What Marvel did with Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in Avengers: Endgame has provided the MCU with the perfect setup for a “World War Hulk” story. Marvel has pushed the child-like Hulk persona aside in favor of Smart Hulk, but the classic version of the character could always come roaring back in the future.
One way to use him again on the big screen would be by adapting World War Hulk, a Marvel comic event that saw the titular character come to blows with some of Marvel’s most well-known superheroes, including Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and more. Hulk’s crusade against these characters started when they engineered a scheme to take him off-world. They believed that Hulk was a disaster waiting to happen and that it would be better to send him somewhere where the Earth would be safe from his destructive potential. Their plan worked, but what they didn’t count on was Hulk finding a way to return. After gathering a number of alien allies, Hulk came roaring back with a fury and began taking revenge on his former friends.
On the surface, it may not seem like Marvel is building to World War Hulk, but it’s possible that the events of Avengers: Endgame can still lead to it. The Avengers didn’t shoot Hulk into space, but they did accept She-Hulk will explore Hulk’s thoughts on this.
It’s worth wondering what would happen if somehow the child-like Hulk returned and took back control. It would be understandable for him to be angry, not just at Banner but at his fellow Avengers. No-one stopped Banner from using his “solution”, nor did any of them attempt to restore Hulk. Hulk made it clear in Thor: Ragnarok that he felt underappreciated, and basically being shut out by Banner for five years would certainly build on those feelings.
If Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Banner could take a backseat to Hulk, who could become the dominant personality for the first time since his stay on Sakaar. All things considered, a World War Hulk movie may be the story that the MCU’s Hulk needs.
