Phase 6’sAvengers: Secret Warsis the perfect place to have Smart Hulk transform back into theMCU’s original, raging Savage Hulk, and the source material proves it. Ever sinceHulk’s MCU origin storywas hinted at inThe Incredible Hulk’s opening credits, Bruce Banner has had to deal with his alter ego one way or another, whether that be forcefully keeping the beast at bay, making peace with it, weaponizing it, or merging with it. Bruce Banner and the Hulk didn’t understand each other for years, but fortunately for them — or at least for Banner — the man and the Gamma monster found balance inAvengers: Endgame, which introduced Smart Hulk.
Smart Hulk allows Bruce Banner to utilize part of Hulk’s strength and retain his human consciousness. In exchange, Smart Hulk can’t access Hulk’s full power, and he needs to wear a special inhibitor if he wants to return to his human form. However, Smart Hulk’s MCU journey isn’t over yet, otherwise he would already have received a proper send-off. With massive crossover events likeAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsapproaching inthe MCU’s upcoming movie slate, there’s a chance Smart Hulk will have to revert his fusion in order to fight Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom — paying homage to the comics along the way.
Savage Hulk Could Return To Save All Secret Wars Heroes From A Falling Mountain
Secret Wars Includes One Of Hulk’s Biggest Feats Of Strength In Marvel Comics
In Marvel Comics' original 1984Secret Warsstoryline, Molecule Man drops a 150-billion-ton mountain on the Avengers. To everybody’s surprise, Hulk singlehandedly stops the mountain from crushing his fellow heroes, holding it long enough to allow Mister Fantastic and Iron Man to find a way out. The panel depicting Hulk as he holds the mountain with his arms and back is an iconic Hulk-centric moment in the comics, as it displays the Jade Giant’s true power level. Now, the same feat could be adapted inthe MCU’sAvengers: Secret Warsin order to bring Savage Hulk back.
It seems likeAvengers: Secret Warswon’t feature an adaptation of Molecule Man, whose role in the collapse of multiple timelines seems to take the shape of anchor beings in the MCU. Still, the same scene could still happen thanks to Doctor Doom.Smart Hulk already accomplished a similar feat inAvengers: Endgame, where he helped hold the collapsing Avengers base in place to keep Rocket Raccoon and War Machine from being crushed. But inAvengers: Secret Wars,Smart Hulk could resort to transforming into Savage Hulk to recreate hisSecret Warsmountain-holding moment.
Hulk’s Angry Hulk Transformation In Secret Wars Would Redeem Infinity War’s Best Deleted Scene
Hulk Missed His Chance To Showcase His Full Strength In A Previous MCU Crossover
Despite being one of the Avengers' founding members, Hulk didn’t participate inAvengers: Infinity WarorAvengers: Endgame, at least not in his full glory. Thanos beat Hulk to a pulp at the beginning ofAvengers: Infinity War, leading Hulk to hide inside Banner’s consciousness. Hulk refused to come out all throughout the conflict, and by the timeAvengers: Endgamerevisited Banner five years after Thanos' Snap, he had already achieved his Smart Hulk fusion. Butoriginally,Avengers: Infinity Warwas going to feature Hulk bursting out of the Hulkbuster in Wakanda, ready to fight in the final battle against Thanos.
Hulk’s deleted Hulkbuster sceneexplains why trailers forAvengers: Infinity Warfeatured Hulk running alongside the Avengers in certain shots.
Avengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgameleft Hulk out of the game in order to balance the characters' power levels. Otherwise, it would have been rather easy for Hulk to slice through Thanos' army and defeat some members of the Black Order. However,Avengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsmay not repeat the same trick again. Instead, they could do the exact opposite. Savage Hulk’s on-screen transformation would flip Hulk’s Phase 3 role and make him a key character in the Avengers' battle against Doctor Doom, not only narratively but also in terms of sheer power.
Why Avengers: Secret Wars Is The Best Place To Bring Back Savage Hulk
Bruce Banner’s On-Screen Hulk Transformation Is Long Overdue In The MCU
Savage Hulk has been absent from the entirety of the Multiverse Saga. He was absent fromAvengers: Endgameand only appeared at the beginning ofAvengers: Infinity War. Therefore, Bruce Banner’s original Hulk persona hasn’t appeared in the MCU in seven years, and he will have been absent for nine whole years by the timeAvengers: Doomsdayarrives. What’s more,Hulk’s last on-screen transformation happened in 2012’sThe Avengers, fifteen years beforeAvengers: Secret Wars. It’s certainly time for the MCU to shine the spotlight on Hulk once again, at least for one last time before his possible retirement.
Marvel’s Secret Wars Winner Was Set Two Years Ago In Game-Changing MCU Theory
With an all-out war between universes set to occur in Avengers: Secret Wars, the MCU is set to face a number of threats they can’t handle.
Despite his limited role in the MCU, Hulk was essential in the franchise’s inception, having inaugurated Phase 1 alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man back in 2008. Hulk also played an important supporting role in the Avengers' first mission together in 2012’sThe Avengersand 2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultron; and he also helped Thor regain popularity in 2017’sThor: Ragnarok. WithAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsculminating nineteen years of MCU history in 2026 and 2027, respectively, Hulk must receive the right amount of screen time and influence on the plot.
