Warning! Spoilers ahead for Thor #25
Marvel Comics is teasing a huge twist about Bruce Banner's new Hulk and Thor's Banner of War event is also unveiling the truth behind Banner's bizarre new form as the Starship Hulk which has put Bruce more in control over the Hulk following a devastating event in Texas. However, a new development suggests that Hulk's new status is even darker than fans have thus far been led to believe.
Rather than being revealed in Banner's own Hulk series by writer Donny Cates, this major secret is being hinted at in Thor #25. As Thor confirmed in the previous Hulk vs Thor: Banner of War Alpha #1, it's widely believed that Hulk went on a killing spree and killed 17 people in El Paso, Texas. While the Avengers wanted to bring him in to face justice, Banner underwent a major restructuring of his entire psyche before escaping into a pocket dimension, upgrading Hulk's body with technology and turning him into a starship where Bruce is in charge, captaining the Hulk's rage in his own mental manifestation of a ship's bridge.
While the spirit of Thor's father Odin enters Bruce's mind in this new issue to get answers, they're even more bizarre than the Starship Hulk. Although Banner and Hulk had been resolved to work together to save the world, the events of El Paso changed everything. Rather than Banner turning into the Hulk, something changed within Banner where he was infecting those near him with gamma radiation, giving them Hulk-like rage of their own. To make matters worse, Bruce was the one who killed the 17 in El Paso instead of the Hulk, becoming helpless as something new and far darker took over his body. While this is what apparently motivated Banner to build the new Starship Hulk form to keep this mysterious darkness under control, Thor #25 ends with yet another large twist: some part of Banner thinks he's in a simulation, not knowing that he's actually experiencing reality. The issue is written by Donny Cates with art by Martin Cóccolo, as the Banner of War event's next chapter.
While this could either be referencing Hulk or this new dark force within Banner, neither is good as it relates to the arrival of Tony Stark in a Celestial-sized and equally powerful Iron Man armor. Considering the high-tech helmet Hulk has been wearing, it could be part of an ongoing facade where part of him has been led to think he's in a virtual environment. As such, he might not hold back against Iron Man (or Thor for that matter), something that has never been the Hulk's strong suit to begin with. It should also be noted that the means by which Banner restructured his psyche involved powerful magic, an uncommon practice for a scientist like Banner which has mystified both Doctor Strange and now Odin himself.
The fact that the exact nature of the Hulk's new form will be fleshed out more in his own series beyond this surprising new issue of Marvel's Thor.
Thor #25 is available now from Marvel Comics.
