Here is how Spider-Man and the Hulk made the same heartbreaking mistake.
There is simply an unfathomable amount of heroic acts that Marvel’s Avengers have committed, with respect to effectively all of their different iterations. While live-action and animated adaptations often end up giving a sense of originality to these stories, the fact that there exists around 30,000 different comics arcs means that the source material will always be several steps ahead.
Whatever movie and series fans see, the comic readers have already lived through, in a number of ways and with respect to effectively every character ever created. This also includes a range of not-so-mundane storylines that have also been a part of the narrative in the past.
For example, while each of the Avengers tends to be on the good side most of the time, they also end up making a number of mistakes, which may or may not lead to the death of innocents.
However, two characters in past comic book arcs have mistakenly hurt those who they care for the most. This includes Hulk, and Spider-Man, perhaps the only two superheroes who ended up killing their wives/partners in the most, well, heartbreaking way possible.
Hulk and Spider-Man have both killed their partners while making love to them, in the comics
On one hand, we have the Hulk, Bruce Banner’s alter-ego. While Banner is one of the smartest people in the universe, it will be fair to say that Hulk has its fair share of kinks, especially with respect to his anger issues. While the character has saved the day for his team uncountable times in the comics, he has also ruined things for himself in the past.
In The Incredible Hulk #466, which was published way back in 1998, we see Bruce Banner’s character rush to take his wife, Betty Banner (Ross) to Doc Samson (Marvel). This happens after Betty falls mysteriously sick, and then collapses in her partner’s arms. However, Samson reveals to Banner that his wife is sick due to radiation poisoning, which is due to the Hulk’s radioactive seminal fluids entering her body.
Banner eventually transforms back and does everything in his power to save Betty. However, he fails, and ends up losing his partner. A similar storyline was followed with respect to the Spider-Man Reign, a four-part comic arc which was released in 2006 (Marvel). Peter Parker underwent the same fate that Hulk did, and saw the death of Mary Jane due to the same reason.
However, while Betty Banner was eventually resurrected as the She-Hulk, it was only our friendly neighborhood superhero who permanently lost the love of his life.
There are several reasons why Marvel will always steer clear of such storylines
While there are plenty of utterly bizarre and heartbreaking storylines that have been released in the last few decades, the MCU itself will do well to steer clear of these narratives. From Captain Marvel giving birth to her own boyfriend, to Iron Man’s armor falling in love with the superhero, to Thanos destroying half the universe in order to woo Lady Death, to Lady Death following in love with Deadpool, to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s inc*stuous relationship.
The drawback with live-action and TV series iterations is the fact that they tend to remain in fans’ minds for much longer. The freedom to release a variety of storylines and comic arcs also means that the writers have in the past let ‘things go’ multiple times.
However, with the live-action iterations in themselves taking years to set up, doing it for such ‘unique’ narratives is simply a no-go, except perhaps with respect to Marvel’s What If…? Hence, while these arcs can never become a part of the mainstream narrative, they can certainly be given some life via an experimental TV series, on the lines of A.C. Bradley’s What if…? series.
What If…? Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available on Disney+, with a Season 3 said to be in the works.
