When it was announced that Mark Ruffalo was returning to the MCU as Bruce Banner/Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, everyone wondered how he’d fit into the story. This was the first time he appeared in a Spider-Man movie and marked his first big-screen appearance, outside of a post-credits scene, since Avengers: Endgame (2019). That movie gave us a version of the Hulk that we hadn’t yet seen in a major film and felt like a welcome conclusion for his story. However, with the character now popping up in other MCU projects, including She-Hulk, it seems like the decision in Avengers: Endgame was actually a misstep. Thankfully, Spider-Man: Brand New Day found an interesting way to break up the monotony that could’ve plagued this character and set both Bruce Banner and the Hulk up for something interesting whenever he shows up again in the franchise’s future.
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The MCU has often struggled with figuring out what exactly to do with Hulk. Due to his solo movie rights being owned by Universal, Marvel Studios could never give him a solo film, so his arcs and major moments are relegated to appearances in team-up projects or someone else’s story. However, the door is now open for something intriguing with him, especially if Marvel handles it properly.
Avengers: Endgame Took Away What Made Hulk Interesting
The main source of conflict in Hulk stories doesn’t even involve the characters he fights; there’s a reason why Hulk’s rogues’ gallery is nowhere near the level of some of the other famous comic book superheroes. The biggest battle is always between Bruce Banner and the Hulk. That internal struggle is the driving force of almost everything he does, and was the focal point of 2003’s Hulk and 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Although we haven’t had a solo Hulk film since then, he did get a multi-movie arc across Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
After spending years only as the Hulk and then losing to Thanos, Hulk refused to come out again in Avengers: Infinity War. Fast-forward five years in Avengers: Endgame, and Banner had learned how to merge the two entities, giving him Hulk’s strength but with Banner’s intelligence. It was a welcome sight for fans who had followed Hulk’s story to that point and made him a great asset during the film’s Time Heist. Unfortunately, taking away that Banner and Hulk struggle leaves the character without much to do.
There’s nowhere for Smart Hulk to go as a character. With Bruce’s brain and Hulk’s brawn, there aren’t many external threats for him to overcome, and with the internal conflict gone, he’s a dull character. Smart Hulk would’ve worked to wrap up Hulk’s MCU run, as knowing that he was off somewhere living in peace is a nice bow on his story. When he’s around, people want to see Hulk smash – that was one of the best parts of 2012’s The Avengers, and without that, or Bruce battling his inner turmoil, Hulk isn’t an interesting character to have around.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Brings Back Hulk’s Inner Struggle
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Bruce Banner found a way to keep the Hulk at bay. Rather than remain Smart Hulk, he developed an inhibitor that allowed him to walk around freely and suppress his alter-ego. Peter wants to do the same thing for his newfound spider traits, which is how they come together in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. However, when Jean Grey takes control of Banner’s mind and removes the inhibitor, what makes the character intriguing returns to the forefront. He goes from a still dangerous yet calmer version of the Hulk to the more popular Savage Hulk.
Peter even remarks that he was unaware Hulk got that big. We hadn’t seen this take on the Hulk since Thor: Ragnarok, but even then, he wasn’t exactly savage. He was happily living large as a fighting champion and even befriended Valkyrie. Savage Hulk technically hasn’t been seen since Avengers: Age of Ultron, when he battled Tony Stark in the Hulkbuster. Between that and his two scenes in the 2012 film, Savage Hulk has given us some of the best MCU action sequences ever. His fight against Spider-Man and Punisher is the most fun Hulk scene in years.
Having Savage Hulk back in the fold takes things back to a status quo for the character, especially when it’s mentioned that he was taken to a psych ward. Bruce also noted how against a universal inhibitor he was, meaning he could opt not to go back to using one of his own. That sets up the Bruce vs. Hulk internal struggle that was so much fun to begin with. It’ll likely take center stage when Hulk resurfaces, even if that’s not until Avengers: Secret Wars or later.
With this return to the status quo, the MCU must avoid hitting the same beats over and over. There’s new ground to cover that gives the story potential. It could deal with how Bruce handles losing control after having it for so long, or maybe Hulk attempts to power his way out even when Bruce isn’t angry. There’s also the idea that Hulk doesn’t want them to work in unison for Smart Hulk any longer. Maybe Marvel Studios can partner with Universal for a solo Hulk film as they do with Sony for Spider-Man, giving the character the shine he deserves.
Spider-Man: Brand New Dayis now in theaters.
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