I’m Convinced The MCU Has Set Up Its Best Excuse To Reset The Hulk After His Avengers: Endgame Transformation

Looking at the Hulk"s MCU arc, I"m convinced the franchise has set up its best excuse to bring the character back to his conventional state over half a decade after his initial Avengers: Endgame transformation into Smart Hulk. The Hulk"s story in the MCU timeline is a complicated one to say the least, in no small part because so much of his story happens in crossover movies that have to balance his arc with several other protagonists. As such, it"s common for major events in the Hulk"s MCU story to have to take a backseat to other events, or otherwise to simply happen off-screen.
This was the case with the Hulk"s transformation in Smart Hulk, which was revealed in Avengers: Endgame having initially occurred off-screen. With this specific element of the Hulk"s story proving consistently divisive among audiences, the fact the franchise has teed itself up to have a perfect justification for the character returning to his conventional smashing self is all the more notable, and all the more of a potentially strong way for the Hulk"s story to continue onward in upcoming MCU releases.
The MCU's Smart Hulk Storyline Has Been Part Of The Franchise Since Avengers: Endgame The MCU's Smart Hulk First Came To Screens In 2019 Close With Mark Ruffalo"s Hulk being an MCU crossover staple since 2012"s The Avengers, the reveal that a fundamental part of the character had changed in Avengers: Endgame came as something of a surprise to much of the audience, even though this change had its own comic ties. Endgame saw Banner combine his civilian and Hulk form into one entity, with the "Smart Hulk" being able to combine the brawn of the Hulk with the brains of his scientist counterpart, following the Hulk refusing to come forward in Avengers: Infinity War after his defeat at the hands of Thanos.
This decision makes sense in terms of providing a sort of resolution in terms of the conflict between Bruce Banner and the Hulk, and draws from the comic"s not dissimilar Professor Hulk storyline, wherein the Hulk"s ally Doc Samson is able to temporarily merge Banner and Hulk"s psyches together after previous attempts to physically split the pair apart proved dangerous for them both. However, the Smart Hulk story has also received some not unfair criticism in terms of where it holds the character"s story in the present-day MCU.
The Smart Hulk plotline essentially removes the actual Hulk from the mix, as Banner takes center stage in the Smart Hulk persona. Not only does this remove basically a whole character from the story - since we haven"t seen the Hulk as we previously knew him in several years now - it also provides a conclusion to the arc of Hulk and Banner"s conflict that doesn"t necessarily feel cathartic, since it can feel like Banner"s way of "dealing" with the Hulk has simply been to repress him even further rather than make a more co-operative dynamic with him.
Captain America: Brave New World Is The Perfect Excuse For A Hulk Reset Captain America: Brave New World Sets Up A Stressor For The Hulk He Might Not Be Able To Resolve Close Before Thaddeus "Thunderbolt Ross" became the President and then the Red Hulk in the MCU, he was a primary enemy of the Hulk in 2008"s The Incredible Hulk - and an enemy to many of the MCU"s heroes in Captain America: Civil War, following his efforts to imprison the Avengers who objected to the Sokovia Accords. Though Banner"s new outlook on life likely means he"s at least mostly forgiven Ross for hunting him down in The Incredible Hulk at least, it"s less likely that the Hulk himself has gotten over this quite so fully.
With this in mind, Ross becoming the MCU"s next Hulk thanks to his transformation in Captain America: Brave New World seems a perfect excuse for the traditional Hulk form to come back out. Not only does Ross specifically becoming the Red Hulk seem like a red flag for the Hulk should he find out this information, but the idea that other people could end up becoming Hulks without him even becoming aware following the movie"s story seems enough to also give Banner something of a nervous breakdown.
Given that the next chance for the MCU to explore the Hulk"s story will also potentially come combined with whatever chaos is in store within the stories of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars - should the Hulk indeed appear in either or both of these movies as he has every other Avengers film - this all seems like a recipe for the Smart Hulk"s meditative approach to simply meet too much stress to hold up, providing the perfect excuse for the classic Hulk form to reemerge as a response to the immense tension this scenario seems to create.
Why Bringing The Hulk Back Makes Sense For The MCU After Years Of Smart Hulk The Smart Hulk Story Has Had Plenty Of Time In The MCU Close While the Smart Hulk angle isn"t an uninteresting approach to take with the MCU"s Hulk story, it"s also one that risks letting the character stagnate if the intention is for the Hulk to continue on into future chapters of the franchise. One of the primary faucets of intrigue and drama in the Hulk"s story - both in the comics and on-screen - is the tension between the more mild-mannered Bruce Banner and his berserker Hulk counterpart, and removing that entirely risks undermining a core aspect of what makes the character work so well.
Similarly, when looking at the comic source material this storyline draws from, it"s worth noting that Marvel"s Professor Hulk plotline was also a notably non-permanent transformation, seemingly at least partially because this approach to the Hulk"s story is one that works best as a temporary change that switches things up without becoming the new norm. As such, giving the MCU iteration over half a decade seems more than fair, even if Smart Hulk didn"t necessarily appear in a wealth of releases during this time.
With Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars already looking as though they will change the state of the MCU as we know it to finish off the Multiverse Saga, it seems this would be the most logical point to reset Smart Hulk back to the more conventional Hulk form, particularly given this state has lasted throughout most of the MCU"s second Saga, and given how prior movie stories like Captain America: Brave New World set this possibility up on a story level. However, only time will tell what the future holds for the Hulk and his MCU arc.

Hulk
Created By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby First Appearance The Incredible Hulk (1962) Alias Robert Bruce Banner Alliance Avengers, Defenders, Horsemen of Apocalypse, Fantastic Four, Pantheon, Warbound, S.M.A.S.H., Secret Avengers Franchise Marvel Upcoming MCU Movies