Bruce Banner childhood and high school

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Leoparis
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Bruce Banner childhood and high school

Post by Leoparis »

In order to place the flashback in Immortal Hulk #19, I studied Banner's chronology.

Here are my notes for his childhood.

HULK/DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER
IH2 312 (1 - 3)-FB birth
IH '00-FB playing with cubes
IH2 312 (4 - 5)-FB baby
IH2 227 (6:1 - 6:3)-FB baby burning himself on radiator
IH2 312 (6 - 10)-FB 4-year old
IH3 13 (17:4 - 17:6)-FB left as a child one night
ORDER 6 (1:2)-FB "maybe nine", drunk father beats him.
M/GN 18 (1:3)-FB first Jen Walters meeting
[IH2 777-FB-FB]
IH2 377 (8:2 - 8:3)-FB child 5 yrs-old Rebecca packs
IHS 620 (3:1)-FB
IH2 377 (8:4 - 9:1)-FB
IHS 620 (3:2 - 3:3)-FB
IH2 377 (9:2)-FB
IHS 620 (3:4)-FB
IH2 377 (10:1)-FB
IHS 620 (3:5)-FB
IH2 377 (10:2 - 11:2)-FB child about 5 yrs-old, Rebecca dies (10 years before high school fb)
[IH2 777-FB] 5yrs old at police station after murder
IH2 403 (15:6 - 16)-FB Brian coaches Bruce for the trial
IH2 403 (18)-FB trial of Brian Banner
IH2 -1 (10:1)-FB-FB Brian Banner arrested.
A@ 13 (13:3)-FB with Jen Walters as kid

A slight problem with the sequence. The flashback in The Order 6 shows Brian beating Bruce when he was nine years old. Yet the flashbacks in Hulk 77-81 state that Bruce's mother's death occurred ten years before this high school flashback according to Bruce's aunt. With Bruce being such a bright student, it's doubtful he was in high school past 17 so his mother was killed at the latest when he was seven.
IH2 377 and IHS 620 tell the same event: Rebecca trying to leave with Bruce and being killed by Brian. Bruce doesn't look nine, more like six or seven.
The house of MGN 18 looks like his aunt's home, not his parents home. He looks old enough for this to take place after his father is institutionalized and it transitions well with the flashback in A@ 13 (which must be by design since John Byrne is the writer/artist for both issues).
Immortal Hulk 12 adds these childhood flashbacks:
pages 2-5 Brian, Rebecca, Bruce at age six (twelve is twice his age per narration)
pages 13-14 Rebecca tells Brian she's pregnant
(panels 15:1 - 15:2 birth = IH 312 (2 - 3) no new info)
(panel 15:3 Brian killing Rebecca = IH 377 (7) no new info)

In IH 403 the flashback extends to page 19 (panel 2) and is missing for Brian so this is my first proposed change:

HULK/DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER
BANNER, BRIAN
**IH2 403 (18 - 19)-FB (add 19)

Here are my notes for high school:

HULK/DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER
**IH2 312 (11 - 12)-FB looks older than next fb below
IH2 227 (7:2 - 7:6)-FB
IH3 77 (6:2 - 7)-FB
IH3 77 (9:1 - 9:3)-FB
**IH3 78 (10 - 11)-FB
**IH3 78 (15 - 16)-FB (add BTS)
**IH3 79 (4 - 6)-FB the flashback sequence goes from page 4 to 6
**IH3 79 (13 - 14)-FB
**IH3 80 (1 - 2)-FB remove page 3
IH3 80 (13 - 14)-FB
IH3 81 (1)-FB
IH3 81 (8 - 10)-FB
**IH3 81 (17)-BTS add line, Rebecca, Ross, Bruce-bts

IH 312 (11-12) and IH 227 (7:2 - 7:6) tell a very similar incident, very possibly the same incident remembered in two different ways. Both these issues' flashbacks include fantasy elements. We may assume that each personality (there are six according to Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk) has its own set of memories. The Banner flashbacks are full of alternate versions as I will demonstrate. Anyway Banner looks younger in 227 and I would place this first. This way, there is also a gradation in the gravity of events: strong chemical reaction, explosion, bomb in high school basement, which would explain the growing suspicion and hostility toward Banner from classmates and headmaster Guiness (whose last name is visible on his door).

IH3 77 - 81-FB is one continuing flashback 21 pages long covering several weeks in high school ending with Bruce building a bomb in the high school basement.
Banner is not actually on pages 11, 15-16 of Hulk 78. I guess he's sorta BTS or off panel.
If we include these to Banner's chronology (and we definitely should for the overall comprehension of this long extended flashback), we should also include IH3 79 (4-5) and IH3 81 (17) which are part of the continuing flashback. There is no flashback on page 3 of IH3 80.
Banner's aunt Mrs Drake in Hulk 312 is Rebecca's sister while in Hulk 78 she's Brian's sister. The 2nd version has more evidence. Maybe Susan Drake didn't want to be associated with her brother Brian and fibbed in H 312.
Brian sends a letter in IH3 79 and this issue is missing in his chrono.

How do we make sure the readers or chronologists read all relevant pages whether Bruce appears on the page or not?

The simplest solution might be to get rid of the ranges even when the pages are spread in the issue since all the pages are in sequence.
IH3 77-FB
IH3 78-FB
IH3 79-FB
IH3 80-FB
IH3 81-FB

or indicate the extremities of the range:
IH3 77 (6-9)-FB
IH3 78 (10-16)-FB
IH3 79 (4-14)-FB
IH3 80 (1-14)-FB
IH3 81 (1-17)-FB
(This one is not the best.)

Or all the pages in a single line:
IH3 77 (6-7 & 9)-FB
IH3 78 (10-11 & 15-16)-FB
IH3 79 (4-6 & 13-14)-FB
IH3 80 (1-2 & 13-14)-FB
IH3 81 (1 & 8-10 & 17)-FB

Corrections and additions
The asterisks show all the lines affected by changes:

SHE-HULK/JENNIFER WALTERS
no change needed as M/GN 18-FB is already just before A@ 13 (13:3)-FB

HULK/DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER
*IMMH 12 (13 - 14)-FB-BTS add here
IH2 312 (1 - 3)-FB
...
IH2 312 (6 - 10)-FB
*IMMH 12 (2 - 5)-FB add here
IH3 13 (17:4 - 17:6)-FB
*ORDER 6 (1:2)-FB remove from here
*M/GN 18 (1:3)-FB remove from here
*IH2 777-FB-FB (or H5 10-FB-FB) add here
IH2 377 (8:2 - 8:3)-FB
...
IH2 377 (10:2 - 11:2)-FB
*IH2 777-FB (or H5 10-FB) add here
IH2 403 (15:6 - 16)-FB
*IH2 403 (18 - 19)-FB modify (add 19)
*ORDER 6 (1:2)-FB move to here
IH2 -1 (10:1)-FB-FB
*M/GN 18 (1:3)-FB move to here
A@ 13 (13:3)-FB
...
**IH2 312 (11 - 12)-FB move from here
IH2 227 (7:2 - 7:6)-FB
**IH2 312 (11 - 12)-FB move to here
IH3 77-FB simplify
IH3 78-FB simplify
IH3 79-FB simplify
IH3 80-FB simplify
IH3 81-FB simplify

BANNER, BRIAN
*IMMH 12 (13 -14)-FB add here
IH2 312 (1 - 3)-FB
IH '00-FB
H2 312 (4 - 5)-FB
*IMMH 38-FB add here
*IMMH 49-FB add here
IH2 312 (6 - 10)-FB
*IMMH 12 (2 - 5)-FB add here
IH3 13-FB
*ORDER 6-FB move from here
IH2 377 (8:4 - 9:1)-FB
IHS 620 (3:2 - 3:3)-FB
IH2 377 (9:2)-FB
IHS 620 (3:4)-FB
IH2 377 (10:1)-FB
IHS 620 (3:5)-FB
IH2 377 (10:2 - 11:2)-FB
*IH2 777-FB (or H5 10-FB) add here
*IH2 403-FB add here
*ORDER 6-FB move to here
IH2 -1-FB-FB
*IH2 79-FB-BTS insert here
IH2 -1 (7 - 17)-FB

BANNER, REBECCA
*IMMH 12 (13 -14)-FB add here
IH2 312 (1 - 3)-FB
IH '00-FB
IH2 312 (4 - 5)-FB
*IMMH 38-FB add here
*IMMH 49-FB add here
IH2 312 (6 - 10)-FB
*IMMH 12 (2 - 5)-FB add here
IH3 13-FB-BTS
*IH2 777-FB-FB (or H5 10-FB-FB) add here

ROSS, GEN. THADDEUS E. "THUNDERBOLT"
IH2 291 (9 - 10:3)-FB
*IH3 81 (17)-FB simplify to IH3 81-FB or IH3 81 (1 & 8-10 & 17)-FB
CONSPIRACY 1 (11)-FB

BANNER, SUSAN DRAKE ✔
IH2 312-FB
IH3 78-FB
*IH3 79-FB add
IH3 80-FB
IH3 81-FB

GUINESS, PRINCIPAL (add entry)
IH2 312-FB
IH3 78-FB
IH3 81-FB
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