Millarworld on The Ultimates 2 #3

But, really, the thread involves a lot more butt-kissing than anything else. But here are a few on topic comments...

"As for how Banner survived, my guess is that it was due to Loki or just miscalculation. Either Hank Pym made the same mistake the Banner did when tranquilizing Captain America back in #3 (which would be neat symmetry) or Loki quickly purged the drug from Banner's system at the last second. Banner made the call at the end because he assumed that it was something that Hank Pym did intentionally. It'll be interesting whether or not Hank takes credit for it later. In any case, I'm assuming that we've seen the last of the Hulk for a good long while, unless the Hulk factors directly into Loki's plans."

"I think it was fairly obvious that Hank was responsible for Banner waking and changing in time and that's why Banner thanked him. Otherwise, Millar would not have given Fury the line "and HANK made sure that he stays asleep."

"Hank Pym is the one who leaked the Hulk data to the press, etc. He was being kicked out of the program, his career was essentially ending and all of his work would be hidden away in an agency that would never credit him for any of it. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would let something like that fly, hinted at even more in this issue by his keeping of the Ultron documents. He still had access/clearance to the data at the time it was leaked, and knew at that time that he was going to be kicked out soon.

So, the comments in the helicopter about Hank taking care of Banner could mean several things.

1. He didn't tranq him enough, being friends and wanting to save him. "Outing" the hulk allowed him to then save Banner from death and a life spent locked in a cage.

But his surprise on the phone at it being Banner really gets to me. This makes me think two things, the first (point 2) being less likely but still just as possible...

2. It wasn't Banner at the end calling Pym. It was whomever he was working with to "out" Banner. It was someone he had made a deal with, someone bad, and he thought it was over but whomever it was calling just wanted to remind him of what he did. Remember, we never see Banner's face at the end. That really bothered me. The whole setup was very Hulk in nature, but that could just be a red herring to make us want to believe it's Banner. We know Pym recognizes the voice, but does that necessarily make it Banner?

3. Pym tried to kill Banner, accidentally creating the Green Hulk. He looks very snide when the comment is made the Pym took care of the tranquilizer. Pym "outed" Banner to bring attention/scrutiny on the Ultimates, in the hopes of his own work/participation becoming noticed. He then needed to get rid of Banner so that he could either return as the resident expert, or because Banner would eventually figure out that it was Pym that did it to him. Or for another reason I'm not thinking of right now. Not trusting that a nuke would kill the Hulk, Pym poisons Banner (hence the snide look about "taking care of him"). This awakens a new Green Hulk at the last moment and allows Banner to survive, something Pym didn't think would happen. Banner then calls him either because he honestly thinks Pym helped him or because he has figured it all out and wants Pym to know he'll be
watching."