10 Controversial Comic Book Deaths Fans Hated

7. Bruce Banner - Civil War II

Bruce Banner Death Civil War 2
Marvel Comics

The original Civil War storyline may have been a deeply flawed comic book, but at least it had a purpose. Mark Millar conceived of the event as a critique of post-9/11 US politics, and though it managed to pack all the elegance of a tomahawk missile hitting a cave, you can at least see why it was made. Sure, it effectively amounted to little more than a couple of actions being mashed against each other for the course of six issues, but still, there was a reason for it to exist.

So, when Marvel announced plans for a follow-up - creatively dubbed 'Civil War II' - you can perhaps understand why people weren't particular enthused by the idea. This time, the premise would revolve around a Minority Report-esque figure who could predict crimes before they can happen. One group, led by Carol Danvers, believes that it's ethical to arrest the culprit before they've committed the act; Tony Stark, on the other hand, deems it to be a massive violation of civil liberties.

It all comes to ahead when the figure, Ulysses, predicts that the Hulk will go on a rampage. When the Avengers go to confront Bruce Banner, an arrow flies out of nowhere, hitting the doctor in the head and killing him instantly. This turns out to be Hawkeye, who reveals that Bruce had requested Clint kill him should he ever lose control, which he was seemingly about to do.

Obviously, with Bruce being one of Marvel's most popular characters his return was inevitable. And now the Hulk is pretty much immortal anyway. Good for Bruce.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.