Betty Ross

Elizabeth "Betty" Ross (later Betty Talbot and then Betty Banner) is a fictional character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She made her first appearance in Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) as a romantic interest of the Hulk (Dr. Bruce Banner) and is the daughter of General Thunderbolt Ross. Over the years, the character has undergone multiple transformations, including the antiheroine Red She-Hulk (or She-Rulk).

She was portrayed by Jennifer Connelly in the 2003 film Hulk and by Liv Tyler in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk.

Publication history

Betty Ross debuted in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. She was an on-and-off again supporting character in the Hulk's various series for decades, serving as his longest running love interest. In 1989, Betty Ross Banner received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #1.

Stan Lee originally portrayed Betty Ross as a strong willed and independent-minded, yet conventionally polite woman. Mid-1980s Incredible Hulk writer/artist John Byrne portrayed her as more wilful and confrontational, characterizations which would remain in place during Peter David's long run as the series's writer. Betty has a miscarriage in The Incredible Hulk vol.2, #360. Though this occurred during David's run on the series, the issue was instead written by editor Bob Harras. David recalled, "The reason I refused to do it was because Betty was really losing her child to editorial fiat. It was decided by the powers-that-be that Betty and Bruce were not to become parents because that would make the characters seem ‘too old’ to the younger readers. My run on the book almost ended with that issue; I nearly walked over it. But there were so many stories I still wanted to tell that ultimately I stayed with it, even though I fumed about it for quite a while."