Brian David Banner

Brian David Banner is presented in Marvel Comics as the son of an abusive father who believed in a hereditary 'monster gene.' As an adult he worked on a nuclear-energy project at Los Alamos, where an alcohol-related machinery overload caused an explosion and cost him his job. He became an alcoholic, increasingly violent toward his wife Rebecca and son Bruce, and after murdering Rebecca by smashing her head against pavement in front of Bruce he was declared insane and confined to a mental institution for fifteen years. After release he confronted Bruce at Rebecca's grave and was later killed in that confrontation; his life, actions, and later spectral manifestations continue to influence Bruce and the Hulk across multiple storylines, and he is briefly resurrected during the 'Chaos War' event where he again attempts lethal violence before being stopped by the Hulk.

In flashbacks Brian is depicted as a disheveled, middle‑aged man whose alcoholism and violent behavior define his portrayal; comic art frequently presents him as gaunt, unsteady, and menacing in living scenes. After death he is shown in narratives as an apparition or spectral image that taunts Bruce/Hulk—visual specifics vary by story and artist but are consistently those of Brian's remembered likeness rather than an abstract monster form.

As a living man Brian possesses no supernatural powers in the source material; his documented capacities are physical violence, intimidation, and psychological manipulation (including coercing Bruce to perjure himself). Posthumously his function is primarily psychological and narrative: his ghost or image 'continues to haunt' the Hulk and is used by villains (Mentallo, Red Skull, Devil Hulk, Guilt Hulk, etc.) as a psychological weapon. During the Chaos War crossover he is temporarily resurrected and attempts to kill Rebecca, an act that is stopped by the Hulk.