She-Hulk Trailer Raises Even More Questions About Hulk's Continuity

By Charlie Ridgely

At some point, Marvel Studios is going to have to explain what is actually going on with Hulk in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She-Hulk may be where that discussion takes place, depending on where on the MCU timeline it exists, but the trailer alone only sparks more questions about the ever-growing confusion surrounding Bruce Banner's state of existence. Hulk's last three appearances, including the She-Hulk trailer, paint a strange picture for the character and his recovery from the final act of Avengers: Endgame. 

In Endgame, Bruce explained that he and Hulk had essentially (and what appeared to be permanently) been fused into one being. He had the mind and personality of Bruce in the body of Hulk, a character everyone knew lovingly as Professor Hulk. Then, in the third act of Endgame, Professor Hulk used the Infinity Gauntlet to snap everyone back into existence, totally damaging one of his arms in the process. This is where things start to get confusing.

Mark Ruffalo reprises his role as Bruce Banner in the post-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, acting as a leading voice for the Avengers as he recruited Shang-Chi and Katy to their group. The film took place after Endgame but, for some reason, Professor Hulk was no more. Banner appeared as his usual, human self again. However, his arm was in a sling, reminding viewers of the permanent damage done by the gauntlet when he snapped it.

Now we fast-forward to the She-Hulk trailer, released on Tuesday as part of the Disney Upfronts presentation. In the footage, Bruce is back to his full Professor Hulk form once again, teasing that he can potentially jump back and forth between beings again, despite saying in Endgame that he could no longer do that. The way he explained it, Professor Hulk is a combination of the two, not a third party, so it wasn't supposed to be something he could turn on and off like he could with Hulk at times. Then there's the arm to consider.

Not only is Banner back into Professor Hulk form, but his arm looks and seems to operate as good as new. There isn't any damage that can be seen and it's not in a sling. He just looks like the normal Professor Hulk that was introduced before the Avengers got the band back together.

Both Banner's Professor Hulk transformation and the damage to his arm from the gauntlet felt like permanent situations that have now just gone away. The MCU is a show based on comic books, so anything can happen and be explained away with just a couple of sentences. That would be totally fine. It just feels like it's about time for Marvel to deliver those couple of sentences so we can understand what's really going on with Hulk.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres on Disney+ on August 17th.

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