Avengers Infinity War: Hulk’s Defiance Of Banner Saved The Universe

The Hulk’s defiance of Bruce Banner in Avengers: Infinity War ultimately saved the universe. After taking over the role from Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo has been playing the green-rage monster and his soft-spoken alter-ego in the MCU for a decade now. While the dual character’s arc in the franchise has been divisive thus far, he was instrumental in the reverse snap in Avengers: Endgame, making him still an important player in the universe. 

Banner was already the Hulk for two years when Thor found him in Thor: Ragnarok. At this point, the “big guy”  had already learned how to communicate with words, proving just how long he’d taken over his human alter-ego’s body. But following his humiliating defeat against Thanos (Josh Brolin) at the start of Avengers: Infinity War, the massive creature refused to emerge. Despite Banner’s repeated pleading as the Mad Titan’s minions surrounded him during the Battle of Wakanda, Hulk refused to help his alter-ego. Marvel Studios hasn’t really explained why, but nonetheless, because of this, Earth and the rest of the universe were ultimately saved five years later. 

After Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War, it would take five years for the remaining Avengers to band back together in the hopes of undoing Thanos’ decimation. By this time, Banner had successfully melded his two personas in Smart Hulk, who was chosen to do the reverse snap using the Infinity Stones, following the team’s successful time heist. If it wasn’t for the Hulk’s defiance in Infinity War, Banner would’ve never been motivated to find a way to let his two identities co-exist peacefully in one body. Realizing how helpless he was during potential world-ending battles, Banner realized that he needed the Hulk. This resulted in the Smart Hulk, who was the only Avenger that had the physical and mental capability to undo the decimation. 

Admittedly, the introduction of Smart Hulk has been divisive. But, as seen in the hero’s recent appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ post-credits scene, Marvel Studios may be walking back on their Avengers: Endgame decision. In the Destin Cretton and Simu Liu film, Bruce is back in his human form, which was curious since it didn’t seem like being Smart Hulk was a temporary state. Additionally, promotional footage for She-Hulk, which will feature the character, shows both Banner and Smart Hulk. It’s possible that some of those snippets are solely filmed for marketing purposes, but there’s also a chance that now, Banner can simply transform back into a human being whenever he wants to. 

In any case, Marvel Studios still needs to answer several lingering questions regarding the birth of Smart Hulk. Avengers: Endgame didn’t get into specifics about how Banner was able to bring his two identities together, and understandably so, considering how many stories the film had to cover. But as the Banner’s story continues in MCU Phase 4, it’s imperative that this be addressed. It would also be great if they come up with an explanation for why Hulk didn’t want to come out in Avengers: Infinity War since the Russos claim that it wasn’t because the creature was afraid of Thanos.