credit: MCU
Despite the continual reassurances that the MCU is doing just fine and the characters that started it are being treated with respect, one can’t help but laugh sometimes at the fact that the new generation is doing what younger generations have done for many years, which is to push forward and mock those who paved the way for them. Maybe that’s not fair since it could be stated a few of the older characters are still around and they still have the juice to be great, but it could also be said that characters like the Hulk are starting to be used as jobbers that are there to build up the new generation and little more. But if one wants to be honest, the Hulk’s story has gone from something interesting and great to something that feels more like an afterthought that people are willing to hear, but after the new generation has their say.
credit: MCU
The MCU has a way of complicating characters that’s a little frustrating.
Stating that the Hulk’s story has been given too much thought is accurate enough since he isn’t a complicated character, but he’s been turned into one, much like the others that helped to build the MCU up. Is he a toxic male? Is he a simp who was turned toxic? Who cares? The Hulk has stood as an uncertain hero for decades now, and whether he’s been the savage, unrelenting force that was unleashed after the accident that created him, or the gray-skinned Joe Fixit, or the other representations he’s been given over the years, he’s Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, and that’s kind of where it should end. But it’s not going to for reasons that, well, are left to the MCU to decide. The Hulk is a great character that’s been taken from relatively simple to insanely complicated at times, especially when the Infinity Saga continued to play out. Some people think that Edward Norton’s version was better, others tend to think Mark Ruffalo embodies the spirit of Banner in a better way, but the fact is that the Hulk is not a hard character to work with until one makes him that way.
The Hulk has a lot of great storylines that can be discovered, but the MCU hasn’t been interested in exploring them.
Most of the storylines that the Hulk could have taken part in have been swallowed up by the Infinity Saga in one way or another, and it’s fair to think that at some point Mark Ruffalo might want to step aside from the MCU, which could mean that another Hulk might need to step up and take over. Whether it would be She-Hulk, or if Amadeus Cho would be introduced is hard to say. It’s even possible now that Skar would take over somehow, but it also feels unlikely since there’s a good chance that She-Hulk is the character that the MCU is banking on now. The Hulk is swiftly becoming a relic that’s being kept around to make sure that the transition is going to go as smoothly as people want, at least, that’s how it feels. He’s still a great character, but his time in the MCU is feeling more uncertain by the day.
credit: MCU
The conversion to the smart Hulk hasn’t been entirely successful.
Do any of the fans still remember the comics and how the Hulk was savage at one point but became slightly more intelligent as the years passed by? Even when his intelligence returned, Banner was still capable of going full-out Hulk when he needed to, rather than look as though physical violence was going to make him ill to his stomach. The fact that he made this point in Endgame, or was given the part to play, is kind of disconcerting, to be honest, which is why it was fun to see him go at least a little savage in She-Hulk when he and Jen got into a fight. Apart from that, the smart Hulk has been kind of a letdown since. While he is a lot more civilized, it’s hard to think that he’s going to turn savage that often unless he has no other choice or unless his cousin really gets on his nerves.
Planet Hulk could have been a big step forward. Maybe it still could be.
The idea that Planet Hulk could have led into the World War Hulk story was a huge expectation, but perhaps with the emergence of Skar at the end of the first season of She-Hulk we’ll finally see some semblance of this story emerge. It’s a hope that might not bear fruit, especially since moving forward appears to mean leaving behind the characters that made the MCU possible. But as it’s been established, they were placeholders for those who were going to become the future of the franchise.
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