Marvel: I am Iron Man

Sometimes people forget who they are until a nightmare reminds them.

This is a very important lesson Bruce Banner learned during his time on the run.

He was once a holder of seven doctoral degrees, dissecting the logic of the world with formulas, a figure of immense prestige and widespread admiration. Until that damned accident shoved a demon, a raging, green beast, into his body.

They are like conjoined twins, prisoners linked back to back.

Because of this, Banner had to abandon his life so far, full of bright prospects, and hide in a foreign, dirty slum to avoid the military's search, breathing the almost solid, murky air created by the lives of millions of people living together.

Banner works in a factory during the day to earn the bare minimum he needs to live in the slums. He leaves work early at night and has no social life or extra activities.

Occasionally, he would sit on the rooftop, staring blankly at this unfamiliar transitional landscape. The slums at night sometimes seemed alive, like a darkness crawling on the earth, breathing. And Banner was like a speck of dust lurking in the darkness, afraid of being touched by any ray of light.

Loneliness has weight. It doesn't penetrate you instantly like gamma rays, but rather, like this sweltering, humid air, it seeps into every crevice, slowly settling in your lungs, your blood, and your bones.

Sometimes Banner would feed a lame stray dog ​​he found on the street. It wasn't because he was an animal lover; it was simply because when he looked at the dog, he felt like he was seeing himself.

Because that dog was just as injured, just as wary, and just as hungry as he was.

It's as if they share a tacit understanding that the world has abandoned them.

In truth, Banner had long since lost sight of the meaning of this life. If he could, he would have ended it all long ago, putting an end to it all, and taking the demon within him with him on his journey.

Unfortunately, even the ultimate power called "death," which God equally bestows upon all things, seems to have been taken away from him.

Because Banner had tried. He shot himself in the head, trying to end it all. But clearly, the green behemoth inside him disagreed.

That shot triggered a transformation, and he once again turned into that green monster and spat out the bullet.

When Banner woke up, he was devastated to find that he was still alive and that his gunshot wound had disappeared.

So he was forced to continue living, to continue guarding the monster inside him like a jailer, and to continue searching for the meaning of life as he wandered around the world like a walking corpse.

This may also be part of the reason why Banner, after much hesitation, agreed to the offer when the woman who claimed to be from S.H.I.E.L.D.—"Black Widow" Natasha Romanoff—extended an olive branch to him.

On one hand, the intelligence he received suggested that the situation was indeed extremely critical. A gamma energy shield was expanding rapidly, and the consequences would be unimaginable once it engulfed the world.

Banner's innate sense of morality wouldn't allow him to stand idly by.

On the other hand, it was also for his own sake.

Because it has been so long, I have been living like a walking corpse, not knowing why I live, not seeing any goals, and not seeing any tomorrow.

At least for now, he feels needed again, something he hasn't felt in a long time.

At least for now, his seven doctoral degrees, which he was once so proud of, have found a purpose again.

Banner accepted the invitation and boarded the plane with Natasha.

The timeline has shifted. Compared to the original film, Dr. Bruce Banner first boarded the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier before the timeline of The Avengers movie.

"Welcome, we've been waiting for you, Dr. Banner." Director Fury's expression was serious, but his tone was still polite, at least not like he was treating a wanted criminal.

He also noticed that Dr. Banner had pulled up his trousers at least twice since landing: "Don't your trousers fit?"

Banner pulled up his trousers again and said helplessly, "They might look a bit big now, but my condition... you know, it's not very stable."

As we all know, Hulk's underwear is a legendary item that rivals Captain America's vibranium shield. However, Dr. Banner puts a lot of effort into choosing his underwear to avoid any inappropriate scenes when Hulk goes berserk.

Judging from Chris Hemsworth's reaction when he saw Hulk emerging from the bath in "Thor: Ragnarok," it's easy to imagine that the scene must have been truly terrifying.

"I think you can rest assured about that, Dr. Banner," Fury said. "What we need is Bruce Banner's wisdom and knowledge. We will do our best to create a comfortable working environment for you."

He paused, then emphasized, "None of us want anyone to jump out and make things ugly."

"Yes, Agent Romanov said the same thing to me on his way here." Banner glanced at Black Widow standing to the side, shrugged helplessly, and said, "But I think I should make this clear in advance. My physical and mental condition has become... uh... more complicated."

Fury: "How so?"

Banner carefully chose his words: "Let's put it this way. My situation with Big Guy... has been evolving. Before, every time I transformed, I would usually revert to normal after a night, or at most a day. But now, things are different."

He wore a serious expression, even one of fear.

"I can feel that the other me, his consciousness is becoming clearer and stronger. Sometimes in my dreams I can even feel him turning over next to me..."

Fury frowned. "What are you trying to say, Dr. Banner?"

"What I'm trying to say is, if it comes out again and I become the Hulk again... I'm not sure I can turn back," Banner said. "Maybe next time I transform, maybe the time after that... but maybe from some point onward, 'Bruce Banner' might die forever, leaving only... the Hulk."

This is all due to the impact of the battle that took place in New York not long ago, which happened after the movie "The Incredible Hulk".

Banner is trying every possible way to eliminate the Hulk within him. Not long ago, he almost succeeded in suppressing the Hulk within him in New York with the help of a colleague's research.

However, a gamma monster called "Abomination" then rampages through the streets of New York. Banner, unable to bear seeing Abomination wreak havoc and harm innocent people in the city, resolutely jumps out of a helicopter and uses his own death threat to forcibly awaken the Hulk, who has been suppressed by drugs.

Hulk then successfully defeated Abomination. However, as a price, Banner not only failed to eliminate Hulk, but also made Hulk's previously confused and muddled consciousness clearer and stronger than before.

Before this, Banner didn't even realize that "Hulk" was an independent personality; he just thought it was his own mind going berserk after being mutated by gamma radiation.

But now he increasingly feels that he is not just a physical mutation. The beast inside him also has a personality and thoughts, and sometimes he even seems to hear the thoughts of that other personality.

So the more this happened, the more terrified he became.

Fear of no longer being myself, fear of disappearing completely, of no longer being the master of this body.

Fury and Natasha exchanged a glance. Although their expressions remained unchanged, a hint of surprise could be seen in each other's eyes.

S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't just starting to pay attention to the Hulk, and they were certainly aware of Banner's situation.

Rather than saying Banner went berserk and became a monster, it's more accurate to say that Banner was constantly suppressing that monster for everyone. What if one day Banner's existence truly dies out completely, leaving only the invincible, incredibly strong, seemingly never-getting-hurt, insane Hulk...

That would be another disaster.

"I understand, Dr. Banner. We'll do our best to prevent that from happening. But now..." Fury stepped back, revealing the monitor behind him, "we have work to do."