The Incredible Hulk is finally returning in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, giving the MCU a chance to finally fix the Hulk after years of struggles with the character. Despite being one of the most iconic Marvel characters, the Hulk has been shockingly underutilized in the MCU. Since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk (which is rarely referenced in the MCU), Hulk has only acted as a supporting character in projects like The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Bruce Banner himself is rarely given the spotlight, and the stories that he has gotten in the MCU haven’t lived up to the hopes of fans of the character.
Despite the Leader and Red Hulk appearing in Captain America: Brave New World, Hulk himself hasn’t been seen since She-Hulk. The Brand New Day trailer reveals that Bruce is now a college professor and has somehow managed to return to his human form after transforming into Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame. Rumors suggest that Bruce will return to his Savage Hulk form during the events of Brand New Day, opening a major opportunity for the MCU.
If Savage Hulk does truly return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, then it gives Marvel the perfect opportunity to fix the MCU’s Hulk. Throughout the MCU, Hulk has been poorly characterized. For starters, most of Hulk’s big character developments have happened off-screen. The events between The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers, his time on Sakarr before Ragnarok, his transformation into Professor Hulk in Endgame, and his transformation back to Bruce in Brand New Day all happened without being shown in the respective films. On top of that, Mark Ruffalo’s Savage Hulk only appeared as a side character in The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Thor: Ragnarok, before having a minor appearance in Infinity War and disappearing.
This waste of Hulk’s characterization is a shame, as he has the potential to be one of the MCU’s most interesting characters. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dynamic that is baked into Bruce Banner makes him incredibly compelling, as he is torn between two personas. Bruce and Hulk fighting for control is a super intriguing internal battle, but since it is internal, it is hard to tell this story when he’s a side character.
So, if Bruce becomes Savage Hulk again in Brand New Day, this story needs to be shown on screen. Hulk would still be a side character, but he could still get proper focus in the film. This would make up for the wasted years of Hulk stories, as audiences would finally get to see the internal struggle that Bruce is facing. Just as Bruce thought he had control of his Smart Hulk persona, Savage Hulk is back to rip this control away from him. This will undoubtedly be a mentally taxing change for Bruce, and Brand New Day really needs to demonstrate this.
While Brand New Day can finally give Hulk the spotlight, it still won’t be enough. After all, Hulk will be playing second fiddle to Spidey in the movie in the best case scenario. It is possible that Bruce could even have a less significant role than the Punisher or Sadie Sink’s mystery character, giving him even less screentime. Even Hulk’s most interesting role in the MCU occurred when he was a side character in Thor: Ragnarok, meaning that he didn’t even get the spotlight here.
So, if the MCU ever wants to truly address its Hulk problem, it has to give him a solo movie. Bruce Banner could easily carry his own film, as Hulk has already been adapted to the big screen in solo movies multiple times. A solo movie would also give Mark Ruffalo a chance to fully flesh out his character, as 2008’s The Incredible Hulk starred Ed Norton in the role. Ruffalo is one of the MCU’s most talented actors, and a solo movie starring him could tell an incredible Hulk story.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a Hulk solo movie will happen anytime soon. Universal Pictures still owns the distribution rights to any Hulk solo movie, meaning that Marvel Studios would have to share the profits of a potential film. This gives Disney less reason to make a solo movie centered on the character, explaining why he’s been relegated to a side character for so long. Hulk is still dealing with the rights issues that Marvel Studios already solved for characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men, and this has plagued his character throughout the MCU’s history.
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