Hulk’s First Spider-Man Meeting Was Almost Endgame’s Greatest Scene

Summary

• Avengers: Endgame concept art reveals a hilarious meeting between Hulk, Spider-Man, and Ant-Man
• The art shows Hulk throwing Spider-Man as Ant-Man (in giant form) throws Hulk.
• While the idea is funny, it may not have fit with Endgame's more somber tone.

There was nearly a scene in Avengers: Endgame that saw Spider-Man and Hulk meet in what would have been one of the MCU's greatest scenes. Despite banding together to defeat Thanos once and for all, there was precious little said between several characters in the Battle of Earth, with two of the most prominent being Bruce Banner and Peter Parker. In fact, Smart Hulk's involvement in the Battle of Earth was minimal - but it wasn't always supposed to be that way.
An image that was recently shared via Twitter/X by @1610SPlDEY detailed how Marvel Studios' Creative Director of Visual Development, Ryan Meinerding, intended for their meeting to go. His concept for the scene would have shown Spider-Man preparing to be launched by Hulk into the fray, only to have the camera pan out and show Giant-Man preparing to launch Hulk at the same time. It would have been one of the most memorable scenes to come out of an exceptionally memorable MCU sequence - and easily one of the funniest scenes in Avengers: Endgame.
Hulk & Spider-Man's Unused Endgame Meeting Was The Movie's Funniest Unused Gag The Avengers: Endgame climax was replete with drama, culminating in one of the most tragic moments in the MCU. Still, as is customary for the MCU, it wasn't devoid of humor, with Wong's "You wanted more?" and Thor's "You have the little one" helping to bring levity to an otherwise particularly grave sequence. The unused scene above featuring Spider-Man, Smart Hulk, and Giant-Man, however, would have been the most hilarious in the movie.
This is possibly why the scene went unused. While the quick one-liners from the typically comedic characters helped to cut through the drama without trivializing it, this one would have been particularly out of left field. Besides, as a couple of astute Twitter users pointed out, the move is particularly reminiscent of Colossus and Wolverine's "Fastball Special," in which the former would throw the latter - something which Marvel might be hoping to homage in a future X-Men installment. The scene may have also diminished the meeting of two brilliant minds in a scene that deserves more gravitas.
The "Fastball Special" was deployed by Spider-Man and She-Hulk in The Amazing Spider-Man #40 in 2022.
Why Hulk & Spider-Man Need To Properly Meet In The MCU The MCU certainly isn't short of geniuses (especially when Reed Richards enters the scene), but for now, Tony, Bruce, and Peter are among the smartest characters in the MCU. Peter's brilliant mind is partly what drew Tony to him before standing in as a father figure, and with Tony now gone, Bruce should also get to know his friend's protégé. Aside from the fact that they both helped to save the universe, these two illustrious members of the Avengers could achieve great things if they put their minds together.
How the MCU can handle this now that everybody has forgotten who Peter Parker is is a big question. Parker will presumably be well aware of Hulk, though he never got a chance to have a one-on-one conversation with him in Avengers: Endgame. With Spider-Man 4 looking like it will focus on a street-level outing for Peter Parker, there's little chance he will happen upon Bruce Banner in his next adventure. Meanwhile, there are many signs that Hulk is heading for a World War Hulk story, meaning that the first meeting of these two could be tragically antagonistic.


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