Fans have yet to catch a glimpse at Hulk in any Avengers: Endgame footage, but promotional
materials have made their way online and made it plain as day: Hulk is coming back.
But how?
A new toy leak is spilling the details, revealing something major about Hulk's arc in the film.
Action figure photos that were recently leaked show Hulk's ultimate form in action, with
the newly-confident superhero sporting all the brawn of the big green guy, with what
certainly looks like the intellect of Bruce Banner, all wrapped up in one of the Avengers'
fancy new suits.
But that's not the only leak of Hulk's new form.
Another photo of the packaging for a different 'Titan Heroes' Hulk action figure by Hasbro
shows Hulk suited up in the same silvery-white, red, and black uniform that his fellow Avengers
sported in the latest Endgame trailer, which many have theorized to be related to the bulky
Quantum suits last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Most importantly, the text accompanying the drawing details the circumstances that will
lead to Banner becoming this all-new version of the Hulk: "Bruce Banner masters his temper
to become the giant, super-strong hero, Hulk."
That's a little bit different from the way we're used to Hulk doing things.
"That's my secret, Cap — I'm always angry."
The idea that Banner has to master his temper again to be able to go green in Endgame is
intriguing, building on the emotional trauma and fear Hulk displayed after Thanos, well,
Hulked out on him in Infinity War.
So it makes sense that Endgame could feature Banner getting a grip on his temper in order
to become not just the Hulk, but Professor Hulk, an elevated version of the character
from Marvel Comics lore.
If successfully fusing the brains of Bruce with the might of Hulk is what it's going
to take to bring the big green guy back, maybe that's why he hasn't been seen in any Endgame
footage yet.
It'd be a pretty natural endgame for the character's arc as well - after all, he's been getting
a lot better at talking things through over the years.
"This is what friends do, they support each other."
"You're Banner's friend."
"I'm not Banner's friend.
I prefer you!"
"Banner's friend!"
"I don't even like Banner…"
If you're unfamiliar with this particular twist on the character, we'll break things
down for you.
Professor Hulk isn't a Hulk that completed a doctorate degree.
Instead, he's a merged form of Bruce Banner, the poor human scientist whose exposure to
gamma radiation split his personality; the "Savage" Hulk, which is the green Hulk fans
are most familiar with; and the Gray Hulk, the somewhat intelligent, original Hulk from
the comics.
"Who are you?"
"They call me Mr. Fix-It."
Introduced in 1991's The Incredible Hulk #377, Professor Hulk is his own entity - not a cut-and-dry
merger of the three different Hulk personalities, but rather Bruce Banner's ideal self.
He possesses Banner's intelligence, Savage Hulk's super-strength, and Grey Hulk's cunning
- plus a more human face and an ability to maintain power while keeping his cool.
However, there's a catch - if Professor Hulk becomes too angry, that inner peace of his
will be broken, leading him to turn back into a Bruce Banner who is anything but mild-mannered.
If Professor Hulk is something of a scientist in Hulk's body, then his version of Bruce
is basically the Savage Hulk in human form.
That catch is important to be aware of, and the rest of the backstory seems to tie into
the information included in this toy leak.
The only way Endgame could feature Professor Hulk is if Banner takes the reins on his temper
and keeps his emotions in check.
If he can maintain the balance, he might just become the most powerful version of himself
he could possibly be.
Banner taking control of his anger in Endgame would wrap up a three-movie arc for the character
that began with Thor: Ragnarok in 2017.
According to Mark Ruffalo, Hulk's speech evolution is a crucial element of the character's metamorphosis
from Ragnarok, and the first sign that Banner and Hulk were starting to separate from one
another.
As the actor put it,
"Hulk speaking is the start to [a] separating of these two individuals, these identities
in this split-identity person, and where that's going to end up going."
There are plenty of unanswered questions Avengers: Endgame will hopefully address, not the least
of which is how and why Banner will Hulk out once again.
But thanks to Ruffalo's comments, this purported toy leak, and the sheer weight of fan expectations,
we're pretty confident it's going to happen.
When he does show up, he'll likely be dramatically different from how we've seen him before.
Whatever ends up happening to the big green dude, one thing seems undeniable: he's probably
going to be far more important in Endgame than anyone realizes.
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