The Incredible Hulk has been an established character in the MCU since 2008, and remains a power-player up to the present day – when he’s due to return in She-Hulk. In 2008, Marvel Studios launched what would become the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first installment was Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, and some months later the shared universe expanded with the release of The Incredible Hulk, marking the first of the character’s many MCU appearances.
Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were very different, offering contrasting visions of what the MCU could be. Jon Favreau’s Iron Man was fast-paced and action-packed, with the entire script mirroring the sharp wit of its protagonist. In contrast, Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk – which starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/the Hulk – took itself a lot more seriously. It’s fascinating to imagine how the MCU would have changed had these two films been reversed in critical acclaim and box office performance, because an MCU spinning out of The Incredible Hulk would have had a completely different tone and style. But that was not to be, and the MCU was informed by Iron Man instead. It wasn’t long before Norton was recast, replaced by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers, and his portrayal of Banner is generally viewed as so iconic that Norton’s is completely overshadowed.
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The Hulk’s complicated distribution rights mean his story has since been relegated to ensemble films, guest appearances, and cameos. Still, Downey’s retirement from the role of Iron Man means the Hulk is now the oldest-established Marvel hero in the MCU, a real mark of distinction. Here’s the Hulk’s full MCU story ahead of She-Hulk.
The Creation of the Hulk
The MCU’s Hulk never had a big-screen origin story at all. This was a deliberate choice on Marvel’s part, because the studio wasn’t keen on retreading ground that had been explored in other films – including as recently as 2003’s Hulk. Still, tie-ins have established the Hulk was created from super-soldier experiments pushed by General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross after the September 11 attacks, with the U.S. government interested in creating the next Captain America. Bruce Banner was one of Ross’ top scientists, and he came up with a variation of the super-soldier serum that replaced Abraham Erskine’s Vita-Rays with Gamma Radiation. Pushed by Ross, Banner experimented on himself – with catastrophic results. He gained the power to morph into what Stark would describe as “an enormous green rage monster.”
Bruce Banner’s Failed Attempts To Cure The Hulk
The Incredible Hulk tells the story of Bruce Banner’s failed attempts to cure the Hulk. His return to the U.S. proved unwise, drawing the attention of General “Thunderbolt” Ross, and leading to a confrontation with the military at Culver University. Ross’ desperation to bring the Hulk in led to the creation of the Abomination, with the Hulk subsequently battling the Abomination in Harlem, and ultimately defeating him. Banner went back on the run, continuing to try to tame the Hulk.
The Hulk Is Recruited Into The Avengers
Nick Fury considered the Hulk as a candidate for his Avengers Initiative, but he wasn’t entirely convinced he could be controlled. Still, Fury’s hand was forced when Loki arrived on Earth and stole the Tesseract in The Avengers; its Gamma energy signature meant he needed to recruit the world’s foremost expert on this form of radiation, and he therefore turned to Bruce Banner, who he’d secretly been tracking all these years. Loki initially considered the Hulk his own weapon against the nascent Avengers, but this plan backfired. The Hulk was a key player in the Battle of New York, where the Avengers drove back Loki’s Chitauri invasion. Consequently, he became one of the OG Avengers.
Related: She-Hulk Continues MCU Phase 3’s Bruce Banner Insult
The Hulk’s Rampage In Johannesburg
The Hulk remained active as a member of the Avengers for several years, and Bruce Banner found himself becoming particularly close to Black Widow. Unfortunately, as seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Hulk went out of control after his mind was influenced by Scarlet Witch. He rampaged through Johannesburg, with Iron Man using the Hulkbuster armor to finally take him down. To Bruce Banner, everything he had most feared had finally come to pass; the Hulk had destroyed swathes of a major city, risking countless innocent lives, and he morphed into an object of fear. Banner stuck around long enough to defeat Ultron, and then left after the Battle of Sokovia.
The Hulk Becomes Sakaar’s Champion
The Hulk’s stolen Quinjet slipped through a random wormhole, transporting Bruce Banner to the alien world Sakaar. For two years (possibly longer by the Sakaarian calendar, given that time works differently there), the Hulk lived as the Grandmaster’s Champion. He was adored by cheering crowds, and reveled in the opportunity to take down some of the Grandmaster’s Challengers. The Hulk’s time on Sakaar came to an abrupt end when Thor arrived on the planet in Thor: Ragnarok, and soon the two had caused a revolution before heading to Asgard to battle Hela. The Hulk fought Hela’s wolf Fenrir during the final Battle of Asgard, and watched as the Realm Eternal was destroyed.
The Hulk’s Avengers: Infinity War Story
Loki took the Tesseract (again) before Asgard’s destruction, and as a result the Asgardian refugees were intercepted by Thanos and the Black Order at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. The Hulk fought Thanos, but was easily defeated, with the Mad Titan not even needing to use the Power Stone to beat him. The Hulk only survived this encounter thanks to Heimdall, who transported him to Earth using the Bifrost. There, the Hulk morphed back into the form of Bruce Banner, and warned Earth’s heroes about the coming threat. To Banner’s horror, the Hulk refused to re-emerge during the next few days, apparently angered at having been taken for granted and simply used as a weapon.
The Coming of “Professor Hulk”
Avengers: Endgame revealed that Bruce Banner then spent 18 months in a Gamma lab, eventually discovering how to combine Banner and Hulk. According to concept artist Ryan Meinerding noted that the Hulk had become the last of the Avengers. “He would actually be doing the job of all of the Avengers,” he explained, “and you would see him feel like a true, amazing Super Hero – and that costume was meant to elucidate that point. Whether it screams it or not, there is an H on his chest.”
Related: Hulk Hasn’t Been The Strongest Avenger Since Phase 1
Five years later, other former Avengers approached Banner and asked him to help them figure out how to use time travel to bring back all those Thanos had erased from existence. The Hulk participated in the time heist, and then used the Infinity Gauntlet – at great personal cost, with his arm badly injured. Still, the Hulk was undoubtedly the only Avenger who could have even survived using the Infinity Gauntlet, given the amount of Gamma energy it released upon use.
Shang-Chi’s Post-Credits Mystery
Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings ended with a mysterious glimpse of the Hulk in the MCU’s Phase 4, revealing Banner had learned how to return to human form, albeit with the same injury to his arm. He seems to still be involved in superheroics, however, acting as a scientific adviser to Wong (and, some have speculated, part of the MCU’s version of the Illuminati). No doubt She-Hulk will explain the latest changes to the Jade Giant since his debut in The Incredible Hulk.
