The MCU Needs To Break A Nightmarish 12 Year Long Hulk Streak Before It’s Too Late

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Summary

The Hulk's transformation scenes are crucial for his character in the MCU.
Smart Hulk's presence limits traditional Hulk transformations, raising questions about how to show this aspect effectively.
The lack of transformation scenes in recent MCU films risks diluting Hulk's iconic duality and character essence.

The Hulk was one of the first Avengers introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a significant part of his character has not been seen in the films since 2012's The Avengers. Based on everything known about Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars currently, the character will likely return for at least another appearance in the universe, and it is important that the studio address this in those films. Having been played by Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo in the MCU, and despite rumors of a World War Hulk movie coming, it is notable that the hero has starred in only one solo film.
The relationship between heroes and their secret identities has been explored in exciting ways in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. Some MCU heroes have secret identities, although far fewer than in the comics, in part because the casting of big-name actors means the studio must be able to show their faces. This has led to many performers being seen as their human counterparts rather than their superhero identities in many sequences. However, the relationship between Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner and The Hulk is one of the most important in the franchise, and details of that duality must be better shown.

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1 Bruce Banner Hasn't Properly Transformed Into The Hulk On-Screen In Years Avengers: Age Of Ultron And Thor: Ragnarok Only Showed His Transformation Back To Banner Close Bruce Banner has not properly transformed into The Hulk onscreen since his iconic scene in The Avengers. The hero looks to his team and says "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry," before transforming into an enormous, green beast. The visuals in the sequence are excellent, and the transformation still holds up. However, it is strange that the universe has not returned to this transformation in the years since, especially with other transformations, including the Todd-Hulk scene in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and the teased Red Hulk scene in Captain America: Brave New World, clearly showing other Hulk transformations.
While showing the transformation is not the only key to making the character work, it is an important element of the Hulk's story, and one that almost returned to screens in a deleted scene from Avengers: Infinity War. There is a duality to The Hulk that has been thrown away in more recent versions of the character. This is doubly true given the fake-out transformation moments that have cropped up since, like Banner failing to become the Hulk multiple times in Avengers: Infinity War, and the scientist transforming into the Hulk just out of sight in Thor: Ragnarok.
Granted, watching the hero grapple with his violent interior has been done, and can only be effective so many times, but there are essential components to the character that have been missing in recent appearances. Hopefully, a transformation can lead back to a violent Hulk in the future.

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Hulk's MCU Story Has Made His Transformations Currently Way Harder To Show Smart Hulk's Transformation Would Not Be Nearly As Effective Close In Avengers: Endgame, audiences are introduced to Smart Hulk. By combining the Bruce Banner and Hulk personalities, Hulk is able to find peace in a giant, mighty body that still has Banner's control and restraint. Rather than struggling with his duality, Hulk in the MCU has embraced it, and even takes photos with fans. While this is an interesting development for the character, it has unified the two halves and makes the Hulk's transformation a lot more challenging to show. With the two combined, there is no transformation that needs to happen regularly.
Notably, however, the Hulk does still transform. Whether for purposes of showing Mark Ruffalo onscreen or for budgetary reasons, Bruce appeared in human form in the post-credit scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. A recurring role followed this in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, where the character explained that he has an inhibitor he can wear to turn himself human. Still, no use of this device has been shown onscreen, leading many to wonder exactly how it works, and for what narrative purpose.

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1 The Hulk Needs Another Transformation Scene Before The Multiverse Saga Ends The Character's Fundamental Nature Needs To Persist In The MCU Close Hulk has become a different character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe than where he began. Still, there are components that are inherent to the Hulk idea that need to persist. By not showing a single transformation throughout the entire Multiverse Saga, the MCU has reduced the Hulk character to something that does not agree with his comic book roots. It is then important that the duality of Hulk and Banner be restored, which could be shown with a transformation scene in the saga.
Years pass, and audiences change for these properties. While it is important not to stagnate, it is also important that the essence of the Hulk character and what has made him so beloved through the years still exists in the MCU. Audience expectations for what the Hulk is can be informed by the franchise, and if Hulk becomes known as a character who wears a Hawaiian shirt and attends family barbeques, then viewers come to expect this less dynamic figure for future installments. To combat this, the series must show at least a single transformation for the sake of symbolism, if nothing else.

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2 The Hulk's next appearance in the MCU has not yet been confirmed, but various characters from his introductory film, The Incredible Hulk, are set to appear in the story of Captain America: Brave New World. Following this, now is the perfect time to return to the essence of the Hulk as he was at his most beloved. Not every component has to be the same, but the violence and a level of duality, as shown through his transformations, should be explored further in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hopefully, the Hulk's story in the franchise has only just begun in many ways.

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
Created by Kevin Feige First Film Iron Man Upcoming MCU Movies Captain America: Brave New World
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Release Date November 7, 2025 Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date May 1, 2026 Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027

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