The Incredible Hulk is one of Marvel’s most popular characters, and after 64 years of appearances and adaptations, the MCU can finally restore the original vision for the character in 2026. Hulk has gone through a lot of iterations, sometimes appearing as a regular man painted green, sometimes appearing as a big roaring CGI monster, and sometimes appearing as the intelligent Professor Hulk. However, another new iteration may be coming soon.
Although Edward Norton played the MCU’s first Hulk in The Incredible Hulk, Mark Ruffalo has become the Bruce Banner that MCU fans know and love. After making his debut in 2012’s The Avengers, Ruffalo’s incarnation became a staple of the franchise, appearing in movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War. However, the character transformed into Professor Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, and he has mostly stayed in this form since.
Grey Hulk Could Appear In Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Ruffalo’s Hulk will again appear in 2026’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, marking his first appearance in a Spider-Man movie. Although Hulk’s role in the film hasn’t been officially confirmed, one Daniel RPK report claims that Brand New Day‘s Hulk will be Grey Hulk. According to the source, Spider-Man will have to team up with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in order to take the hero down.
As many fans of Marvel history know, the company originally intended for the character to be grey rather than have his now-iconic green shade. Hulk made his debut in his grey form, but Marvel later made the decision to change his color to green. This is because the grey in printers at the time was deemed too inconsistent, and making Hulk green was cheaper.
Since the switch, the state of Grey Hulk has changed a lot in canon. Some canons have explained that Hulk started out as grey in-universe before turning green, while others have retconned Hulk’s origin to have the green skin. Later, it was explained that the green Savage Hulk and Grey Hulk were separate identities. Savage Hulk represented Bruce Banner’s rage, and Grey Hulk represented his selfishness.
Grey Hulk is now often referred to as Joe Fixit thanks to a particular storyline involving the character. At one point, Hulk was placed under a spell that prevented him from turning back into Bruce Banner. After learning that he could turn from Savage Hulk into Grey Hulk with extreme willpower, he transformed and disappeared, presumed dead. However, it turned out that Grey Hulk had been living in Las Vegas, where he worked as a security expert under the alias Joe Fixit.
Eventually, a character named Doc Samson used hypnosis to merge the personalities of Banner, Savage Hulk, and Grey Hulk. This is what created Professor Hulk in the comics, the much more stable version of Hulk. Although the MCU’s take on Professor Hulk is far different from the story told in the comics, it is interesting to see how Grey Hulk has already influenced the movies.
Now, Spider-Man: Brand New Days presents an even greater opportunity for the Grey Hulk. If this version of the character truly appears in the movie, it means that Marvel could finally bring back this original take on the Hulk. Grey Hulk has always been far less popular than the green Savage Hulk, but Brand New Day could change this by putting Grey Hulk in the spotlight.
Brand New Day Can Finally Bring Back the Best Cut Age of Ultron Storyline
Image Courtesy of Marvel
It isn’t yet known how Grey Hulk will be introduced in Brand New Day, as the Professor Hulk form that the MCU’s Hulk is in is often seen as a “fixed” version of Grey Hulk. However, it is possible that the 2026 film could take notes from this cut Age of Ultron storyline.
Grey Hulk was originally meant to appear in Age of Ultron, a movie that already gives a lot of attention to Hulk in its current form. As it turns out, earlier versions of the story saw Wanda Maximoff use mind-control to unleash an even more rage-filled version of Hulk with grey skin. This Grey Hulk would have been the one to go on the rampage through South Africa, although in the final film, this role is filled by the regular green Hulk.
Many rumors have suggested that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will have a villain with mind-control powers, hinting at how Professor Hulk could transform into a more savage version of the Hulk. If Grey Hulk truly does appear, it is likely that this villain could unleash Grey Hulk when they mind-control Banner, as Wanda was originally supposed to do over a decade ago.
Are you excited to see Hulk return in Brand New Day? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!