Hulk # 1 2014 NM-

Hulk # 1 (released April 2014) marks the beginning of a new volume written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Mark Bagley. This issue picks up immediately after the finale of Indestructible Hulk and launches the "Banner D.O.A." story arc. 

The story opens with a high-stakes medical emergency: 

• The Assassination Attempt: Bruce Banner has been shot twice in the back of the head by an unknown assailant. The shots were carefully placed to prevent his brain from triggering a transformation into the Hulk, leaving him in a vegetative state.
• The Surgery: A group posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents kidnaps Dr. Aaron Carpenter, a world-renowned neurosurgeon and former college rival of Banner, to perform a secret, experimental brain surgery.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. Search: Real S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including Maria Hill and Phil Coulson, race to find and rescue Banner before his captors can finish harvesting his DNA and tissue samples.
• The Aftermath: Though the surgery technically saves his life, Banner suffers severe brain damage, stripping him of his genius-level intellect. 

• Bruce Banner: Near death and struggling with irreversible brain damage.
• The Hulk: A vengeful force seeking the person who attacked his human counterpart.
• Dr. Aaron Carpenter: A neurosurgeon forced into saving his old classmate under duress.
• Maria Hill & Phil Coulson: S.H.I.E.L.D. leadership attempting to recover their most powerful asset. 

Why It Is Significant

This issue sets the stage for a major shift in the character's status quo. To repair Banner's brain, Tony Stark eventually uses an extreme procedure involving the Extremis virus. This leads to the emergence of a new, hyper-intelligent personality known as Doc Green, a ruthless Hulk who decides to forcibly "cure" all other gamma-powered individuals in the Marvel Universe.