A Major Marvel Character Has Been Killed Off... But Who Is It?

*SPOILERS AHEAD!*

Get your hankies ready, because one of the Avengers is no more.

The latest instalment of ‘Civil War II’ has just landed, courtesy of Marvel Comics, and there’s been a hugely significant casualty.

*LAST WARNING FOR SPOILERS*

It’s Bruce Banner… aka The Hulk. And as if that’s not dramatic enough for you, he’s killed by none other than Clint Barton, otherwise known as Hawkeye.

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The action had been pre-warned by Marvel following the last issue of the comic, which foretold 'One of the biggest heroes in the Marvel Universe will fall!’

And the action had also pointed to the fact that The Hulk was set to hulk-smash the other Avengers to bits, so something obviously had to give.

Plus the fact that Banner had given Hawkeye a special arrow to do the mercy killing job with, should things start going awry.

Of course, the Marvel Comics universe is one of some considerable flux, with characters having been killed off in the past, only to return in different books.

Captain America and Spider-Man have also 'died’ in the past, only to pitch up again.

But it seems final – at least for now – and it’s the first time this had happened to Banner/The Hulk’s character, an increasingly volatile force in the comic books and the Marvel movies.

“This is uncharted territory for us,” Marvel Editor in Chief Axel Alonso told the New York Daily News.

“Only two things are for certain: it will take a long, long time for our heroes to come to terms with his loss, and the circumstance surrounding his death will leave a huge scar on the superhero community.”

“Fans may be outraged, and there are probably ‘Hawkeye’ writers who I’m very good friends with who will also be offended,” added Brian Michael Bendis, the writer of the 'Civil War II’ comic series.

“But the point is that everything that happens in this issue is in character when you discover the hows and whys and wheres.”

Hulk fans should take heart, however… you’ll still get to see him smashing stuff up in 'Thor: Ragnarok’, filming now and due for release in November, 2017.

Image credits: Marvel Comics