, David was placed in a room with him, where they are placed between two electrical generators that will kill both of them if things got out of hand. Having descended into megalomania, David rants to Bruce about how the military has ruined their lives, also stating that Hulk is his true son and that Bruce is just a shell for him. Biting some electrical wires, David becomes a being of pure electricity, while Bruce, upon seeing this, becomes the Hulk.
Breaking out of the military facility and engaging each other, David and Hulk crash into a lake, where David, becoming a being of stone and water, tries to absorb all Hulk's energy, which Hulk allows. Unable to contain Hulk's energy, David swells into a gigantic energy bubble, which is blown apart by a Gamma Charge Bomb launched by general Thaddeus Ross; killing David.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Superhuman Physiology: Due to exposure to gamma radiation coupled with him genetically altering David's DNA years prior; he had gained the power to absorb several different types of matter.
- Matter Absorption: David could absorb and utilize several different types of matter; particularly those of the elements of nature.
- Organic Electricity Skin: By absorbing electricity; David possessed an indestructible electricity form.
- Electrogenesis: David could generate, create and project electricity from both his hands or his entire body.
- Electrokinesis: David could manipulate electricity.
- Organic Earth Skin: By absorbing earth substance; David possessed an indestructible earth substance form.
- Geogenesis: David could generate, create and project earth matter.
- Geokinesis: David could manipulate earth matter.
- Organic Water Skin: By absorbing water; David possessed an indestructible water form.
- Hydrogenesis: David could generate, create and project water.
- Aquakinesis: David could manipulate water.
- Organic Electricity Skin: By absorbing electricity; David possessed an indestructible electricity form.
- Matter Absorption: David could absorb and utilize several different types of matter; particularly those of the elements of nature.
Relationships[]
- Bruce Banner - Son turned enemy.
- Edith Banner - Wife and and accidental victim; deceased.
- Betty Ross - Enemy.
- Thaddeus Ross - Colleague turned enemy.
Appearances/Actors[]
- Earth-400083 (1 film)
- Hulk (First appearance) - Nick Nolte
Paul Kersey (young)
- Hulk (First appearance) - Nick Nolte
Behind the scenes[]
- Hulk's father character is present in every one of the many version of the movie script; in the first two he's called Brian as in the comics.
- Nick Nolte lost his voice while filming his showdown scene. They had to stop shooting so he could recover.
- Nick Nolte agreed to be in the film after Ang Lee said he wanted it be like a Greek tragedy.
- Nick Nolte had his hair grown wildly for this movie when he was arrested on drunk driving charges and photographed for his now infamous mug shot.
Trivia[]
- David's name is a homage to Bill Bixby's characters from the TV series; in the comics, Bruce's father is called Brian Banner. Though his middle name is also David.
- David's powers after Gamma radiation are almost the same as those of "Crusher Creel", known as "Absorbing Man", thus; David is considered to be the movie's version of Absorbing Man.
- After biting into the wires, he becomes a being similar to Zzzax.
- David was the main antagonist of the Hulk film.
Gallery[]
Hulk[]
