Be the first to know what's trending, straight from Elite Daily, It's Never Been Trendier To Hate Billionaires, Disney's New Cinderella Wedding Dresses Are Giving Princess Vibes. Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. Because of that, he sought to use his mind rather than his fists. For many fans, Hulk's continued denial throughout the rest of the film including during the pivotal Battle of Wakanda to fight on behalf of the rest of the Avengers stemmed from his easy defeat at the hands of the Mad Titan during the film's opening scene. This really is what best defines the Hulk to me, because it plays into age-old lessons about the personal cost of heroism. By Josh Coulson Published May 20, 2019 Kevin Feige has explained how Smart Hulk's snap did more than just bring billions, if not trillions of living things back to the MCU. Professor Hulk Explained: The Basics Hulk is a product of Bruce Banner's profoundly warped psychology and repressed anger. Theyll address it in the next one! you might say. But Ruffalo also gets to double down on the aw shucks goofball aura that he exudes so naturally. It was great. So, he loses a lot of strength there. Firstly as established in Ragnarok, The Hulk is not just Banner but dumbed down, he clearly has his own personality, motivation, and et cetera, he even makes it clearly that he is NOT Banner and that he doesn't even like Banner very much. Maybe Tony visited the Metaphysical realm to talk with old Morgan. Marvel Entertainment confirmed a while back on Twitterthat Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner (who should now technically be Smart Hulk) would be returning as well, likely in a sort of mentor role to assist Walters with her newfound abilities. But he was never fully dejected, so our Banner pressed on as the paragon of decency. Chiefly, that anger can throw us into blind, destructive rage as it does for him earlier in the film but anger can also be a feeling we channel from inside ourselves as a useful, powerful force. This was no different in "Avengers: Endgame," although the most difficult scene to film with the Hulk may surprise you. Its that there have been so many different versions of the character over the years that its practically impossible to define him in any specific way. When visited by Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), who seek an intellect capable of cracking time travel after retired family man Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) declines, Banner who never reverts to his puny human form explains he stopped looking at the Hulk as a disease, and instead looked at the other guy as "the cure. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the making of the film this week, the Russos finally tackled one of the more intriguing character developments from the film: The refusal of the Hulk to come out and fight again after he crash-landed on Earth and transformed back into Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) after a battle with Thanos. But even though I thought I was watching for those fun, tangible thrills, I was actually watching for the man who played Banner. On the internet, hes become known as Hipster Hulk. What this means is that despite his size, hes the weakest Hulk personality around, and not terribly handy in a brawl which might be why get kitted himself out with all these guns during a crossover with X-Factor. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Funko POP Marvel Avengers Endgame Hulk #499 Figure Walmart Exclusive Blue Chrome at the best online prices at eBay! What is the endgame for our beloved character? newsletter, broadly painted the objective of this new character, What Phase 4 looks like after Avengers: Endgame, that caused Banner to Hulk out during the show, Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau in the first, Thats my secret, Cap: Im always angry line, The 22 Marvel movies of the MCU Infinity Saga, ranked, with the endless wheel-spinning and half-hearted lip-service toward change, Avengers: Endgames reinvented Hawkeye raises questions about superheroes who kill, In the end, the MCU was a saga about failure, The biggest questions after Avengers: Endgames ending, answered, The kid at the end of Avengers: Endgame is one of Marvels mightiest cameos, Avengers: Endgames take on the Hulk, explained, Avengers: Endgame writers on bringing Captain America to this moment, Captain Americas final act in Endgame seems to solve a lingering MCU mystery, The best Captain America moment was a nod to comic book controversy, Avengers: Endgames confusing timeline actually makes sense heres why, Thors reaction to his new look is the only one that matters, Avengers: Endgames Stan Lee cameo is a rebuke to keeping politics out of comics, Everything you need to remember about the OG Avengers before Endgame, The Avengers: Endgame scenes worth dipping out of for a bathroom break, ranked, Avengers: Endgame: the non-spoiler review, Avengers: Endgame does have a post-credits moment, its just subtle, The best way to avoid Avengers: Endgame spoilers and leaks, How to watch all 21 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame will finish the series longest-running battle and its not Thanos, What MCUs Phase 4 looks like after Endgame, Black Widows stand-alone movie could make Avengers: Endgame richer, How Avengers: Endgame shakes up the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer plays way differently after Endgame. And that leaves me wondering just what the heck has been the point of these last few phases, where everything felt like a half-hearted conflict delay. Given the nom de plume, its fair to say that I get asked this question a lot. There was an awkward hello and then no other conversation. It was an up, right when everyone else was down," Markus explained. Something went wrong. The character is funny, charming, and something we havent really seen before in these films. "Thanos is nearly invincible, and he did not heal, either. A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Avengers: Endgame failed the Incredible Hulk, Sign up for the The beauty of this choice reveals a simple irony: The Hulk may be physically invulnerable, but he is as emotionally vulnerable as it gets. $350-400 Million. It's interesting. The persona went from coming up with silly jokes with friends to something more sprawling, personal, and resonant, a reminder that sometimes snap decisions are the best kinds of decisions if youre willing to explore the limits of what they can be. We meet our new Bruce Banner (played with sunken physicality by Eric Bana), the poster boy for adult males who cant connect to their emotions. This approach understands that our deepest expressions and fears can hurt others when we never mean them to. Yup! Try again Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings. There is a catch, though. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. He is a direct expression of childlike emotional purity. And he did it off-screen! It could be a chance to explore the destructive mindset of barbarism, or the controlling mixed messages of the patriarchy, or even exploring feelings of inadequacy in comparison to one Freddie Prinze Jr. Hulk : [muttering to himself] Take the stairs. In his original incarnation in the MCU, Hulk was unable to communicate, but in Ragnarok, we see him speaking. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). According to Infinity War and Endgame co-writer Stephen McFeely, the answer to that question is more practical than narrative. Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Bruce Banner will return inthe "She-Hulk" series with a release date expected sometime around this summer. While Endgame did . And then there was the Professor. I cant tell you how many times I came home from sports practice, sat down with a box of Cheez-Its, and started my homework as I happily watched a body-painted Lou Ferrigno flex right through some denim. unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See our ethics statement. But the bigger problem is actually in their choice of Banner. The Russos also addressed some of the key deleted scenes that made it ontoInfinity War's home release, including one cut that removed a fan-favorite supporting character from the film entirely. In the comics, Bruce Banners traumas fractured his mind before he ever became the Hulk, leaving Hulk with different identities, all of which stemmed from when the Green Giant took control for long stretches of time. From the lonely man to the purple pants to Lou Ferrigno himself, The Incredible Hulk (2008) is dead set on reminding you that this film is grounded in the popular roots of the character as it sets him up for the bigger world of Tony Stark and super-soldier serums. In that final fight, he singlehandedly brought down a massive Chitauri Leviathan on two separate occasions. She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. In the film, well-adjusted and emotionally stable Professor Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), a merging of the brains and mild temperament of Bruce Banner with the green, super-strong physique of the Hulk, wielded the Infinity Stones to bring back the lives lost in Avengers:Infinity War. He kicked Cull. "A lot of people had interpreted that the Hulk was scared of Thanos. Where his/their story arc goes next is truly a [] But what made Bixby downright transcendent is that he could do all that while still keeping this quiet, plain-faced nature underneath it all. Luckily, we have a lot of information to draw from because the Hulk has been a part of the pop culture lexicon since May 1962. This is exactly what I mean when I talk about the dramatic lip-service of the latest films and the way the stories coast off established dynamics without having the willingness to either change them or dig deeper into what they mean. Hulk portrayed by. A few lines of lip-service should do the trick, and besides, who cares? Im talking about dramatic objective. It would have been so much more interesting to have Hulks final Huffalo Catharsis come through the dramatized action of the story and not part of an obligatory action. He also is an avid lover of M&M McFlurries from McDonalds, and accepts that he has an addiction to them. Release date. He was ready to beat up the Ancient One to secure the Time Stone. Endgame brings Banner and Hulks narrative arc full circle in the MCU, a tricky proposition, since Marvel is disinclined to produce a solo Hulk movie. But unlike the bottled magic of the combo of Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau in the first Iron Man, this pairing results in a comparative thud. Hulk was no wimp. Because Bixby never played the role as meek, repressed, or unemotional. In the Green Goliath's case, . The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with Jon Favreaus Iron Man, which introduced Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and set the tone for the rest of this connected universe. One of the main themes of Avengers:Endgame is sacrifice, and the film demonstrates over and over again that the only way to be victorious over the "inevitable" (as Thanos so fatefully described himself) is cooperative combined might, and actions that exact terrible tolls. Hulk dabs! The Hulk brings fighting and strength to the table and hes not quite sure what Banner is bringing yet. But after doing this for the last decade (good granola, has it been that long? And watching him bounce off Downey Jr., Evans, and Hemsworth proved exactly why he was the perfect fit for both the group and the MCUs version of the Hulk stories. The Hulk is one such character that fans enjoy seeing in a fight. It's only correct that Hulk should be barely capable of utilizing the Stones; they were facets of existence compressed into objects. ), hearing that question so often has forced me to examine my own history with, relationship to, and understanding of the character at large. Avengers 5. theory explains how Hulk may transform into biggest villain yet. Mark Ruffalo shuffled into an established cast as the first actor to capture, at the very least, the gentle humility of Bixby. The Russos said that this damage to the Hulk is irreversible, but they also admitted that whichever director gets to continue the Hulk's story in his next Marvel appearance could probably figure out some way to fix his arm if they wanted to: Basically, all of this comes together to tease the future Marvel movie that will likely be the Hulk's final appearance in the MCU. The final film in Marvels Phase 3 brings Bruce Banner full circle. Added co-writer Stephen McFeely, "With a movie with 23 named heroes that you know from other movies, one of the challenges is to give people the briefest complete arc. The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with Jon Favreau's Iron Man, which introduced Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and set the tone for the rest of this connected universe. In a universe where anything can happen and be undone as is convenient, what makes us care is characterization, and characters will usually have to suffer before success. That's because the young actors in that scene are the Russo brothers' own sons and niece. The second problem with not addressing this conflict is that it prevents us, the viewers, from truly answering any of it, because we simply have to wait until we get more from the next film. Especially since Endgame treated the character so poorly. They both want to control Hulks body. Endgame. The Hulk has at different times been stupid, intelligent, angry, incapable of speech, eloquent, savage, noble, a She-Hulk, Korean-American, red, gray, as old as eons, and even once had a run as a mob-loving casino security guard. After all, Tony Stark was killed by using the Infinity Stones, and the Hulk managed to survive the supernatural radiation albeit with a severely blackened and now useless arm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Avengers: Endgame has come and gone, rocked the box office, and smashed all the records. Its no accident that weve seen some more careful, muted versions, but the translations have also come with a few errors in judgment. For starters, they leaned heavily into the references and signifiers of the old TV show and comics. And I think that relationship is starting to strain between the two of them and the Hulk is not interested in playing the hero to Banner anymore," Joe Russo said. But it's the Hulk who addresses every concern you might have. "The Hulk has never come up against every Infinity Stone in a gauntlet, and the pure power of the stones," Joe Russo explained. Really. This is problematic for two reasons. So when the events of the current story serve to re-traumatize him, our Banner breaks from his unemotional exterior and the inner hulk (read: emotion/trauma) finally comes to the surface with destructive consequences. Theres Bruce, the high-functioning self who pushes down his emotions and makes himself suitable for human presentation. While Hulk's juvenile pranks in Ragnarok were a hoot because they were a change of pace, that sort of thing only works if he gets to return to form later on. Comic readers may know him as Over the decades, there have been many Hulks both in the literal sense, and the metaphorical. And then theres the Hulk, the fully busted-out expression of the raging subconscious id within us all. Avengers: Endgame has finally arrived in theaters, and most fans have hopefully had a chance to see it. Although "Avengers: Endgame" is completely filled to the brim with CGI, large-scale sets, and green screens, the diner scene where Scott, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) confront Smart Hulk for the first time in years was the most difficult to arrange according to director Anthony Russo. newsletter, closure to the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal Studios still has right of first refusal for any solo Hulk movie, planned their own three movie arc for Hulks personality, Avengers: Endgame failed the Incredible Hulk, Avengers: Endgames reinvented Hawkeye raises questions about superheroes who kill, In the end, the MCU was a saga about failure, The biggest questions after Avengers: Endgames ending, answered, The kid at the end of Avengers: Endgame is one of Marvels mightiest cameos, Avengers: Endgame writers on bringing Captain America to this moment, Captain Americas final act in Endgame seems to solve a lingering MCU mystery, The best Captain America moment was a nod to comic book controversy, Avengers: Endgames confusing timeline actually makes sense heres why, Thors reaction to his new look is the only one that matters, Avengers: Endgames Stan Lee cameo is a rebuke to keeping politics out of comics, Everything you need to remember about the OG Avengers before Endgame, The Avengers: Endgame scenes worth dipping out of for a bathroom break, ranked, Avengers: Endgame: the non-spoiler review, Avengers: Endgame does have a post-credits moment, its just subtle, The best way to avoid Avengers: Endgame spoilers and leaks, How to watch all 21 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame will finish the series longest-running battle and its not Thanos, What MCUs Phase 4 looks like after Endgame, Black Widows stand-alone movie could make Avengers: Endgame richer, How Avengers: Endgame shakes up the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer plays way differently after Endgame.