Summary
There has been a lot of talk recently going over Marvel’s many recent mistakes with the MCU, and somehow,TheHulkis always included. With major troubles being reported for the newCaptain America 4,Blade, andDaredevil: Born Again, something that is further compounded byfinancial struggles fromThe Marvels, it’s not hard to see why so many people are paying attention. The MCU may be getting a lot of guff now, but there are also some past creative decisions that deserve a look.
WhileAvengers: Endgameis easily one of the most beloved MCU movies out there thanks to how it ended the first massive epic portion of the MCU, it too made some mistakes. While the death of Black Widow was emotional, some view it as a massive mistake. Likewise, the decision to turnThe Hulkinto a brainiac was met with serious backlash, something that has continued into the modern day.
Smart Hulk Was Introduced In Avengers: Endgame
However anyone wishes to refer to him; Professor Hulk, Smart Hulk, or any other name for the version of Hulk that seems to be balanced with Bruce Banner’s brain, the big green guy hasn’t been the same for a while. Originally introduced inAvengers: Endgameinthe years after the blip, fans don’t even get to see the events that led to a Hulk with a brain, instead, the whole event is waved away rather quickly. Even Ant-Man himself points out how confusing it is to see The Hulk in such a state, but somehow, Banner merged both aspects of himself in an incredibly unspecified manner that likely won’t ever be explained.
Obviously, having someone as smart as Bruce Banner, and yet as strong as The Hulk was key for the success of The Avengers inAvengers: Endgame, but that doesn’t mean Smart Hulk was necessarily the best choice. He ends up assisting the team with their work to travel through time in order to save the day, even going to have a discussion with the Ancient One, but outside of that, and is the one to snap his fingers to restore those lost in the blip,The Hulk really isn’t of much significance outside of supportin the movie when compared to many of the other Avengers. He’s important for sure, but his high-impact moments aren’t near any of the other members. Of course, Smart Hulk would continue making appearances, most notably in theShe-Hulkseries to train his cousin.
Is Smart Hulk less interesting?
All of that leads to the question of whether or not Smart Hulk is as interesting as the classic angry version of The Hulk. There certainly is something to be said for the value of Smart Hulk, as being able to combine strength and brains into a being that really isn’t all that keen on violence could make for plenty of interesting situations. Thanks to the finale ofShe-Hulk: Attorney At Law, it is also known thatHulk has a love interestand has had a child, potentially on Sakaar, who seems to share in part his Hulk aspects.In an interview with Variety, Mark Ruffalo had this to say about Hulk and his potential adventures on Sakaar:
“…I do think that the trip to Sakaar is a good place to start and what that means to the idea of what the fans have been asking for — this idea of Planet Hulk or World War Hulk or just the journey that Banner and Hulk have to make to come to peace with each other. That’s really interesting to me, and I do feel like there is some interest in exploring that down the line…”
Another interesting aspect of Smart Hulk is that he can act as a mentor figure in the MCU now that his time has mostly passed by. Having him in the background to train the upcoming heroes isn’t exactly a bad idea, especially if his training with his cousin is any frame of reference. That exact thing could also give The Hulk a lot more intrigue moving forward if he were the one overseeinga new line ofYoung Avengers. Should any of his pseudo-children end up too deeply in harm’s way, then the violence-averse Banner would probably jump right into the fray to protect those who matter to him. His previous trauma from being on the Avengers would only further serve to make an idea like this interesting.
At the same time, it’s just as easy to call Smart Hulk a bit of an uninteresting dud. He was good for some bits of comedy throughoutAvengers: Endgame, but it’s not hard to imagine just how much more impactful it would have been if the monstrous version of The Hulk took it upon himself to exercise a moment of control to be the one to snap and undo the blip. There are a lot of potentially missed opportunities thanks to the fact that a character whose whole draw is being an uncontrollable monster is now being controlled by a relatively uncharasmatic personwho probably couldn’t even take Spider-Man.
How The MCU Could Change Smart Hulk Back
The MCU has already confused Hulk fans quite a bit by having himshow up as a cameo at the end ofShang-Chiin his banner form, only to then be the Hulk again inShe-Hulkwith a rather lackluster explanation. Instead of relying on weak storytelling that serves as patchwork fixes for previous mistakes, there are a variety of ways that the MCU could revert Smart Hulk back to his normal angry self. One such way would be to use the comics as inspiration and have Hulk revert to his Banner form when he gets too mad, though he’d maintain the mind of The Hulk during that time period. This could create a fascinating storyline that terrifies Banner of what he may do and the control The Hulk has over his humanity, forcing him to restore the status quo to feel normal again.
It is also possible that in the near future, someone in the MCU will have to contend with Maestro,an alternate universe version of The Hulkwho’s mastered Banner’s mind and The Hulk’s strength to become a horrifying villain. If Banner were to experience what he could become firsthand, this could be yet another set of events that could serve as a catalyst for him trying to go back to the original Hulk arrangement. In another instance of inspiration from the comics, The Hulk could potentially be returned to normal through some version of the Extremis Virus with the right writing. If he were placed in a position to take it, with him gaining great short-term power but eventually devolving back to normal, it’s not hard to see Banner making that decision in order to save the day.
MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a sprawling movie and television franchise that weaves together individual stories of superheroes including Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and many more. The first film in the franchise, Iron Man, was released in 2008. The MCU has garnered critical praise and financial success, earning billions at the box office and becoming a cultural phenomenon.
