Mirroring events that helped bring together the Avengers, members of the Ultimates united to stop the Hulk’s rampage through Manhattan which caused a substantial amount of property damage and loss of life. SHIELD kept his identity as Dr. Bruce Banner a secret and later, Hulk was important in the Ultimates victory against the Chitauri’s attempted invasion of Earth. In Ultimates 2, the truth about Bruce Banner was leaked to the public and he was brought to trial, represented by Matt Murdock aka the vigilante Daredevil.
In Ultimates 2: Issue #3 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, Matt faced the impossible task of representing a man responsible for millions in damages and the deaths of over eight hundred people. Maintaining that Murdock coolness, the blind lawyer’s attempts to disconnect Bruce from the Hulk are denied by the court as the prosecutor paints him as being under a drug-like influence when he became the Hulk and that he should be held accountable for his actions as a sole individual. Murdock’s closing statement highlights his intellect, his work with the U.S. government, and that his devotion to re-creating the Super Soldier serum lead to, what he felt to be an unfortunate military accident. Stating that nobody felt this loss and guilt worse than Banner himself, Matt states that he and his partner Foggy Nelson didn’t take this case for publicity, they knew the odds were stacked against them and yet they saw a man who made a mistake and wants to spend the rest of his life atoning by protecting and bettering mankind. Unfortunately, Matt’s impassioned performance wasn’t enough to save Bruce from the death penalty, which was performed by his teammates in the Ultimates with a mega-ton nuclear weapon.
Although it was revealed Bruce had survived the execution and returned to help the Ultimates in their fight against the Liberators, the Hulk would not meet Matt Murdock again until the aftermath of another tragedy with a death toll that dwarfed his own. In Ultimate Spider-Man #131 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen, Spider-Man is tentatively working with the Hulk to help survivors of the massive tidal wave caused by the mutant terrorist Magneto. Among the water-soaked rubble and bodies, they discover Daredevil and although they never got along, Spider-Man pays his respect to the fallen vigilante. The sight of the unmasked Daredevil causes Hulk to revert back to Banner who reveals that he remembered him as his former lawyer.
Daredevil didn’t die because of the Kingpin, Bullseye, or his former love Elektra, he was the victim of a super-powered madman who wanted to cleanse the world to fit his insane vision of mutant superiority. Bruce Banner appeared to be unaware of current events, believing that the decimated city was due to another Hulk-related rampage, and his uncontrolled emotions cause him to turn back into Hulk and chase Spider-Man through the city. Fortunately, Hulk would find a Nightmare-possessed Doctor Strange to channel his frustrations out on but he never appeared to take the time to mourn the loss of someone who once tried to save both of their lives. Although we’re not sure of their relationship in the mainstream Marvel universe, the Ultimate Hulk considered Matt Murdock/Daredevil a friend, something which he has in short supply.
