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Betty Ross (later Betty Talbot and then Betty Banner) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe.
Character history
Betty has been a love interest, co-worker and later wife of Bruce Banner, the human identity of the Hulk. She is the daughter of General Thunderbolt Ross, a longtime foe of the Hulk. She was once married to Colonel Glenn Talbot, a military man who served under her father. At one point she was briefly mutated into the Harpy by MODOK (Incredible Hulk #168-169) and battled the Hulk, but Banner was able to reverse this with the aid of Red Raven's technology, after which she continued being romantically involved with Banner. She was poisoned by the Abomination and believed killed, and Bruce Banner and the Hulk worked together to find the murderer, eventually leading them to the Abomination.
However, after a period in which Bruce was mentally tortured by Nightmare - which included her apparent resurrection, having been given plastic surgery and a new identity by a mysterious conspiracy fronted by the Leader - Betty Ross appeared to wash up on an island. The exact cause and events behind that are unknown, including whether the events involving her resurrection were genuine or not.
Ultimate Betty Ross
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Betty is the daugter of General "Thunderbolt" Ross. She was the roommate of fellow "army brat" Janet van Dyne during her college years when Jan started seeing Hank Pym at NYU. She earned a degree in communications at Berkeley and started dating the Super-Soldier Program's head scientist, Bruce Banner. Her relationship with Bruce soured after Bruce's failed attempts at cracking the super soldier problem turned him into the Hulk. After the Hulk was captured by her father, she ended her relationship with Bruce and temporarily moved to SOHO.
When the Ultimates were assembled, she became their Director of Communications/Public Relations Officer. During this time, Bruce attempted to rekindle their relationship but was spurned and belittled by Betty who boasted of having dinner with Freddie Prinze, Jr. This caused Banner to take some of the recently rediscovered Captain America's blood, combined it with his Hulk formula, and inject it into himself resulting in his transformation into the grey-skinned Hulk and went after Betty stating that she was the only person that he had left. Bruce was eventually brought down by the Ultimates, but not before killing more than 800 civilians. Ironically, seeing Bruce's desperate devotion to her and being perversely attracted to his savage Hulk persona, she took a new romantic interest in Bruce.
When her good friend, Janet was almost killed by her husband Hank during a domestic violence dispute, she revealed that she knew of the Hank and Jan's past personal problems but decided to keep silent about it. She described how sometimes Jan would appear to have chunks of her hair pulled out and that Hank had once slammed her head through a door.
When it was leaked to the public that Bruce Banner was in fact the Hulk, she was devastated knowing that no jury would acquit him of his crime and it was a certain death sentence. However she coldly went along with the government's plan to execute Bruce, but she broke down during the trial. She declared her love for Bruce, offering to have sex with him while she still had the chance and asked him for forgiveness. Unfortunately, Bruce granted neither wish because the dialogue was being live world-broadcasting.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered that Bruce was still alive, Nick Fury asked Wolverine to find and kill the Hulk. Betty didn't approve of this but it was beyond her control. She has recently shown interest in Nick Fury but they both, along with almost all the Ultimates, were captured during the Liberators attack on America.
Other media
The original animated series depicted Betty as a civilian hanger on with no apparent function in the Gamma Bomb as in the comics, other than the fact that she was General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross's daughter and only child. However, later adaptations have Betty as a professional scientific colleague to Banner who devotes much of her time trying to address and treat her love's bizarre medical condition.
In the 2003 Hulk film, Betty Ross is played by Jennifer Connelly, and is Bruce's ex-girlfriend and scientific colleague. She is the second person to learn about the Hulk, when Banner saves her from his father's gamma-enhanced dogs, and is the only person capable of calming the Hulk down. At the conclusion of the film, when Banner has been declared dead, she is contacted by her father, asking if she has heard from Banner, but she coldly informs him that, even if Bruce was alive, she hopes he wouldn't contact her (Her phone lines are all being tapped; she does appear to still care for Bruce).
Links
Hulk supporting characters | Fictional Americans in Marvel Comics | Fictional Californians | Fictional feminists
"Betty Ross Banner"