The arm loss sets up a majorly different look for the Hulk moving forward, along with a new curve in his character arc. 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. However, based on the post-credits scene at the end of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,"it appears that Bruce somehow went back to his human form separate from the Hulk, although his arm remains in a cast from using the Infinity Gauntlet. But it's the Hulk who addresses every concern you might have. And then theres the Hulk, the fully busted-out expression of the raging subconscious id within us all. He worked with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to create their time travel device, and he was still the only one strong enough and mentally stable enough, considering Thor's situation, to make the first snap that truly brought the rest of the Avengers and half the Marvel Cinematic Universe back from the dead. Every Marvel fan was so focused on Tony Stark's shocking death and Captain America's geriatric twist at the end of Avengers: Endgame that the Hulk's own personal trauma may have been a bit glossed over, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo did confirm that the Hulk lost his arm after using the Infinity Stones to snap half the universe's population back into existence. It wants smashes and slams and a whole lot of Hulk make bad guy go squish! The Hulk brings fighting and strength to the table and hes not quite sure what Banner is bringing yet. dossiers, and checked in . Did they give us the emotional fireworks we always wanted? Maybe . We ranked every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from 'Iron Man' to 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' McFeely told Empire recently that the writers simply did not have. When I said I was disappointed that Infinity War didnt address this question in any larger way during the running time, I was met with the far too familiar chorus of MCU fans who said that I wasnt being fair, and the creative team at Disney would likely deal with it in the next movie. 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. 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To be frank, theres not a lot going on in terms of characterization, arcs, or even relationships in this movie. In this space, the show absolutely nailed a simple dramatic dynamic: Sometimes our dear Banner was trapped in some horrible situation, and you rooted for him to turn into the Hulk. After the film jumps ahead five years in the wake of Thanos' Infinity War snap, we discover that Bruce, distressed that he couldn't summon the Hulk during that last big battle in Wakanda, decided. And like a child, those interactions give way to the most extreme versions of joy, anger, fear, sadness, and disgust in response. Cookies help us deliver our Services. The sequence features an early, and unpolished, rendering of Professor Hulk, whose mouth doesn't move when Ruffalo speaks. Avengers: Endgame saw two snaps, the first one by the Hulk, who even though is stronger than Iron Man, was the one who struggled the most heres why. Maybe it's mice. And most of all, when I think about the beautiful integrity of Bill Bixby that was fundamental to the characters heroism and dramatic crux? But this event is also tied up with his own buried Hulk-genes, which were a direct result of his fathers self-destructive scientific experimentation, which of course just doubles down on the whole metaphor of inherited abusive traumas. 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. most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One Marvel comic tried. There is a catch, though. Of course, his act of service didn't come without aheavy penalty: Hulk experienced substantial cosmic charring up his entire right arm and part of his neck, and the arm was rendered pretty much useless. You looked into his eyes and you trusted him. It was great. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. When it was released, I dont think it was disliked so much as people just werent sure what to do with it. Healthy anger, as its often described in therapy, is the willingness to fight for self and whats right, a lovely little duality within the duality. Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode! Every Iron Man suit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and their comic roots, Destroying the Infinity Stones is next to impossible, at least in the comics, A history of Marvel comics heroes whove dared to wield the Infinity Gauntlet, What the comics tell us about Falcons Avengers: Endgame ending, Avengers: Endgame finally gives Pepper Potts one of her famous comic moments, The worthy heroes who have wielded Thors hammer in the comics. Wait a moment and try again. And when I think about that promise of the first Avengers movie? one more movie left in his Marvel contract, almost definitely never be getting a standalone movie. Although "Avengers: Endgame" is completely filled to the brim with CGI, large-scale sets, and green screens, the diner . 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. The Avengers do exactly what fans predicted and time travel throughout 'Avengers: Endgame.'. It makes sense that Hulk himself would evolve as Banner's own. (viaComicBook.com). All in all, the populist aims make sense and work as needed. Yup! On one level, it was just a snap decision. Unfortunately, Mark Ruffalo has made it clear that the Hulk will almost definitely never be getting a standalone movie, so expect to see his story continued as a co-star in another hero's film. Make no mistake about it: The Hulks appearance in The Avengers (2012) is a damn coup. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Thankfully, because of the film's home media release, directors Joe and Anthony Russo are also still taking some time to answer those questions. Banner never wanted to hurt a soul or put himself at risk, which created the drama of putting your hero into the perpetual state of being caught between a rock and a hard place. He kicked Cull. Hulk is tasked with visiting the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and attempt to bargain with her for the Time Stone, which doesn't go exactly as planned. In short, hes scared about getting close because hes scared of hurting people. So, he loses a lot of strength there. Or, more specifically, what is the difficulty at the center of this new impotence, and what is he going to learn from it? Since he's presented as one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it came as a surprise to the audience (and even his fellow Avengers) that Hulk took such a substantial hit using the Infinity Stones especially since he was deemed most likely to survive the impact of usingTony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) Infinity Gauntlet 2.0 to channel their power. One Twitter user complained that the rendering resembles Hulk from a . This also really happened, and it was actually written in pretty toxic fashion. 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. This is the spoiler-filled discussion you've been waiting for after coming out of the movie and we cover a ton of ground. According to the Russos, though, that's not how they saw it. 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. The Hulk is not just an angry, mindless vehicle for brutality. It's interesting. ", After 18 months in a gamma lab, Banner meshed the two body-sharing personalities together, resulting in "Professor Hulk." Clearly, talking to Gamora gives closure to his quest. (They actually look good on him.) Ultimately, I really like Lees film in terms of thematic ambition and find its goofy choices oddly fascinating, but I recognize how underwhelming it is as a cathartic blockbuster. #viral #shorts #youtubeshorts #marvel #marvelstudios #math #marvelcinematicuniverse #shortvideo #ytshort #ytshorts #hulkbuster #hulk #avengersendgame #loki Hate the stairs! Could the Avengers go back in time to kill baby Thanos? He was just utilizing more of Banner's intellect. When viewed as a whole, Ang Lees film Hulk (2003) has its own stark duality. We wrote it, we shot it, and went on to shoot most of Endgame, and he achieved union with the Hulk while inside the Hulkbuster. In the five years since The Snap, Bruce Banner and the Hulk have stopped fighting for control of their body and figured out a way to share. These identities ranged from the apathetic Grey Hulk, who thought humans were puny; to Las Vegas mob enforcer Joe Fixit; to the Savage Hulk, who was more brutish and suffered from memory problems. Russo said. How do you wrap up the story of the not-so-jolly green giant? Where do you go with that? Copyright 2023 ComicBook.com. In a film with stakes as high asEndgame, that suffering will come swift and hard even if you're the Incredible Hulk. Limits in superhero films come from relativity between characters rather than external universal constants, and the Russos understood that truth very well. 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. 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. You shouldnt hand-wave solutions that were set up by multiple films worth of struggle. Bruce Banner/the Hulk has not been seen much since his moment as Professor Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, but is set to reinsert himself into the MCU as he features prominently in this summer's She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. The point of this comment is not to throw back some pedantic nerdery. But sometimes you were so invested in the emotions of his relationship with a new character that week that you rooted for him not to. That's not coming back. Each character barely has time to react to whats going on, much less process it and grow. According to Infinity War and Endgame co-writer Stephen McFeely, the answer to that question is more practical than narrative. 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. He is a direct expression of childlike emotional purity. Even Banner is fully aware that Hulk is in all regards, just a completely different person from him who exists simultaneously to him, taking control of Hulk's body and having his mind practically cease to exist is not "accepting the Hulk". Even when I look back at Ang Lees flawed but purposeful version? Banner was suspected to transform into the Marvel Cinematic Universe's spin on Professor Hulk when a group shot photo surfaced in February, showing Hulk with an all-new suit and more refined and distinctive features belonging to Banner. [Hulk] is a very smart man, Endgame screenwriter Christopher Markus told Polygon, This Stan Lee/Marvel character, this incredibly smart man in this incredibly powerful body. Something went wrong. 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. Avengers: Infinity Waris available to watch digitally now, and arrives on Blu-ray August 14. Bruce Banner merged with the Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, but a new theory suggests that this outcome was already in the works. Guillermo del Toro said hi to her once. 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. Where the old TV series felt laser-focused in understanding what it wanted out of a given Hulk altercation, I never felt quite sure what the Hulk sequences in this film were after in terms of characterization or rooting interest. For it is a quiet, cerebral, and somber film about serious subjects, but it is also punctuated with some of the most bizarre and goofy choices Ive ever seen in a modern blockbuster. His career stretched over three decades, featuring guest appearances on an array of classics like The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, Ironside, The Love Boat, The Joey Bishop Show, and even Fantasy Island. The Hulk has had his ass kicked before, and so it wasnt like the minute he gets his ass kicked hes going to run and hide. Smart Hulk was in the third act of Infinity War. We've course-corrected our galactic maps, read our redacted S.H.I.E.L.D. Avengers: Endgame reveals Professor Hulk, one half Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), one half Hulk. Its as if he just couldnt help but emit this unflappable decency whenever he appeared on the damn screen. And yet, two characters were able to survive such a task: Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity War and Hulk in the latter half of Avengers: Endgame. Just like Jekyll and Hyde, the duality of these two sides should be clear. The result is known as Professor Hulk, a dapper,. All of that, combined with Hulk's childlike level of intelligence, would be enough to make him stubbornly refuse to fight anymore, particularly if he couldn't fully comprehend the stakes of the film. "It permanently damages the most powerful beings and some of the most powerful creatures in these movies, and very few people can actually put that on and survive.". While Thor: Ragnarok raised the possibility that, because Hulk had been in control for so long, another transformation might permanently trap Banner and leave Hulk on the outside forever,. This was no different in "Avengers: Endgame," although the most difficult scene to film with the Hulk may surprise you. Really. Now we know what they were getting at over a handful of years, Hulk and Banner have gone from wrestling for control and despising one another, to being able to cooperate and even merge. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Endgame. With the upcoming "She-Hulk" Disney+ series drawing nearer, Marvel fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival ofTatiana Maslany's Jennifer Walters. First Banner pulled him on for the finalRagnarokbattle, and then Loki used him as a ploy to get the jump on Thanos inInfinity War. Subscribe to our channel for more awesome videos: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Screenran. This really is what best defines the Hulk to me, because it plays into age-old lessons about the personal cost of heroism. I pitched that basically when his arm gets shriveled, he just rips his sleeve off and turns it into a sling to allow him to fight later on in the film and not have that asymmetry be something that was too odd. Together, resulting in `` Avengers: Endgame. & # x27 ; s own drawing nearer, Marvel fans anxiously... Hulk ( 2003 ) has its own stark duality email, and it was disliked much! The steps to confirm your humanity and slams and a whole lot of strength there shouldnt hand-wave that... 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