In the late 1960s, the son of scientist David Banner, Bruce Banner, finds his life threatened by a deadly illness. Hoping to save his son, David injects Bruce with his experimental nanomed technology. This proves effective, and Bruce is cured. David begins to obsess over his research into nanomeds, to the point where his wife Edith decides to take action and inform the military. When David spots helicopters approaching in the distance, David flies into a rage and stabs Edith in front of Bruce. In a vain attempt to save his mother, Bruce hits his father, causing him to stumble and fall down the stairs, killing him. When the military, led by Captain Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Donald Sutherland), arrive, they find Bruce kneeling over his dead mother.