Marvel fans are eager to see the latest installment in the Avengers franchise, Avengers: Doomsday, which will hit theaters on December 18. However, months before that release, the MCU’s next major theatrical return will be Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31—and there’s plenty that movie can do that should have fans equally excited. From the ongoing mystery regarding who Sadie Sink is playing in the movie to swaths of villains in the trailer, Brand New Day has already dropped some exciting hints about what’s coming.
Among the reveals in the trailer, in fact, was the return of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/the Hulk. Curiously, this isn’t the same Hulk MCU audiences last saw, either. The Hulk’s most recent appearances have been in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Avengers: Endgame before that, both of which confirmed a brand-new version of Hulk, who is, apparently, already gone now. And with this news comes the thrilling possibility that the MCU will finally address a major issue with the character.
Savage Hulk Is Returning In Brand New Day
As mentioned, Hulk is confirmed to be returning in Brand New Day, which is an exciting prospect. Yet, equally exciting for many fans is the fact that the Hulk is back in what some might argue is his true form. That is, it will be Savage Hulk, not “Smart Hulk,” in Brand New Day. Smart Hulk was introduced in Endgame as the new version of the character that saw Bruce Banner and the Hulk finally merged as one being after years of fighting between the two. This new Hulk form essentially had Hulk’s body but Banner’s brain.
This could have been cool in theory, but it actually ended up being fairly unpopular with audiences, who missed having an unpredictable, smashing-prone Hulk on their screens. It didn’t help when Smart Hulk started doing yoga in She-Hulk. (And, it’s worth noting, Valkyrie effectively becomes the voice of the fanbase at one point, telling Hulk that she liked him better either of the other two ways.)
Evidently, Marvel listened and course corrected, as the Brand New Day trailer has already confirmed that Savage Hulk will be back and ready to cause destructive mayhem in the new movie. In addition to that likely meaning happier audiences, this change also means that it’s finally time for the MCU to fix its long-running problem with the Hulk.
Hulk Has Never Been Powerful Enough In The MCU
The Hulk is a beloved Marvel character for a reason. He’s massive, angry, and prone to absolutely losing it and destroying everything in his path—basically, he’s a lot of fun to watch on screen. However, Hulk’s strength and abilities should also have meant him consistently being one of the most powerful characters in various story arcs, and that’s unfortunately not been the case. In fact, Hulk has spent a significant amount of time in the MCU not living up to his full potential.
As just one example, many were excited to see Hulk absolutely wreck Thanos’ army and go toe-to-toe with Thanos himself in Avengers: Infinity War, but other than a brief appearance in the beginning, the Hulk sat out Infinity War altogether, leaving Banner to fight in the Hulkbuster armor. This proved incredibly unpopular among fans who had expected an epic showdown with Hulk at his maximum power. Then, when Endgame revealed that it would be including Smart Hulk, those frustrations only grew.
Even before these most recent Avengers choices, though, Hulk just hasn’t been as powerful as he should have been. After all, Thor gives Hulk a solid run for his money in Thor: Ragnarok, and even before that, so much of the Hulk’s storyline has involved Banner’s angst over being the Hulk and his inability to control himself. There was also a bizarre throwaway plot in which Banner and Black Widow had a budding romance, but that’s another matter.
Brand New Day Can Finally Make The Hulk As Powerful As He Should Be
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the MCU can finally bring Savage Hulk back and, hopefully, see him at his most powerful and most destructive. Ideally, that would also lay the groundwork for this version of Hulk to return in upcoming MCU projects, assuming that he doesn’t die anytime soon. There has been some conjecture to that effect, given that Hulk evidently isn’t among the characters returning in Doomsday, although there’s a non-zero chance that could be a misdirect.
It would also be legitimately shocking (and a poor decision) for the MCU to kill the Hulk off in a Spider-Man movie, so it feels safe to assume that Brand New Day will not be his last appearance. Given that, this upcoming movie represents a major opportunity for the franchise to fix its years-long Hulk problem—and, hopefully, the MCU will take it.
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