The first love of Bruce Banner, killed and resurrected at the hands of his enemies, Betty Ross now has the power to fight back as the Red She-Hulk.
Army Brat
Born at an unrevealed location in California, Betty Ross was the only child of high ranking Air Force General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross and his wife Karen. After the death of her mother, Betty was emotionally abandoned by her father and sent to boarding school.
True Love
After finishing school, Betty returned home to find out that her father was the head of the U.S. Defense Department’s top secret Gamma Bomb Project at an undisclosed desert base in Nevada. It was there that Betty met and fell in love with her future husband Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, the designer of the G-Bomb and supervisor of the project. Their romance was much to the dismay of General Ross, who believed Banner to be both physically and emotionally inferior.
During the G-Bomb's first test, Banner selflessly rushed to the rescue of an ignorant teenager, Rick Jones, who had wandered onto the testing ground as the countdown ticked inexorably toward zero. Irradiated by the radiation of a full-force Gamma Bomb, Banner was transformed into a monstrous Hulk of green muscle mass. Although Banner managed to keep his double identity secret, his attempts to cover up his activities as the Hulk led to General Ross and his head security chief, Major Glenn Talbot, to suspect Banner of being a traitor. Talbot also fell in love with Betty, but she remained faithful to Banner, even in the wake of his secret being exposed.
Later, Banner's "Professor" Hulk personality manifested, which allowed him to remain fully coherent, retaining his intelligence when he transformed. With this change, Banner finally attained consent from General Ross to marry Betty. However, during the ceremony, the Hulk's enemy, the Leader, seeking vengeance for his previous defeat, fired radiation at Banner reverting him into a savage, much more monstrous Hulk. The enraged Hulk then tore apart the house where the wedding had been held, and all hopes of a wedding were destroyed.
Heartbroken and Vulnerable
When the Hulk was confined to the Microverse, he began a romantic relationship with their queen Jarella. Betty eventually learned of Bruce's adoration of Jarella and although she still loved him, she returned Talbot's affection and they were soon married. While Betty was on her honeymoon, General Ross was captured by the Soviet scientist Gremlin and sent to a Soviet prison. Talbot took part in a mission to rescue General Ross, only to be captured. After escaping, General Ross and the other Americans involved in the mission mistakenly believed that Talbot had been killed. Informed of this news, Betty suffered a nervous breakdown. In this condition, she was easily captured by M.O.D.O.K., leader of the organization A.I.M., and turned into the insane creature known as the Harpy. After numerous battles with the Hulk, the transformation was finally reversed, restoring Betty's humanoid form as well as her sanity.
Eventually, it was discovered that Talbot was still alive and he was rescued. Shortly after his return home, Betty realized that she still loved Banner, and they were soon divorced, fueling Talbot's hatred for Bruce and his attempts to kill the Hulk. Talbot later died trying to destroy the Hulk.
Rollercoaster Romance
Bruce and Betty went through many trials, including a period when Banner disappeared. Upon his return, the Hulk was subjected to a process that split him and Banner into separate beings for a short time. Banner took full advantage of this, marrying Betty and attempting to lead a normal life. After Banner and the Hulk were once again merged, Betty's father General Ross died in the process of saving both Betty and the Hulk.
The Hulk's multitude of personalities was eventually merged into one and he was propositioned by Agamemnon to join his group the Pantheon. During the Hulk's long tenure with the Pantheon, his relationship with Betty faltered but eventually grew stronger and endured. After the group turned on its leader, the ensuing battle led to the Hulk coming under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody and Betty's hospitalization.
Love Kills
Betty learned that her long association with the Hulk had left her dying from over exposure to gamma radiation. Abomination, seeking retribution after a massive defeat at the hands of the Hulk, learned of Betty's present state and used his own gamma-radiated blood for the transfusion, poisoning her, and leading to her death.
Possible Sighting
After a period in which Bruce was mentally tortured by Nightmare, Betty was seemingly resurrected. She told Doc Samson she believed a group known as the Team was responsible for her reanimation, but much later on Leader took sole credit for her revival. After undergoing plastic surgery and being given new identity by a conspiracy fronted by the Leader, Betty appeared to wash up on an island. It has yet to be revealed if this woman was the actual Betty.
Lady in Red
She came from nowhere, dressed in the tattered clothing of the mutant Domino, and ambushed Wolverine just as he was about to attack a blind Red Hulk. She fought the feral mutant before escaping into the sewers with her red counterpart. Claiming to work for the same people as Red Hulk, she kept her true identity hidden from him even as she hinted she knew who he was, but her banter only proved to be a temporary distraction. She delivered the red giant into the hands of Samson — the man who convinced Red Hulk's Code Red teammates to betray him. However, Red Hulk regained his sight just in time for him and his one loyal ally, Thundra, to turn the tables on his foes. Red She-Hulk fought an enraged Red Hulk all the way to the top of the Empire State Building, and when it seemed Red Hulk had a change of heart and would stop his assault; Red She-Hulk kicked him off, sending him crashing down to the street below. Red She-Hulk disappeared, leaving Red Hulk in the dark as to who she really was.
Will the Real Betty Please Stand Up
After the death of her father, Betty resurfaced with Glenn Talbot. At the time their resurrections had not been fully explained, as well as her face being returned to its original state, but both Betty and Glenn appeared to be working with or under the protection of the Intelligencia. Either way, when Banner sent Amadeus Cho to rescue her, she violently refused to go with him, unwilling to be reunited with her husband.
Talbot was later revealed to be a Life Model Decoy.
Dissension in the Ranks
Red She-Hulk returned to the hidden base of her employers, the Intelligencia, where she and Lyra, daughter of the Hulk, were at odds over the nature of their mission. M.O.D.O.K. needed to step in to end the bickering, but Red She-Hulk told Lyra to watch her back. Both women have been at each other's throats since Red She-Hulk approached Lyra at an abandoned A.I.M. base after Lyra's confrontation with Gamma Corps: Black.
Deranged and Desperate
A deeper look into Red She-Hulk's past proves she is a potentially deranged and dangerous individual who should not be provoked. Let loose against the She-Hulk in order to prevent her escape after a clash with A.I.M. flunkies, Red She-Hulk lost control of her emotions and broke her opponent's neck. She was surprised at the power she possessed, but Samson soon revealed what she murdered was actually a Life Model Decoy — not the real She-Hulk. His games served to anger Red She-Hulk, but she was again stopped by M.O.D.O.K. before she could injure Samson. It was at that time she was sent on her first mission: find and kill Domino and Elektra.
Since that time, Red She-Hulk temporarily had a change of heart about her situation. She went from reveling in her power to feeling the She-Hulk was the only one who could save her. Tearing the Hellcarrier apart to find her, Red She-Hulk was briefly delayed by the Mad Thinker and his Gammadroid. Finally, the Leader and Samson prevented Red She-Hulk from leaving their group by giving her what she wanted.
World War Hulks
Repeated conditioning by Samson into performing the Intelligencia's dirty work, she was used to challenge the Avengers and abduct Henry Pym and serve as back up when Bruce Banner and his allies infiltrated the Hellcarrier. Her main target was the deadly Skaar, but Banner incapacitated her with a blast from his weapon right after she skewered Skaar with his own sword. Skaar would eventually have his revenge when he stabbed her in return, saving Banner's life but nearly killing the Red She-Hulk as she changed back to Betty in front of their eyes. The only person able to save her was Samson simply by showing his face. Betty became so enraged she turned back into her She-Hulk form, allowing her healing factor to take care of the rest. Soon, she left the service of the Intelligencia and fought against their Hulk army alongside Lyra and the original She-Hulk.
How She Cheated Death
After she died, Betty was stored, perfectly preserved, but her body was stolen and the process for her resurrection began. The Leader and M.O.D.O.K. found General Ross at his lowest point and told him they could resurrect his daughter. Having experimented with gamma radiation countless times before, the two masterminds were confident they could bring Betty back body, mind and soul. Ross wasn't as convinced and didn't want his daughter to be just another guinea pig, but it was already too late. Leader had his mind set on his fiendish goal, and M.O.D.O.K.’s involvement would ensure success as well as a new power set.
It was only because of these events that Ross was manipulated into becoming the Red Hulk.
Time to Adjust
For a time, Banner was freed from his Hulk persona because of the actions of the Red Hulk, but in order to stop the Intelligencia, Banner had to regain his monstrous alter-ego. When the Hulk returned, Skaar was prepared to kill him, but Red She-Hulk could not possibly understand why. She attempted to interfere on Hulk's behalf, but her resistance proved to be nothing more than a nuisance to the raging giants. She forced Skaar to lash out at her and his reaction accomplished more than she could have surmised. Skaar inadvertently put innocent lives in danger, and when Hulk saved them, the son finally saw the father for what he truly was — a hero — and ended his assault.
However, when Banner tried to talk with Betty and reveal he never stopped loving her, she spurned his advances by telling him she just wanted to be left alone. This could be in part to Betty learning of Hulk's involvement with Caiera and the possibility Betty has developed a split personality since Red She-Hulk speaks about Betty as if she was a different person — much like the Hulk did with Banner.
