The MCU’s Latest Hulk Appearances Have Me Genuinely Worried Bruce Banner Will Stay Smart Hulk For Good

I’m concerned that Bruce Banner might be Smart Hulk for the remainder of his MCU career based on his most recent appearances. Hulk’s MCU arc is unique insofar as, unlike most fellow Avengers, he has only starred in one solo movie, The Incredible Hulk, before co-starring in subsequent Avengers movies (and Thor: Ragnarok) alongside his heroic cohorts. The most recent of these saw Bruce Banner renounce the Savage Hulk persona, using the intervening years between the Snap and the Blip to merge his consciousness with the body of the Hulk at his lab in Mexico.

Smart Hulk played an integral role in Avengers: Endgame and the titular team’s success in reversing the effects of the Snap. Banner’s brilliant mind helped to bring about the Time Heist while Hulk’s gamma-resistant constitution facilitated the Blip to bring back all those lost in the Snap. While he was invaluable in this regard, I think it’s fair to say that Smart Hulk is not nearly as interesting as the original and precludes him from starring in anticipated adaptations like World War Hulk. Sadly, I don’t think Smart Hulk is going anywhere anytime soon.

The MCU’s Latest Hulk Appearances Seem To Only Make The End Of Smart Hulk Look Further Away

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Made No Hints That Hulk Would Return

After Avengers: Endgame, Smart Hulk reappeared in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, where he inadvertently infected his cousin, Jennifer Walters, with his gamma-infused blood and turned her into the titular She-Hulk. He then played a supporting role throughout the series as Walters’ mentor and confidant. The end of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law saw him engage in a retconned scuffle with Abomination and HulkKing, and return from an impromptu visit to Sakaar with his estranged son, Skaar, in tow. Smart Hulk maintains a level head and calm demeanor throughout his appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, even during the retconned scuffle.

Nowhere throughout the series is it so much as hinted that Banner would lose control of the Smart Hulk persona and revert to his previous, fraught relationship with the Hulk that tore up the Battle of New York and periodically endangered his teammates. Moments that would previously provoke the Hulk into appearing, like life-threatening situations and the misunderstanding with Abomination, failed to do so here. Banner even reveals his Hulk Inhibitor Device, further suppressing his Hulk persona whenever he wishes to maintain his human form. The arrival of Skaar, meanwhile, might further inhibit Hulk’s return.

The MCU’s Hulk Replacement Raises The Worrying Idea Marvel May Keep Smart Hulk Permanently

Hulk’s Son May Take The Place Of A Rage-Fueled Hulk

As yet, very little is known about the MCU’s adaptation of Skaar following his wordless appearance at the end of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. In Marvel Comics, Skaar is a relatively severe character who hasn’t necessarily inherited his father’s anger issues but is just as capable of brutality when called for. He is initially resentful of his father for his absence during his childhood (among other reasons) but eventually buries the hatchet and embodies an anti-heroic role in Marvel Comics. Nevertheless, he is more Hulk-like than Smart Hulk.

If Marvel Studios intends to adapt this version of Skaar for the MCU, it could be a sign that he will replace his rage-fueled father. Skaar is a more formidable figure than Smart Hulk, at the very least in terms of personality, which would only help to sideline Savage Hulk even further as another Hulk-adjacent character takes his place. Furthermore, if Skaar harbors the same resentment towards his father as he does in Marvel Comics, it would make more sense for a rational Smart Hulk to placate his son. Then there is the issue of Hulk’s other MCU replacement.

I’m Not Sure If The MCU Will Use Any Of The Opportunities It Has To Bring The Hulk Back To Normal

Hulk Is Unlikely To Reappear In Confirmed Marvel Projects

Captain America: Brave New World is about to debut Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk, a truer rendition of the Hulk than Banner’s new fusion. The movie has sparked a heated debate about how the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, could ever hope to best a Hulk without the strength afforded by the Super Soldier Serum. This has given rise to the theory that Bruce Banner’s Hulk will make a surprise appearance, as it would make far more sense for the Jade Giant to face off against his classic Marvel Comics rival with an equivalent level of power.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this is at all likely. In another frustrating example of Hulk being sidelined in the MCU, it appears as though a movie featuring a litany of Hulk-adjacent characters will not feature the Hulk himself. Given a battle against Red Hulk would likely require the raw power of Savage Hulk, his omission looks like another hint that Smart Hulk is in the MCU for the long haul.

Finally, I don’t think that the other two movies likely to feature Smart Hulk, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, are any more likely to goad the original Hulk into appearing. My reasoning here is simple: there just won’t be enough space to delve into the significance of his reversion given the breadth of the cataclysmic events likely to transpire. Instead, I think Smart Hulk’s brains and brawn will once again come in handy in the fight against the highly intelligent Doom. As much as I hate to say it, I think the MCU’s original Hulk is gone for good.

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