Image copyright Marvel

Marvel has killed off The Hulk's human alter ego Bruce Banner in its latest comic.

The character is seen dying as a result of an arrow to the head from Hawkeye, his Avengers teammate, in the third issue of Civil War II.

Banner has been the Hulk's alter ego since the character's creation in 1962.

However, for the last year, readers have seen Banner medicating himself to keep his anger management issues under control.

During that time, a Korean-American teenage genius named Amadeus Cho has taken over as the new human alter-ego of The Hulk.

Image copyright Marvel Image caption Bruce Banner is seen killed by an arrow from fellow Avenger Hawkeye

Image copyright Marvel Image caption Amadeus Cho is seen on the cover of The Totally Awesome Hulk

"This is uncharted territory for us," Marvel's 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."

In the latest edition of Civil War II, Hawkeye is seen killing his friend on the belief Banner is about to turn into the Hulk and unleash massive death and destruction.

Banner had recently asked him for a mercy killing in the event of any disaster.

Image copyright Marvel/JEFF DEKAL Image caption Riri Williams was announced as the new Iron Man last week

His death comes a week after Marvel announced Riri Williams, a 15-year-old African-American girl, will become the new Iron Man.

Marvel has previously brought back characters after their apparent death - including Captain America and Spider-Man, who returned within a year of their demise.

It is not yet clear whether Banner could return in a similar way, but Marvel indicated there were no plans for a return.