The MCU Has The Hulk"s Real Replacement Coming, But He"ll Never Be Stronger

Summary

• Hulk's potential has been wasted in the MCU, with deeper exploration lacking and his powers nerfed.
• Marvel may replace the Hulk with The Thing, showcasing a tortured character and providing narrative depth.
• The Thing will never match Hulk in sheer strength, with creator Stan Lee stating Hulk would always win in a fair fight.

While Hulk’s replacement in the MCU may be on his way, it is still a sure thing that he’ll never be stronger than the Jade Giant. Bruce Banner is one of the MCU’s longest-serving members. Despite this, the Avengers founder has yet to receive a solo movie beyond Hulk's MCU debut, instead appearing as part of the Avengers in their eponymous movies or as a secondary character in other characters’ solo outings like Thor and Jennifer Walters. This has meant that huge events like the genesis of Smart Hulk have simply occurred off-screen.
This has culminated in the widespread notion that the Hulk - Banner’s savage alter ego capable of some truly mind-bending feats of strength - has been wasted in the MCU. Moments that included deeper exploration of Banner’s relationship with his big, green alter-ego have been relatively few and far between, while Hulk’s potential and power levels have been repeatedly nerfed as a way of highlighting the powers of his teammates and enemies instead. Now that Banner’s MCU days are numbered, it falls on an upcoming MCU character to pick up the slack - at least, for the most part.
As it stands, it is unclear whether Universal still owns the distribution rights to Hulk, though the lack of solo movie since his debut hints that this is still the case.
Related All 6 Hulk Costumes & Designs In The MCU, Ranked The Hulk has had many looks over the course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with some clear winners and losers in terms of visual aesthetics. The Thing Can Be The MCU's Real Hulk Replacement Close Marvel's Fantastic Four Not Yet Rated
Director Matt Shakman Release Date July 25, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Josh Friedman , Jeff Kaplan , Ian Springer Cast Pedro Pascal , Vanessa Kirby , Ebon Moss-Bachrach , Joseph Quinn In exploring Marvel’s First Family in-depth, it will become apparent that Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing, is quite similar to Bruce Banner and Hulk in multiple ways.
In the absence of a Hulk solo movie comes Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four, starring the titular team in what could possibly be an MCU origin story. In exploring Marvel’s First Family in-depth, it will become apparent that Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing, is quite similar to Bruce Banner and Hulk in multiple ways. Superficially, The Thing and Hulk share a brawny physique, super-strength, and monstrous appearances - which are both things that Ben Grimm and Bruce Banner desperately wish to relinquish in their shared desire to return to “normal.”
With this being an impossibility, both Banner and Grimm instead find a way to come to terms with their altered states, finding a measure of peace in their adversity. Compounding this are the deeper similarities that the two share in the form of their tumultuous early lives, with both being sons to fathers who were problematic, to put it mildly. The deeper dive into Bruce’s psyche that the MCU’s portrayal may have sidestepped can be capably catered to by Ben Grimm’s arrival instead.
The Thing Can Give The MCU The Hulk Story Marvel Has Moved Past Appearance of Hulk/Smart Hulk In The MCU
Year of Appearance
The Incredible Hulk
2008
The Avengers
2012
Avengers: Age of Ultron
2015
Thor: Ragnarok
2017
Avengers: Infinity War
2018
Avengers: Endgame
2019
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
2022
While Hulk’s early outings touched on the relationship between Banner and his regrettably unbridled alter-ego, one of the MCU’s biggest missed opportunities was failing to dive deeper into the implications of that relationship. Now that Smart Hulk has been established for several years, it is even less likely that Banner will somehow fall foul of the previous arrangement, with his self-experimentation leading to the best of both worlds for him and Hulk. The compelling tragedy inherent to his character beforehand is a thing of the past, with Bruce proving that he can suppress his Jade Giant form.
This far into the Multiverse Saga, and with no hint of a second solo Hulk movie on Marvel’s release slate, it is unlikely that this facet of Bruce Banner will be highlighted anymore. Instead, Ben Grimm will have some particularly large shoes to fill when it comes to embodying the role of a tortured character cursed with a form that turns people away. In a way, this is a good thing for the MCU as it will mean it avoids treading familiar ground while giving Ben Grimm the narrative depth he deserves. However, he’ll never measure up in one way.
Stan Lee Revealed The Thing Would Never Beat Hulk Close The cerebral elements of Hulk and Ben Grimm may be rife with similarities, but there is no contest when it comes to sheer strength. Hulk is already much larger than The Thing, and precious few can hold their own against the Jade Giant (at least, in Marvel Comics). In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, Stan Lee (who created both Ben Grimm and the Hulk) confirmed that, in a straight fight, there would be one clear winner:

"Oh, the Hulk would win. The Thing is faster and smarter, so he would probably find a way to turn it into a draw or save himself. He'd trap or trick the Hulk. But, in a fair fight, there's no way the Hulk [would lose]."

This revelation isn’t all too surprising, but it intensifies the sting felt by Hulk’s diminished powers within the MCU. With Smart Hulk unlikely to go rampaging or hold his own in a one-on-one fight with a gargantuan foe like Galactus, this is a hole that The Thing is unlikely to fill. At least with Fantastic Four currently set to release in 2025 before the Multiverse Saga draws to a close, seeing Stan Lee’s prediction play out on-screen is a possible eventuality in a future MCU installment.


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