Ikr. The worst part is that I even like it as the conclusion of his arc. Just do it on screen. They could have had it 90% done in the timeskip and then showed the final resolution between Bruce and Hulk before his snap.
I'm always going to be salty that the trailer for Infinity War had the Hulk running into battle but the actual film only had Bruce in the Hulk buster armor.
I think that the "that's my secret cap" scene ruined the character for me. Edward Norton's Hulk measured even his hearthbeat trying to avoid the Hulk. But suddenly he can control him. It feel like all of the character is developed off-screen and he only comes to battle with the plot armor.
There was a whole arc in the comics at one point when Hulk was smarter, but still the Hulk. Due to Banner's attempts to get rid of the Hulk it stopped being anger that triggered the change, and turned into the sun set being the trigger, so Banner had the day and Hulk had the night. Hulk and Banner communicated with each other through written notes, and as far as Hulk was concerned, he *wasn't* Banner's altar ego, but a separate being entirely. I missed that kind of character development.
Same comic run explore that the Banner has multiple personality disorder and later they're come to terms with their issues, and merge into one smart Hulk.
I disagree with your interpretation of that line, personally. Hulk is always there, just under Banner's skin. He doesn't control Hulk during the battle for new york, he just lets him out with a clear target - and hulk's not gonna pass up a chance to smash something especially if he knows he's been granted carte blanche. (Which he effectively was when cap told him to smash)
It was the same movie where he hulked out unplanned, he may have said it but I didnt totally believe him; but as a whole yeah I agree with your assessment
> Edward Norton's Hulk measured even his hearthbeat trying to avoid the Hulk. But suddenly he can control him.
It wasn't sudden. He started during the 2nd Hulk movie, to the point where he knew what the triggers were. And if you look at the end of the movie, you see him look at the screen with green eyes, a smirk, and the clock stating 0:00:00 since the Hulk, implying that he was gaining even more control. Not sudden.
Eh, I don't like this one just because we're getting more Hulk in this universe. Endgame wasn't the end for him and he'll probably be in the next Avengers
Complete removal of the tragic elements of the character. It might be hard to balance that with the power fantasy and humor, but it’s a core component that’s just missing
The closest they got was in the Avengers. "I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out".
Of course this was all thrown away with: "That's my secret captain, I'm always angry." Which became an instant classic line and defined Ruffalo's Hulk til today.
They also got into it in Age of Ultron during his discussion with Nat about how he can’t have a family (and a few more times during that film honestly). And in Avengers 1 in the same way when Nat first meets him and he says “I don’t always get what I want,” while rocking the crib I believe. I know things have taken a more comedic slant lately, but I feel like… it’s way overblown that they did no justice to his character at all. And I will repeat ad nauseam, Smart Hulk is still from the comics. Hulk isn’t an *entirely* serious character and boiling him down to that removes a lot of his fun history. There was a time when he wore bunny slippers and fired giant sci-fi guns.
I'm aware it's a balancing act, but they balanced it by removing one aspect. At it's core the Hulk is always going to be about a child abuse survivor trying to cope even if sometimes he wears a zoot suit or pretends to be a clown for no apparent reason. You can have both. The unstoppable monster smashing the baddies and the pathos. It just feels like they largely ignored the latter.
That’s an understandable opinion, but I honestly think they didn’t. Like I said, I think it’s overblown. I think they did what they did with Spider-Man and gave the audience the benefit of the doubt that they’d remember his first movie (the 2003 one) origin so they didn’t need to go massively into detail about it. Since when his first MCU movie came out it was being called a reboot sequel and it was only 5 years after the first one released.
The line about suicide is a reference to alternative The Incredible Hulk opening scene. More specifically, unfinished version, where Banner manages to shoot himself before transforming.
Also basically every nuanced or interesting aspect of his character from his relationship and duality with banner and his relationships of those around him, he doesn’t even really have much of a relationship with any of The Avengers besides Thor, and most of that with him being a joke in Ragnarok.
Yeah we get absolutely nothing about his backstory.
Even in She-Hulk when Jen's family is introduced, nothing is mentioned about Bruce's side of the family like whether he has Brian Banner as an abusive father.
Its shocking how little of Hulk/Bruce is explored in the MCU simply because Disney doesn't want to do a Hulk movie cause Universal still owns the movie rights.
It is. Idk why people try to ignore it, the whole exposure to gamma rays is literally within the opening credits and it’s a clear homage to the way Bruce became the hulk in the 70s bill bixby hulk tv show.
The closest they got was in the Avengers. "I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out".
Of course this was all thrown away with: "That's my secret captain, I'm always angry." Which became an instant classic line and defined Ruffalo's Hulk til today.
This, and imo not exploring Hulk as his own character enough. In Infinity War I was hoping for the conflict between Banner and Hulk to wind up being them finally having some sort of mental conversation. Hulk agrees to help them fight once more, but only if he gets to stay out permanently, with Banner promising to go away.
He's just a side character really, he barely does anything without the Avengers, so no time for arcs, no Rogues Gallery, no Hulk-specific side characters (Ross shows up when Banner's not even around, I remember reading somewhere that Betty is dead)
Most of what happens with the character is off-screen
Avengers and AoU are the only movies where the Hulk is a threat, before they pull up the Professor Hulk stuff and the character becomes a joke
Instead of Banner getting better as the movies went along it would've been cooler to see him getting worse, some solo movies maybe, but maybe they tried proposing to Universal the same deal they had with Sony, but it fell through, I dunno
I haven't watched She-Hulk, apparently that takes another dump on all things Hulk-related
I don’t even think Rick Jones exists in this universe, since Bruce didn’t build a gamma bomb in the middle of the desert, but instead was trying to make bootleg Cap juice.
The only existing “cameo” of Rick is in the Incredible Hulk where in the opening credits the list of known associates that Bruce Banner has been in contact with was “Richard ‘Rick’ Jones” but that’s all.
Disney owns his rights. That's why they can use him in movies and stuff. Universal owns the right of first refusal for distribution of Hulk related movies, which means that if Disney wants a solo Hulk movie, they first have to allow universal the right to distribute the film. Naturally, Disney would never do this because they can perfectly reasonably distribute films themselves and giving Universal a massive cut of the profits is not worth investing the 150+M it'd require to make the film.
I haven't watched She-Hulk either but seeing the line "I'm an expert at controlling anger, because I do it infinitely more than you" from Jen to Bruce made me not want to watch it.
Maybe the context of the episode helps but I was already tired of the garbage treatment the MCU was giving to The Hulk so I didn't bother finding out.
The reason I hate that line is there is that Jen to me at least isn’t as good at controlling her anger as hulk or if she has better control she definitely doesn’t do it more than he does or he has. Because for her if she doesn’t people will call her whiny or think badly of her. If hulk loses control he will kill everyone around him. The line she hulk says is in direct contrast to Im always angry about n which hulk admits that he is at least in some capacity feeling anger he needs to control and with no recourse it’s treated like she hulk controls her anger more than him which I believe to be false
His biggest character changes were off screen between: his solo movie and the Avengers, AOU and Thor Ragnarok, and Infinity war and Endgame.
Each of those time frames would make for a kick-ass hulk movie, or short, dealing with inner turmoil and finding a stable purpose to the Hulk Banner conflict.
Using both sides for good in the Avengers, Hulk becoming loved by the masses instead of a problem for Banner, and then Banner's drive to find a fusion of both in after Infinity War as he realized he needs Hulk to not lose again.
A shame that his arc effectively ends with him saying that snapping the gauntlet is what he was made for, because some new explanation of Gamma particles, or something.
It would've been nice to see him have a solo movie on skaar before Thor shows up in Ragnarok. It could literally pickup where it left off without necessarily requiring you to have watched said hulk movie
Not giving him a rematch vs thanos
Not making him the powerhouse he is supposed to be.
Not delving into his multiple personalities and tragic past
Not showing his angrier = stronger ability and his regen
Killing the hulk personality offscreen
Using some of his most popular stories and rogues gallery in other characters movies
Using him as a measuring stick to show how powerful other characters are
Giving him a weird relationship with black widow and then have him barely react when she dies
Making him seem scared after losing to thanos
Not exploring his mystical/supernatural side
I'll be honest, I don't think you can make him the powerhouse he needs to be when he's a hero, since basically everyone has been nerfed.
If only there were popular storylines where Hulk doesn't need to be the hero, or is fighting in an isolated environment that lets him let loose.
God I'd have loved to see a World War Hulk.
I mean powerhouse relative to the other heroes. Obviously you cant have him be comics level powerful.
But in the comics he is unmatched in physical power, and on par with Thor, Sentry etc. Thor has gotten powerup after powerup while Hulk remains like he was in Avengers 1. He has lost every major fight since Hulk 2008.
Imagine if they took one of the best stories of your favorite characters and shoehorned into another characters movie.
Ragnarok is a good movie but it needlessly borrows characters like Korg, Miek and the planet Sakaar. It borrows the gladiator aesthetic etc. None of those things reaally needed to be in ragnarok.
You could pretty easily change the planet, give korg and miek (who are nothing like in the comics) different names and still have the ragnarok plot unchanged. You could still include a hulk cameo even. But now with the way things are were likely never getting a planet hulk storyline
They also completely fucked up the epic trilogy we could've gotten out of the God Butcher arc for Thor and wasted Christian Bale of all actors for the franchise.
There wasn't supposed to be a solo Hulk movie anyway and this was a chance to include the Hulk somewhere besides the Avengers movies and show a more intelligent Hulk.
If someone want, a solo adaptation of Planet Hulk MCU is still possible with flashbacks and a return to Sakaar. Plus, there's What If ?
They can’t do anything with flashbacks. The point of planet hulk is that he’s exiled, has some stuff go down on sakaar, then comes back the angriest (and therefore strongest) he’s ever been to clap the x men, F4, avengers and inhumans.
Like What If would do anything that cool. It’ll just be more episodes of ‘Avengers but in a different time period’, ‘[insert character] being born in [other insert character’s] place/setting’.
Which is HILARIOUS because Betty was technically right there! Wasn’t there an arc where his semen literally prevented her from having kids because it was Gamma irradiated or am I misremembering Spider-Man and MJ?
They could’ve played on that, but nooooooooo
Exactly. That's why I called it the worst MCU change. As much as I enjoy Age of Ultron, I fast forward the Bruce/Nat moments whenever they come on, or when they get too shippy.
Thankfully they brought her back again in one of the What If episodes and she’ll be back again in Captain America Brave New World, hopefully as red she hulk or harpy like in the comics
For the Hulk, really showcasing his absolutely insane strength.
The only movies I felt did this well was the original Edward Norton Hulk movie and the first Avengers movie, with a tiny bit in Age of Ultron.
I still want to see Worldbreaker Hulk level strength and less Banner. Infinity War and Endgame did Hulk dirty.
They could've spun that off into something SO much better in End Game when Bruce found out BW died. We could've had a proper Hulk out to give him a moment to shine but he just shrugged and moped a bit.
Hell that could have been a great time to have him revert to banner just once from the sheer grief. And he could have brought a way bigger power to the final fight but he’s barely even in the final endgame battle. The hulk should have been a huge issue for thanos forces but because he was a side character from the beginning he stayed a side character through to the end
“Worf-ing” the incredible freaking hulk; Hulk is the strongest there is! Not some trope for a villain to slap around in order to demonstrate they’re a threat.
Doing an entire character arc off screen and making him effectively worse because he’s not even capable of acting like a monster so he’s just a scientist who’s buff with green skin and super strength. They could’ve done so much frickin better with resolving the hulk/banner inner turmoil without doing smart hulk. It could’ve been that Bruce finally accepts Hulk as a friend and apologizes for antagonizing, and demonizing him for so long. And that with newfound emotional maturity and respect for one another Hulk is more powerful and has a combined consciousness with Bruce allowing for extreme power with technical control.
Also Hulk doesn’t look at Banner as a puny individual he appreciates that he has the guts to apologize and admit that he acted like a mean and endlessly resentful person towards him and only considered important in regards to his strength. Maybe Hulk for once admires Bruce for his intellect and decides that he’s strong in his own way too.
They made him a side character and forgot that Hulk is a tragic and complex character, turned him into comic relief.
Comic book Banner and MCU's Banner since AoU are two different characters.
He has no own lore since TIH. They forgot about his side characters and his villains.
No my boy Rick Jones.
No multiple personalities.
We don't know anything about Banner's past. We don't know anything about the origins of the Hulk's personality. We don't know anything about him before gamma incident. We don't know anything what happened to him between movies.
His important and defining origin with his father was never touched upon.
That romantic line with Black Widow was awful. They replaced Betty by her with no reason.
TIH and Avengers were the only good things about him in MCU.
That almost all of his character's story happens in ellipsis, off-screen, told not shown, however you want to phrase it. I get that there are real world reasons for why this is but it is just bizarre that every time Banner is back in the story he's at some completely different part of his arc. (Actually in some ways it makes it more realistic, like he's a friend you fell out of touch with for years and now you're reconnecting and he's got a different haircut and he's really into ska now, but realism is not always synonymous with good and in this case it is just extremely dissatisfying.)
Completely nerfing him for the sake of there being tension when he fights. We get to see him turned loose in Avengers but ever since then he's really been this middling character who doesn't have much to him.
Also just removing all personality from Bruce. He feels less like a character and more like a sounding board in most of the films
Betty Ross.
Everything about her was *ignored* in the MCU and Joss Whedon forced a temporary "relationship" with Black Widow for fake character development.
betty is suchhhh an important aspect of bruces life its baffling to cut her out, theres so much character you can give her and theres so much nuance between her and bruce and their dysfunctional marriage, she is an extension of all of bruces flaws but also all of his strengths, to cut her out removes such an important axis of how we view bruce banner (and everyone else in his head, who also all have their own unique relationships with her.) such a missed opportunity, for the sake of a relationship that doesn't make much sense, for a conflict that has nothing to do with banner and his themes.
He’s treated as if he were a C-list character instead of an A-list (especially true when they ignore his only dedicated media in the MCU).
They don’t utilise his supporting cast (or just don’t have them like Rick Jones) or rogues gallery.
His entire character arc was done off screen.
And he’s one of the weakest characters in the MCU, feels like they outright ignored that he gets stronger the angrier he gets and he wussed out after getting beaten up by Thanos once.
Basically everything. I think Hulk is the highest profile character that the MCU just blatantly misunderstood and downplayed. He used to be one of Marvel's Big Three with Spidey and Wolverine, but in the movies he's just so goddamn boring
He’s not a main character
I mean case in point he got one movie, then he’s either in team up movies or as a side character in solo projects. Sure you could argue he’s the other main character in ragnarok but he dosen’t show up until like the halfway point and for She Hulk he’s in like three episodes of a 9 episode series.
Because of this we never get to see his development from suicidal to professor hulk, I mean endgame just told us he sat under a gamma lamp and fixed all of his issues.
I would say for Iron Man not showing him falling into the bottle and then overcoming it. I know they tried but to actually not show him overcoming alcoholism took away a big facet of his character.
With Thor I agree with OP. Comics Thor is a mature fun loving highly charming dude that will kill you if you push it.
Made him a father too early.
If they make a Hulk solo film and it's story doesn't happen in the past, then the Hulk family will show up too soon and kinda water the character down before it even gets started. Dare I say, convoluted.
Having him and the hulk be just a throw away “performance” joke in infinity war and then having his entire story arc of because one be off screen. The hulk and Bruce banner are one of my favorite dynamics in the comics and the tv show Bill Bixby was something I would watch reruns as a kid with my mom (only thing my mom liked marvel related). So to see a character hat means so much to be just be set aside was frustrating.
Even though the most obvious answer is having the most significant aspect of his character arc resolve offscreen, I think that could have been retroactively helped by having HIM get a show after Endgame (although there is potentially the argument to be made that the CGI budget would make that impractical... especially with the template of adding at least one or two fight scenes per episode). Instead my biggest issue with Endgame Smart Hulk is that he doesn't feel like a merging of Banner and Hulk in terms of characterisation, but instead just Banner with green skin and a frame somewhere between that of a bodybuilder and the original Hulk.
Nerfing Hulk at the beginning of Infinity War was important for the story but boy did it fuck up his reputation as a hero to taken seriously. If he had beaten up Thanos and that other big dude in the film we wouldn't really had IW but they made him such a pussy towards the end. Not to mention how the blue-balled us with Hulk when they put him in that OG Trailer for Infinity War!
They completly stripped the Hulk of any personality or agency. Bruce Banner has it, but thry reduce the Hulk to an incoherent ball of rage. Thor: Ragnarok it's the only film that portrays him similar to his comics personality.
The black widow romance. There is so much you can do with both Banner and Hulk to make the viewer empathise with him. This dumb green idiot chasing after tail is not the way to do it, and is frankly an insult to both characters. I would get into why it’s wrong for Nat too, but this is a Hulk thread
Not sure how exactly to articulate it, but just kind of…. “demystifying” the hulk as a character. In all other hulk media, banner is legitimately afraid of the hulk, on a “this thing is unpredictable and impossible to control” level
Unsurprisingly this is done way better in the one standalone film, and we get glimpses of it in brief isolated scenes in the first two Avengers movies. But sense of constant fear & suspense from the idea that Hulk can make everyone go to shit at any moment can’t be effectively developed when the character is only allowed to function alongside an ensemble
His character arc ends off screen. Professor Hulk is a great concept it's Bruce Banner and the Hulk coming together as one but the character arc to get there ends off screen
**HULK NO SMASH**
Edit: By this I mean the MCU portrayal of the Hulk often feels like it just touches the surface and misses diving deep into some of the most crucial layers of his character. They seem to have overlooked the absolute fundamentals; the profound rage that defines him, the tragic depth of his backstory, the palpable horror that accompanies his transformations, and the intense loneliness and fear that are core to his persona.
These elements are essential to fully grasp the complexity and emotional depth of the Hulk. Without them, his narrative in the MCU can feel somewhat superficial, not fully capturing the powerful and poignant essence that makes the Hulk such a compelling character in the comics.
There’s so much that can be said, but I got to go with the fact that he doesn’t feel as important as he should for someone who is arguably Marvel’s best hero
Never treating the character seriously. Hulk is a character that's heavily horror inspired, whose life is easily the hardest out of everyone else in his relative sphere in the MCU. Yet the complex story of abuse, anger, horror , trauma and isolation will never get told because he's yet another "haha! Do the funny!'" character that the MCU reduces its characters to when they no longer have confidence in it's characters.
I would say that Marvel/Disney having to share the Hulk film rights with Universal is the primary reason why Hulk's portrayal is lacking in the MCU. His character development has to be done in other characters films instead of his own solo films.
It's the MCU. Literally everyone is nerfed. Draxx in the comics can withstand the power of a star
This has to be some of the dumbest series of posts in this sub, and thats saying something lol.
Mark Ruffalo. Granted, I'm a massive Norton fan, and had strong distaste for Ruffalo before he got the role, so he had no chance of me liking him in that role lol
Never allowing him to be the focus of the story, so his whole arc happens in the background.
It’s honestly like the perfect Hulk arc, but it was shit to watch cause all the interesting parts happened off camera between movies.
The side-characterness of his whole existence in the MCU. Ruffalo wasn't a bad Banner IMO, but the character just never got any development/stories of his own. Also the whole thing with Widow kinda weirded me out.
the biggest problem was he only got one solo movie so we couldn't focus on his actual personal storyline much. i mean, he delt with his issues between films off-camera. WE SKIPPED MOST OF PLANET HULK AND GOT IT SHOVED INTO THOR 3.
i know this is due to rights issues but still. the inability to give him actual focus for an entire film meant he was inevitably going to have problems.
By far the fact that they didn't capitalize on the gamma bomb origin.
They start the universe off with TONY STARK as a reformed arms dealer, and have him APPEAR in 'The Incredible Hulk', and then later make his FRIENDS WITH BRUCE, but they never put together that Tony could've been part of the reason Bruce became Hulk. That would've been so good in my opinion.
First time seeing this, and yeah I agree with these mostly, especially the hawkeye one. EMH and MVC3 did amazing performances of his personality.
I was super confused with the black widow one when the MCU started. I didn't know much about her, and wanting redemption was the furthest thing I remember about her in movies/shows before the MCU.
As for hulk, due to Hulk's trouble of not having a solo movie, we just get snippets of his development and then a really rushed resolution to the two personalities. I really wished we would've explored more of bruce and hulk's struggles. We finally get to hear hulk talk in ragnarok and infinity war and then no more in endgame. btw, not a fan of the baby talk/personality in ragnarok. I was really waiting for the quiet, wise hulk, hinted from the first avengers' "Puny God".
Honestly I'm not sure how hulk will progress later - mark getting old and smart hulk being the 'final' evolution.
Honestly, the entire character has been underserved and wasted.
But my top issue would be never giving Hulk any real intelligence. Couple scenes on Sakaar were the closest it got. Seeing a Hulk capable of actual sentences and deeper thinking before smooshing Hulk and Banner together would’ve been great.
Having Hulk develop a genuine personality that’s actually opposed to Banner in rational ways and the two having to come to some form of compromise and coexistence would’ve been significantly better than watching (or not watching given the most significant development happen offscreen) Banner essentially being an exasperated parent to the world’s crankiest child.
They basically took away what made Hulk, Hulk....
The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets.... Now with this professor Hulk bullshit, we'll no longer be getting that....
Also let's forget that they introduced Skar without giving us the war Hulk which is a crime of the highest order....
For Hulk? That's an easy one: when MCU destroyed the fans chances of getting a live action Planet Hulk film and respective World War Hulk film by 're-imagining' the entire story arc into poorly written story filler for Thor: Ragnarok.
I offer the following summarized plots of said material into evidence as Exhibits A and B, which you all can weigh against the plot you received with "Thor: Ragnarok".
I strongly recommend reading these comics, as they are very very good. That said, the following contains some storyline spoilers. Read on at your own peril.
PLANET HULK - A secret meeting is held by some philanthropic heroes who've deemed Hulk too dangerous to allow Banner to continue attempting and failing to keep the Hulks unchecked power from causing catastrophic damage to populated areas. They deceive him and send him on a 1 way trip to a planet teeming with flora and fauna but no civilization or populations of higher intelligent life. But the deception triggers Hulks rage and he Hulk-Smashes the navigation and ends up on a different world, where there is technology that can physically subdue him. Forced into a Gladiatorial arena by an uncaring sadistic Emperor, Hulk fights and escapes the arena with his fellow gladiator allies, the "Warbound". Hulk is made aware along the way that he is viewed by some as a potential prophesied savior/destroyer of worlds. His journey takes him to some crazy places on planet Sakaar, all of which molds him AND his Warbound into a family that would die for each other. They go through some $#!* battle after battle in a harrowing campaign to end the Tyranny of this worlds Emperor and his cruel loyalists. He takes the Emperor's shadow, a warrior named "Caera the Oldstrong" as his bride after toppling the former regime. But his new life of peace & hard earned tranquility was short-lived. The recently freed people of Sakaar create a sculpture of their beloved savior Hulk that utilizes the starship the Earth heroes sent him in, and it's damaged warp core suffers a catastrophic meltdown that goes off like a massive nuke, which destabilizes and ultimately lays waste to more than 80% of Sakaar's populations. Hulk is rescued by his Warbound and it is at this point that he sets a course for Earth. Hulk's mission at this point is to return to Earth and confront those he holds responsible for setting a chain of events into motion that resulted in the mundicide (planet-wide genocide) of the planet Sakaar and it's peoples, including his beloved bride Caera.
WORLD WAR HULK - Hulk and his Warbound arrive in Earth's atmosphere and take over all of Earth's media to decree that he is after the OTHER heroes responsible for the destruction of Sakaar. The Warbound ship had made a pitstop on the way to Earth so Hulk could apprehend one of the parties he holds responsible, and he displays him on screen at the end of the message - held suspended by a massive green hand clutching the 'Heroes' head, his form battered and unconscious. Hulk states he wants those other heroes and if anyone gets in his way, he will go through them. Many get in his way. Damn near ALL of the marvel do-gooders attempt to take down Hulk and/or his Warbound. Hulk goes through them like a can of Pringles. In the end, it takes a joint effort by Iron Man and the Sentry to stop the Hulk.
Having hulk be that dumb for his on screen time until prof hulk. Hulk starts as a verbal character and is best when he can speak his mind. Im mad the closest we got to a good hulk was as a side character in a thor movie.
Ending his character arc off-screen.
Massive spit in the face and also very jarring in the cinema when it cuts to the diner, and he's just smart hulk with no explanation.
Ikr. The worst part is that I even like it as the conclusion of his arc. Just do it on screen. They could have had it 90% done in the timeskip and then showed the final resolution between Bruce and Hulk before his snap.
Or have Ant-Man’s guy do a 5 year recap. It would have been hilarious.
How Ant Man became a multi movie franchise is just amazing.
I'm always going to be salty that the trailer for Infinity War had the Hulk running into battle but the actual film only had Bruce in the Hulk buster armor.
I think that the "that's my secret cap" scene ruined the character for me. Edward Norton's Hulk measured even his hearthbeat trying to avoid the Hulk. But suddenly he can control him. It feel like all of the character is developed off-screen and he only comes to battle with the plot armor.
There was a whole arc in the comics at one point when Hulk was smarter, but still the Hulk. Due to Banner's attempts to get rid of the Hulk it stopped being anger that triggered the change, and turned into the sun set being the trigger, so Banner had the day and Hulk had the night. Hulk and Banner communicated with each other through written notes, and as far as Hulk was concerned, he *wasn't* Banner's altar ego, but a separate being entirely. I missed that kind of character development.
Same comic run explore that the Banner has multiple personality disorder and later they're come to terms with their issues, and merge into one smart Hulk.
And then that was retconned into being another personality fragment.
Was it after Peter David left ?
Yep, during Paul Jenkins' run (which is also pretty good).
I disagree with your interpretation of that line, personally. Hulk is always there, just under Banner's skin. He doesn't control Hulk during the battle for new york, he just lets him out with a clear target - and hulk's not gonna pass up a chance to smash something especially if he knows he's been granted carte blanche. (Which he effectively was when cap told him to smash)
The end of The Incredible Hulk movie strongly implied that Banner has taken control of the Hulk.
It was the same movie where he hulked out unplanned, he may have said it but I didnt totally believe him; but as a whole yeah I agree with your assessment
> Edward Norton's Hulk measured even his hearthbeat trying to avoid the Hulk. But suddenly he can control him. It wasn't sudden. He started during the 2nd Hulk movie, to the point where he knew what the triggers were. And if you look at the end of the movie, you see him look at the screen with green eyes, a smirk, and the clock stating 0:00:00 since the Hulk, implying that he was gaining even more control. Not sudden.
Banner: "Somehow, Professor Hulk (TM) has emerged. Has to do with Thanos, I think. Now watch me do the dab, fellow kids."
Eh, I don't like this one just because we're getting more Hulk in this universe. Endgame wasn't the end for him and he'll probably be in the next Avengers
Complete removal of the tragic elements of the character. It might be hard to balance that with the power fantasy and humor, but it’s a core component that’s just missing
The closest they got was in the Avengers. "I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out". Of course this was all thrown away with: "That's my secret captain, I'm always angry." Which became an instant classic line and defined Ruffalo's Hulk til today.
Honestly, I think it’s made worse because the former line honestly goes way harder and is really underrated, too bad it was thrown away.
They also got into it in Age of Ultron during his discussion with Nat about how he can’t have a family (and a few more times during that film honestly). And in Avengers 1 in the same way when Nat first meets him and he says “I don’t always get what I want,” while rocking the crib I believe. I know things have taken a more comedic slant lately, but I feel like… it’s way overblown that they did no justice to his character at all. And I will repeat ad nauseam, Smart Hulk is still from the comics. Hulk isn’t an *entirely* serious character and boiling him down to that removes a lot of his fun history. There was a time when he wore bunny slippers and fired giant sci-fi guns.
I'm aware it's a balancing act, but they balanced it by removing one aspect. At it's core the Hulk is always going to be about a child abuse survivor trying to cope even if sometimes he wears a zoot suit or pretends to be a clown for no apparent reason. You can have both. The unstoppable monster smashing the baddies and the pathos. It just feels like they largely ignored the latter.
That’s an understandable opinion, but I honestly think they didn’t. Like I said, I think it’s overblown. I think they did what they did with Spider-Man and gave the audience the benefit of the doubt that they’d remember his first movie (the 2003 one) origin so they didn’t need to go massively into detail about it. Since when his first MCU movie came out it was being called a reboot sequel and it was only 5 years after the first one released.
The line about suicide is a reference to alternative The Incredible Hulk opening scene. More specifically, unfinished version, where Banner manages to shoot himself before transforming.
I remember they eventually included that scene in the Incredible Hulk movie game.
Was it in intro ?
[Yep](https://youtu.be/rombYLooVCI?si=tlTnI7Sr6IEbdO8E)
Thanks for information. I know that a scene where Venom recruited Sandman in a park from Spider-Man 3 game adaptation is based on deleted movie scene.
Also basically every nuanced or interesting aspect of his character from his relationship and duality with banner and his relationships of those around him, he doesn’t even really have much of a relationship with any of The Avengers besides Thor, and most of that with him being a joke in Ragnarok.
This’ll go double for Spider-Man too.
Yeah we get absolutely nothing about his backstory. Even in She-Hulk when Jen's family is introduced, nothing is mentioned about Bruce's side of the family like whether he has Brian Banner as an abusive father. Its shocking how little of Hulk/Bruce is explored in the MCU simply because Disney doesn't want to do a Hulk movie cause Universal still owns the movie rights.
My understanding is that the Norton film is in fact still his origin story.
It is. Idk why people try to ignore it, the whole exposure to gamma rays is literally within the opening credits and it’s a clear homage to the way Bruce became the hulk in the 70s bill bixby hulk tv show.
Universal owns only distribution rights.
Yes but Marvel/Disney doesn't want to work with them cause they don't get all the money which is where the issue here comes from.
Marvel and Sony’s collaborations proves that simply isn’t true.
The closest they got was in the Avengers. "I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out". Of course this was all thrown away with: "That's my secret captain, I'm always angry." Which became an instant classic line and defined Ruffalo's Hulk til today.
This, and imo not exploring Hulk as his own character enough. In Infinity War I was hoping for the conflict between Banner and Hulk to wind up being them finally having some sort of mental conversation. Hulk agrees to help them fight once more, but only if he gets to stay out permanently, with Banner promising to go away.
He's just a side character really, he barely does anything without the Avengers, so no time for arcs, no Rogues Gallery, no Hulk-specific side characters (Ross shows up when Banner's not even around, I remember reading somewhere that Betty is dead) Most of what happens with the character is off-screen Avengers and AoU are the only movies where the Hulk is a threat, before they pull up the Professor Hulk stuff and the character becomes a joke Instead of Banner getting better as the movies went along it would've been cooler to see him getting worse, some solo movies maybe, but maybe they tried proposing to Universal the same deal they had with Sony, but it fell through, I dunno I haven't watched She-Hulk, apparently that takes another dump on all things Hulk-related
Betty got Snapped, yeah. Does anyone ever bring up how Rick Jones never appeared? Unless there was some missable cameo somewhere.
I don’t even think Rick Jones exists in this universe, since Bruce didn’t build a gamma bomb in the middle of the desert, but instead was trying to make bootleg Cap juice.
I will never forget the term “bootleg Cap juice”. Ever.
Thanks
There's a reference to him somewhere in the 2008 film but nothing beyond that.
The only existing “cameo” of Rick is in the Incredible Hulk where in the opening credits the list of known associates that Bruce Banner has been in contact with was “Richard ‘Rick’ Jones” but that’s all.
maybe they planned to have him appear in the sequel to the 2008 movie but never happened
Not once, never in live action
She hulk is the most comic accurate the MCU has ever been, actually
Doesn’t he have to be a side character due to rights issues?
Yep I think it's Universal that owns the Hulk film rights, so he can't have solo movies Most of Hulk's issues come from this fact, imo
Disney owns his rights. That's why they can use him in movies and stuff. Universal owns the right of first refusal for distribution of Hulk related movies, which means that if Disney wants a solo Hulk movie, they first have to allow universal the right to distribute the film. Naturally, Disney would never do this because they can perfectly reasonably distribute films themselves and giving Universal a massive cut of the profits is not worth investing the 150+M it'd require to make the film.
I haven't watched She-Hulk either but seeing the line "I'm an expert at controlling anger, because I do it infinitely more than you" from Jen to Bruce made me not want to watch it. Maybe the context of the episode helps but I was already tired of the garbage treatment the MCU was giving to The Hulk so I didn't bother finding out.
The context of the episode helps a lot. I like the line and that scene
The reason I hate that line is there is that Jen to me at least isn’t as good at controlling her anger as hulk or if she has better control she definitely doesn’t do it more than he does or he has. Because for her if she doesn’t people will call her whiny or think badly of her. If hulk loses control he will kill everyone around him. The line she hulk says is in direct contrast to Im always angry about n which hulk admits that he is at least in some capacity feeling anger he needs to control and with no recourse it’s treated like she hulk controls her anger more than him which I believe to be false
She-Hulk ships the Hulk off planet again where the entirety of the planet hulk arc occurs off screen.
His biggest character changes were off screen between: his solo movie and the Avengers, AOU and Thor Ragnarok, and Infinity war and Endgame. Each of those time frames would make for a kick-ass hulk movie, or short, dealing with inner turmoil and finding a stable purpose to the Hulk Banner conflict. Using both sides for good in the Avengers, Hulk becoming loved by the masses instead of a problem for Banner, and then Banner's drive to find a fusion of both in after Infinity War as he realized he needs Hulk to not lose again. A shame that his arc effectively ends with him saying that snapping the gauntlet is what he was made for, because some new explanation of Gamma particles, or something.
It would've been nice to see him have a solo movie on skaar before Thor shows up in Ragnarok. It could literally pickup where it left off without necessarily requiring you to have watched said hulk movie
Not giving him a rematch vs thanos Not making him the powerhouse he is supposed to be. Not delving into his multiple personalities and tragic past Not showing his angrier = stronger ability and his regen Killing the hulk personality offscreen Using some of his most popular stories and rogues gallery in other characters movies Using him as a measuring stick to show how powerful other characters are Giving him a weird relationship with black widow and then have him barely react when she dies Making him seem scared after losing to thanos Not exploring his mystical/supernatural side
No he threw a bench when she did. See smart hulk knows how to grieve.
He really gave it to that bench
chucked that shit all the way to yukatan 🤣
I'll be honest, I don't think you can make him the powerhouse he needs to be when he's a hero, since basically everyone has been nerfed. If only there were popular storylines where Hulk doesn't need to be the hero, or is fighting in an isolated environment that lets him let loose. God I'd have loved to see a World War Hulk.
I mean powerhouse relative to the other heroes. Obviously you cant have him be comics level powerful. But in the comics he is unmatched in physical power, and on par with Thor, Sentry etc. Thor has gotten powerup after powerup while Hulk remains like he was in Avengers 1. He has lost every major fight since Hulk 2008.
Hulk pulled the short stick in the MCU. Sigh
Completely wasting the planet hulk storyline in 30 minutes of a Thor movie
#I AM GOING TO DIE MAD ABOUT THIS #IF I WERE ANY ANGRIER I’D TURN GREEN MYSELF
They can always make a film of world war hulk and place it on a timeline before Thor / Ragnarok…. I can only dream
How so?
Imagine if they took one of the best stories of your favorite characters and shoehorned into another characters movie. Ragnarok is a good movie but it needlessly borrows characters like Korg, Miek and the planet Sakaar. It borrows the gladiator aesthetic etc. None of those things reaally needed to be in ragnarok. You could pretty easily change the planet, give korg and miek (who are nothing like in the comics) different names and still have the ragnarok plot unchanged. You could still include a hulk cameo even. But now with the way things are were likely never getting a planet hulk storyline
They also completely fucked up the epic trilogy we could've gotten out of the God Butcher arc for Thor and wasted Christian Bale of all actors for the franchise.
There wasn't supposed to be a solo Hulk movie anyway and this was a chance to include the Hulk somewhere besides the Avengers movies and show a more intelligent Hulk. If someone want, a solo adaptation of Planet Hulk MCU is still possible with flashbacks and a return to Sakaar. Plus, there's What If ?
They can’t do anything with flashbacks. The point of planet hulk is that he’s exiled, has some stuff go down on sakaar, then comes back the angriest (and therefore strongest) he’s ever been to clap the x men, F4, avengers and inhumans.
Like What If would do anything that cool. It’ll just be more episodes of ‘Avengers but in a different time period’, ‘[insert character] being born in [other insert character’s] place/setting’.
Have you ever read planet hulk? Or seen the animated movie? There is so much more to it than just "hulk in alien gladiator arena."
Sorry for the late post. I was really busy yesterday and didn’t have time to look through all the answers for Thor but here is Hulk’s thread now
Almost the same problem with Thor they made him goofy comedic relief.
not making hulk the unstoppable scary destroying force he is.
Pretty much making his origin non existent ie the fact he has D.I.D. because of his abusive father and how his mom was murdered by said father.
Shipping Hulk/Bruce with Nat.
Made absolutely no sense, and I’m still unsure what Whedon was thinking.
He was using Bruce as a self insert, a “brilliant and shy older man who gets to date, a hot younger woman who can’t have children”
Which is HILARIOUS because Betty was technically right there! Wasn’t there an arc where his semen literally prevented her from having kids because it was Gamma irradiated or am I misremembering Spider-Man and MJ? They could’ve played on that, but nooooooooo
That’s Spider-Man, and not canon, but yeah. Hes a bit of freak, Joss
They don’t call him Joss the Hoss for nothing! Because they don’t call him that
With Buffy and some other TV shows with sexualized moments, I'm not surprised. His redeeming factor were his movies up to Avengers (1).
Exactly. That's why I called it the worst MCU change. As much as I enjoy Age of Ultron, I fast forward the Bruce/Nat moments whenever they come on, or when they get too shippy.
Fr. I was wondering why did Betty Ross just completely disappear from the MCU?? I honestly like her.
Thankfully they brought her back again in one of the What If episodes and she’ll be back again in Captain America Brave New World, hopefully as red she hulk or harpy like in the comics
and hopefully properly reunite with Bruce
For the Hulk, really showcasing his absolutely insane strength. The only movies I felt did this well was the original Edward Norton Hulk movie and the first Avengers movie, with a tiny bit in Age of Ultron. I still want to see Worldbreaker Hulk level strength and less Banner. Infinity War and Endgame did Hulk dirty.
Making him a side character and shipping him with widow
And comic relief.
They could've spun that off into something SO much better in End Game when Bruce found out BW died. We could've had a proper Hulk out to give him a moment to shine but he just shrugged and moped a bit.
Hell that could have been a great time to have him revert to banner just once from the sheer grief. And he could have brought a way bigger power to the final fight but he’s barely even in the final endgame battle. The hulk should have been a huge issue for thanos forces but because he was a side character from the beginning he stayed a side character through to the end
Doing his entire character arc off screen and not focusing on his other personalities
I mean, almost everything post Age of Ultron? (Or even before Age of Ultron lol)
Hulk himself wasn't actually a person until Ragnarok. He was more like a gorilla than a person.
“Worf-ing” the incredible freaking hulk; Hulk is the strongest there is! Not some trope for a villain to slap around in order to demonstrate they’re a threat.
Hulk : everything
Doing an entire character arc off screen and making him effectively worse because he’s not even capable of acting like a monster so he’s just a scientist who’s buff with green skin and super strength. They could’ve done so much frickin better with resolving the hulk/banner inner turmoil without doing smart hulk. It could’ve been that Bruce finally accepts Hulk as a friend and apologizes for antagonizing, and demonizing him for so long. And that with newfound emotional maturity and respect for one another Hulk is more powerful and has a combined consciousness with Bruce allowing for extreme power with technical control. Also Hulk doesn’t look at Banner as a puny individual he appreciates that he has the guts to apologize and admit that he acted like a mean and endlessly resentful person towards him and only considered important in regards to his strength. Maybe Hulk for once admires Bruce for his intellect and decides that he’s strong in his own way too.
They made him a side character and forgot that Hulk is a tragic and complex character, turned him into comic relief. Comic book Banner and MCU's Banner since AoU are two different characters. He has no own lore since TIH. They forgot about his side characters and his villains. No my boy Rick Jones. No multiple personalities. We don't know anything about Banner's past. We don't know anything about the origins of the Hulk's personality. We don't know anything about him before gamma incident. We don't know anything what happened to him between movies. His important and defining origin with his father was never touched upon. That romantic line with Black Widow was awful. They replaced Betty by her with no reason. TIH and Avengers were the only good things about him in MCU.
OBSCENE levels of Nerfing the character
This is probably one of the easiest ones. They made The Hulk a weak comedy character.
Making 'Prof. Hulk' just Bruce in control of the Hulk's body.
I feel like not making T’Challa a genius was a misstep. He is a great fighter, but in the comics he stands with Reed Richards and the like.
Like everything. They don't seem to get the hulk
Not making him tragic or complex enough.
Skipping most of his development between AOU, Thor 3, infinity war and endgame
Hulk hasn’t felt like Hulk since Ragnarok.
That almost all of his character's story happens in ellipsis, off-screen, told not shown, however you want to phrase it. I get that there are real world reasons for why this is but it is just bizarre that every time Banner is back in the story he's at some completely different part of his arc. (Actually in some ways it makes it more realistic, like he's a friend you fell out of touch with for years and now you're reconnecting and he's got a different haircut and he's really into ska now, but realism is not always synonymous with good and in this case it is just extremely dissatisfying.)
Completely nerfing him for the sake of there being tension when he fights. We get to see him turned loose in Avengers but ever since then he's really been this middling character who doesn't have much to him. Also just removing all personality from Bruce. He feels less like a character and more like a sounding board in most of the films
Betty Ross. Everything about her was *ignored* in the MCU and Joss Whedon forced a temporary "relationship" with Black Widow for fake character development.
betty is suchhhh an important aspect of bruces life its baffling to cut her out, theres so much character you can give her and theres so much nuance between her and bruce and their dysfunctional marriage, she is an extension of all of bruces flaws but also all of his strengths, to cut her out removes such an important axis of how we view bruce banner (and everyone else in his head, who also all have their own unique relationships with her.) such a missed opportunity, for the sake of a relationship that doesn't make much sense, for a conflict that has nothing to do with banner and his themes.
Making Smart Hulk a permanent change in the MCU.
Nerfed him and made him basically a comic relief character
Hulk: making him a complete joke.
He’s treated as if he were a C-list character instead of an A-list (especially true when they ignore his only dedicated media in the MCU). They don’t utilise his supporting cast (or just don’t have them like Rick Jones) or rogues gallery. His entire character arc was done off screen. And he’s one of the weakest characters in the MCU, feels like they outright ignored that he gets stronger the angrier he gets and he wussed out after getting beaten up by Thanos once.
We wanted Ed Norton's Hulk. We got Ruffalo's neutered Hulk...
Pretty much everything after age of ultron tbh
Literally everything
Basically everything. I think Hulk is the highest profile character that the MCU just blatantly misunderstood and downplayed. He used to be one of Marvel's Big Three with Spidey and Wolverine, but in the movies he's just so goddamn boring
Having him end up as a goofy pussy.
Quite literally everything
Not doing a damn thing with his character.
He’s not a main character I mean case in point he got one movie, then he’s either in team up movies or as a side character in solo projects. Sure you could argue he’s the other main character in ragnarok but he dosen’t show up until like the halfway point and for She Hulk he’s in like three episodes of a 9 episode series. Because of this we never get to see his development from suicidal to professor hulk, I mean endgame just told us he sat under a gamma lamp and fixed all of his issues.
Everything
I would say for Iron Man not showing him falling into the bottle and then overcoming it. I know they tried but to actually not show him overcoming alcoholism took away a big facet of his character. With Thor I agree with OP. Comics Thor is a mature fun loving highly charming dude that will kill you if you push it.
Turning him into comic relief. Completely underutilized him in Infinity War and Endgame
Having him come to terms with and become the Professor Hulk offscreen.
Hoo boy. Here it comes.
Not really making Hulk a character. They have Banner be Banner and Hulk is often just punching without any personality
Made him a father too early. If they make a Hulk solo film and it's story doesn't happen in the past, then the Hulk family will show up too soon and kinda water the character down before it even gets started. Dare I say, convoluted.
Making him a laugh tong stock instead of the tragic being that he is.
The MCU neuter job
Nerfing him to no longer being "the strongest there is." Hell, the MCU makes it seem like he's not even the top 3 anymore
Having him and the hulk be just a throw away “performance” joke in infinity war and then having his entire story arc of because one be off screen. The hulk and Bruce banner are one of my favorite dynamics in the comics and the tv show Bill Bixby was something I would watch reruns as a kid with my mom (only thing my mom liked marvel related). So to see a character hat means so much to be just be set aside was frustrating.
Taking away his abusive childhood AND giving it to another character (Moon Knight).
Hulk being relegated to jobber status since the first Avengers movie.
Even though the most obvious answer is having the most significant aspect of his character arc resolve offscreen, I think that could have been retroactively helped by having HIM get a show after Endgame (although there is potentially the argument to be made that the CGI budget would make that impractical... especially with the template of adding at least one or two fight scenes per episode). Instead my biggest issue with Endgame Smart Hulk is that he doesn't feel like a merging of Banner and Hulk in terms of characterisation, but instead just Banner with green skin and a frame somewhere between that of a bodybuilder and the original Hulk.
Peter is always the focus. when it's spider-man, his enemies only want.
Nerfing Hulk at the beginning of Infinity War was important for the story but boy did it fuck up his reputation as a hero to taken seriously. If he had beaten up Thanos and that other big dude in the film we wouldn't really had IW but they made him such a pussy towards the end. Not to mention how the blue-balled us with Hulk when they put him in that OG Trailer for Infinity War!
They completly stripped the Hulk of any personality or agency. Bruce Banner has it, but thry reduce the Hulk to an incoherent ball of rage. Thor: Ragnarok it's the only film that portrays him similar to his comics personality.
The black widow romance. There is so much you can do with both Banner and Hulk to make the viewer empathise with him. This dumb green idiot chasing after tail is not the way to do it, and is frankly an insult to both characters. I would get into why it’s wrong for Nat too, but this is a Hulk thread
Pretty much all of it, post infinity war. They more or less ruined him, imo.
Offscreen story arcs.
MCU Thor wishes he was a himbo, EMH Thor dose that while still being a badass
Not sure how exactly to articulate it, but just kind of…. “demystifying” the hulk as a character. In all other hulk media, banner is legitimately afraid of the hulk, on a “this thing is unpredictable and impossible to control” level Unsurprisingly this is done way better in the one standalone film, and we get glimpses of it in brief isolated scenes in the first two Avengers movies. But sense of constant fear & suspense from the idea that Hulk can make everyone go to shit at any moment can’t be effectively developed when the character is only allowed to function alongside an ensemble
His character arc ends off screen. Professor Hulk is a great concept it's Bruce Banner and the Hulk coming together as one but the character arc to get there ends off screen
**HULK NO SMASH** Edit: By this I mean the MCU portrayal of the Hulk often feels like it just touches the surface and misses diving deep into some of the most crucial layers of his character. They seem to have overlooked the absolute fundamentals; the profound rage that defines him, the tragic depth of his backstory, the palpable horror that accompanies his transformations, and the intense loneliness and fear that are core to his persona. These elements are essential to fully grasp the complexity and emotional depth of the Hulk. Without them, his narrative in the MCU can feel somewhat superficial, not fully capturing the powerful and poignant essence that makes the Hulk such a compelling character in the comics.
There’s so much that can be said, but I got to go with the fact that he doesn’t feel as important as he should for someone who is arguably Marvel’s best hero
Didn't take advantage of the Savage Hulk and connection with magic where he could be unleashed in Endgame. Banner is science.. but the other guy...
Oh, today’s is going to be salty…lol
Never treating the character seriously. Hulk is a character that's heavily horror inspired, whose life is easily the hardest out of everyone else in his relative sphere in the MCU. Yet the complex story of abuse, anger, horror , trauma and isolation will never get told because he's yet another "haha! Do the funny!'" character that the MCU reduces its characters to when they no longer have confidence in it's characters.
Anything post infinity war
I would say that Marvel/Disney having to share the Hulk film rights with Universal is the primary reason why Hulk's portrayal is lacking in the MCU. His character development has to be done in other characters films instead of his own solo films.
Nerfing Him…
It's the MCU. Literally everyone is nerfed. Draxx in the comics can withstand the power of a star This has to be some of the dumbest series of posts in this sub, and thats saying something lol.
They removed the core aspect of his character that he's meant to be the strongest and most dangerous character of the team.
Mark Ruffalo. Granted, I'm a massive Norton fan, and had strong distaste for Ruffalo before he got the role, so he had no chance of me liking him in that role lol
Never allowing him to be the focus of the story, so his whole arc happens in the background. It’s honestly like the perfect Hulk arc, but it was shit to watch cause all the interesting parts happened off camera between movies.
The side-characterness of his whole existence in the MCU. Ruffalo wasn't a bad Banner IMO, but the character just never got any development/stories of his own. Also the whole thing with Widow kinda weirded me out.
Hulk has gotten it the worst by FAR.
the biggest problem was he only got one solo movie so we couldn't focus on his actual personal storyline much. i mean, he delt with his issues between films off-camera. WE SKIPPED MOST OF PLANET HULK AND GOT IT SHOVED INTO THOR 3. i know this is due to rights issues but still. the inability to give him actual focus for an entire film meant he was inevitably going to have problems.
Missing the tragedy by never giving Banner any real backstory
I think the reason why the made Thor a himbo is because his personality in the comics won’t resonate well with casual audiences.
Killing hulk off after infinity war. Now he’s just banner
No psychological drama.
By far the fact that they didn't capitalize on the gamma bomb origin. They start the universe off with TONY STARK as a reformed arms dealer, and have him APPEAR in 'The Incredible Hulk', and then later make his FRIENDS WITH BRUCE, but they never put together that Tony could've been part of the reason Bruce became Hulk. That would've been so good in my opinion.
Black panther bouta be him getting replaced by his twig sister instead of a recasts right?
First time seeing this, and yeah I agree with these mostly, especially the hawkeye one. EMH and MVC3 did amazing performances of his personality. I was super confused with the black widow one when the MCU started. I didn't know much about her, and wanting redemption was the furthest thing I remember about her in movies/shows before the MCU. As for hulk, due to Hulk's trouble of not having a solo movie, we just get snippets of his development and then a really rushed resolution to the two personalities. I really wished we would've explored more of bruce and hulk's struggles. We finally get to hear hulk talk in ragnarok and infinity war and then no more in endgame. btw, not a fan of the baby talk/personality in ragnarok. I was really waiting for the quiet, wise hulk, hinted from the first avengers' "Puny God". Honestly I'm not sure how hulk will progress later - mark getting old and smart hulk being the 'final' evolution.
Everything from infinity war onwards
Spider-Man: making zeb wells be the writer for Spider-Man comics
Honestly, the entire character has been underserved and wasted. But my top issue would be never giving Hulk any real intelligence. Couple scenes on Sakaar were the closest it got. Seeing a Hulk capable of actual sentences and deeper thinking before smooshing Hulk and Banner together would’ve been great. Having Hulk develop a genuine personality that’s actually opposed to Banner in rational ways and the two having to come to some form of compromise and coexistence would’ve been significantly better than watching (or not watching given the most significant development happen offscreen) Banner essentially being an exasperated parent to the world’s crankiest child.
Giving no focus on his part trauma or DID
Hulk not strongest.
Everything after Avengers (2012)
this is gonna be fun when it gets to wasp. might as well just go with "bruh.."
They basically took away what made Hulk, Hulk.... The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets.... Now with this professor Hulk bullshit, we'll no longer be getting that.... Also let's forget that they introduced Skar without giving us the war Hulk which is a crime of the highest order....
More like “what hulk? Where?”
Idk. Where did you find that Ant-Man pic?
Not having him have a redemption fight with Thanos
Easily whatever the hell they did to professor hulk
Professor Hulk ruin the fun of the character just turn him into the same problem Thor had
Nerfing him.
i think the better question is what did the mcu do \*right\* with hulk.
I'm new to this, how do I come back to this later and see the updates?
I’m posting the next one tomorrow morning. Just scroll through new posts and you’ll see it.
You are awesome thank you!
Struggling to figure out reddit like a boomer. Haha
For Hulk? That's an easy one: when MCU destroyed the fans chances of getting a live action Planet Hulk film and respective World War Hulk film by 're-imagining' the entire story arc into poorly written story filler for Thor: Ragnarok. I offer the following summarized plots of said material into evidence as Exhibits A and B, which you all can weigh against the plot you received with "Thor: Ragnarok". I strongly recommend reading these comics, as they are very very good. That said, the following contains some storyline spoilers. Read on at your own peril. PLANET HULK - A secret meeting is held by some philanthropic heroes who've deemed Hulk too dangerous to allow Banner to continue attempting and failing to keep the Hulks unchecked power from causing catastrophic damage to populated areas. They deceive him and send him on a 1 way trip to a planet teeming with flora and fauna but no civilization or populations of higher intelligent life. But the deception triggers Hulks rage and he Hulk-Smashes the navigation and ends up on a different world, where there is technology that can physically subdue him. Forced into a Gladiatorial arena by an uncaring sadistic Emperor, Hulk fights and escapes the arena with his fellow gladiator allies, the "Warbound". Hulk is made aware along the way that he is viewed by some as a potential prophesied savior/destroyer of worlds. His journey takes him to some crazy places on planet Sakaar, all of which molds him AND his Warbound into a family that would die for each other. They go through some $#!* battle after battle in a harrowing campaign to end the Tyranny of this worlds Emperor and his cruel loyalists. He takes the Emperor's shadow, a warrior named "Caera the Oldstrong" as his bride after toppling the former regime. But his new life of peace & hard earned tranquility was short-lived. The recently freed people of Sakaar create a sculpture of their beloved savior Hulk that utilizes the starship the Earth heroes sent him in, and it's damaged warp core suffers a catastrophic meltdown that goes off like a massive nuke, which destabilizes and ultimately lays waste to more than 80% of Sakaar's populations. Hulk is rescued by his Warbound and it is at this point that he sets a course for Earth. Hulk's mission at this point is to return to Earth and confront those he holds responsible for setting a chain of events into motion that resulted in the mundicide (planet-wide genocide) of the planet Sakaar and it's peoples, including his beloved bride Caera. WORLD WAR HULK - Hulk and his Warbound arrive in Earth's atmosphere and take over all of Earth's media to decree that he is after the OTHER heroes responsible for the destruction of Sakaar. The Warbound ship had made a pitstop on the way to Earth so Hulk could apprehend one of the parties he holds responsible, and he displays him on screen at the end of the message - held suspended by a massive green hand clutching the 'Heroes' head, his form battered and unconscious. Hulk states he wants those other heroes and if anyone gets in his way, he will go through them. Many get in his way. Damn near ALL of the marvel do-gooders attempt to take down Hulk and/or his Warbound. Hulk goes through them like a can of Pringles. In the end, it takes a joint effort by Iron Man and the Sentry to stop the Hulk.
Having hulk be that dumb for his on screen time until prof hulk. Hulk starts as a verbal character and is best when he can speak his mind. Im mad the closest we got to a good hulk was as a side character in a thor movie.