The MCU’s Real Hulk Never Recovered From His Biggest Defeat (but 2026 Can Finally Fix That)

Bruce Banner’s Hulk is one of the original heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there are hopes he’ll finally return after his greatest defeat in 2026. After Edward Norton brought the character to life in The Incredible Hulk in 2008, Mark Ruffalo took over as the Hulk in The Avengers. In the years since, the Hulk has been central to the development of the MCU, appearing in ten total projects, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Infinity War saw the Hulk face a huge conflict, but an MCU movie in 2026 might finally resolve this controversial twist.

The Hulk has become one of the MCU’s most changed characters, especially in the years since Avengers: Endgame. Endgame revealed that, during the Blip, Bruce Banner had managed to combine the human and Hulk personas, creating the Smart Hulk — Banner’s brain in the Hulk’s body. We are yet to see the Hulk revert to his original form, proving the Hulk never recovered from his greatest defeat. While many miss the “savage” iteration of the Hulk that we came to know and love in the MCU’s early projects, he might finally be returning soon.

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We Haven’t Seen the Real Hulk Since Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War marked the last time we saw the Hulk in his original form, and only in the movie’s opening moments. The Russo brothers opened Infinity War by showing us Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) attack on the Asgardian refugee ship, which carried the likes of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Heimdall (Idris Elba), Bruce Banner, and more. Banner staged an attack on Thanos, but, despite being similar in size, Thanos was quicker, stronger, and more capable, easily defeating the Strongest Avenger. Heimdall used the Bifrost to send the Hulk to Earth, but Thanos defeating him had a huge impact.

Banner found himself unable to transform into the Hulk throughout Infinity War, with this alter ego being too ashamed or belittled to emerge. This impotence was seen when Cull Obsidian and Ebony Maw arrived to claim the Time Stone, and when the Avengers were fighting back Thanos’ forces in Wakanda. It was this that pushed Banner to come to some compromise, merging his human and Hulk personalities, and the fact that the original Hulk — who was actually becoming more intelligent anyway — hasn’t returned yet proves this defeat still has an effect on the hero.

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When he appeared as a hologram in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Bruce Banner was in human form, wearing a power inhibitor device to quell the Hulk again. This device was damaged during the car crash in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s premiere, “A Normal Amount of Rage,” in 2022, which turned Banner back into the Smart Hulk. He continues to struggle with his existence as the Hulk, and would seemingly prefer to take on a more human form, which might be the case in the MCU’s next confirmed feature film in 2026.

The Real Hulk Could Return to the MCU in Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Mark Ruffalo was announced to be joining the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in August 2025. He will be joining Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, but it’s still not clear what role Banner will have in Brand New Day. With little actually known about his next appearance in the MCU, there are hopes that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will revert the Hulk to his original form, finally bringing back the savage iteration that fans have missed for several years.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day could finally offer the Hulk the resolution he needs after being defeated by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War back in 2018. He hasn’t been the same since, but we want to see the Hulk back in full force. Being pushed to the limit in battle against some iconic MCU heroes and villains, such as Spider-Man, the Punisher, the Scorpion, Tombstone, and more, could accomplish this, and might even mark Banner’s first on-screen transformation into the Hulk since The Avengers in 2012. We’re very intrigued about the Hulk’s future in the MCU.

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