Whenever it’s time for a new Avengers movie to come out, fans expect to see all their favorite Marvel superheroes share the screen, but that’s not always the case. The main example came in Avengers: Infinity War, which didn’t include Hawkeye or Ant-Man, as both were on house arrest. The upcoming Avengers: Doomsday brings together even more heroes thanks to the inclusion of Fox’s X-Men characters, yet some major names are missing. There doesn’t seem to be any hint of Spider-Man or Captain Marvel, among others, and it will be intriguing to see why they’re not included. Interestingly, Thor and the returning Steve Rogers are the only original Avengers in the cast. Black Widow and Iron Man are dead, and we don’t know what’s going on with Hawkeye at this time. The ending of Spider-Man: Brand New Day established what one other original Avenger will be up to in Avengers: Doomsday, though the film needs to directly address it.
Bruce Banner appears in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and even gets involved in a fight with Spider-Man. The end result sees Banner get sent away, which could explain his absence from Avengers: Doomsday, though that doesn’t totally make sense.
Bruce Banner initially shows up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day when Peter Parker goes to him for advice. Peter is dealing with some unwanted changes that his body is going through, and he wants Bruce’s help in controlling it since Bruce successfully created an inhibitor that suppresses the Hulk. Eventually, that inhibitor gets broken, and the Hulk comes out, yet it’s different from the Hulk we’ve seen in recent years. This wasn’t Bruce and Hulk merged like in Avengers: Endgame or She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Instead, it was Savage Hulk, who is pretty much impossible to control.
Even Jean Grey, who was in Bruce’s mind at the time, can’t control or curtail Savage Hulk. The Hulk goes after Spider-Man as if he were a hated rival and only stops when he seems to recognize something about him. The final scene of Bruce sees him get sent to a psych hospital that many believe will be run by the Department of Damage Control. It’s a sad result for Banner, who fought hard not to end up in a situation like this. It’s why his efforts to merge the personalities and create the inhibitor were such passionate pursuits.
In theory, Bruce’s tenure at the psych ward would explain why he isn’t included in the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday. If he actually doesn’t appear, it will mark the first Avengers movie not to include Mark Ruffalo. However, the film needs to at least reference what’s going on with him because ignoring Bruce makes no sense.
A big part of the trailers for Avengers: Doomsday have focused on Thor’s fear of Doctor Doom. He notes that this is a bigger threat than the Avengers have ever faced before, which is saying a lot. Thanos literally wiped out half of humanity, and Avengers: Endgame showed how much of a toll that experience had on Thor’s mental state. With so many of Thor’s old teammates gone, his first instinct when he reaches Earth should be to reconnect with his trusted friends, including Bruce.
Thor knows that Hulk is among the most powerful heroes in the MCU. He has fought him in single combat and understands what Hulk brings to the table. If Thor were told that Hulk was in a psych ward, he’d still reach out to him. Even if you can’t get the Hulk to take part in the fight, Bruce Banner is a brilliant man with experience against otherworldly beings who could offer up help in other ways. The DODC might have him on lockdown, but it’s not like they’d be a match for Thor if he really wanted to speak with Banner.
If Ruffalo really isn’t in the film, a simple line or two explaining that Thor already interacted with him would be welcome. He could pass on information or advice he received from Bruce to this new Avengers team, but also note that Bruce doesn’t want to take part in the fighting, for fear of Savage Hulk returning in full force. The Bruce and Hulk internal struggle was played for laughs in Avengers: Infinity War, yet Avengers: Doomsday could establish it as something more serious, setting the stage for a potentially larger return in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers: Doomsday will be in theaters on December 18th.
