Major Hulk Battle Against A Powerful Marvel Character Can Happen In The MCU After Recent Avengers Movie Rumors

Marvel Studios has recently been rumored to be adapting Marvel Comics’ World War Hulk for the MCU, which could be setting up one of the most memorable battles between the Hulk and another powerful Marvel superhero. Following Edward Norton’s debut as Bruce Banner in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Mark Ruffalo assumed the role in 2012’s The Avengers, and has seen quite the transformation since then. Banner has learned to control the Hulk, exiled himself to Sakaar and become a gladiator, and merged his human and Hulk personalities into Smart Hulk, but his biggest transformation could be right around the corner.

Since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame debuted Smart Hulk in the MCU, there have been calls for Bruce Banner to revert to his “Savage Hulk” state. Complaints of “nerfing”, the weakening of a character over time, have plagued the Hulk in recent years, but speculation concerning a potential adaptation of Marvel Comics’ World War Hulk event in the MCU could solve this issue. Since 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok used elements of Planet Hulk, the event that immediately preceded World War Hulk, Marvel Studios seems to have been setting up the MCU’s World War Hulk, and recent rumors suggest this could occur very soon.

Marvel Studios’ World War Hulk Could Be An Avengers Movie

Recent speculation suggests that Marvel Comics’ World War Hulk event may be adapted into an upcoming Avengers crossover project in the MCU. This could provide Marvel Studios with the perfect opportunity to move away from Kang the Conqueror as the main antagonist of 2026’s Avengers 5, following Jonathan Majors’ 2023 arrest and conviction, and could see Bruce Banner revert to a more angry version of the Hulk, quelling recent complaints. The magnitude of Marvel Comics’ World War Hulk storyline certainly constitutes appearances from many MCU heroes, as the event saw the Hulk return to Earth seeking vengeance on the Illuminati.

The Illuminati had banished the Hulk to Sakaar for the safety of Earth, but after the Hulk’s shuttle explodes and kills his wife, Caiera, he returns to Earth to destroy those who exiled him. Released between May and November 2007, World War Hulk featured the Hulk going up against most of the heroes of the Marvel Universe, using his newfound strength from exposure to radiation on Sakaar to defeat them. This massive storyline would work perfectly in an Avengers movie in the MCU, and if this occurs in Phase 6, one of Marvel Comics’ most explosive battles could be included.

The Hulk & Sentry Battled During Marvel Comics’ World War Hulk

At the climax of Marvel Comics’ World War Hulk, the Hulk battles with Robert Reynolds’ Sentry, perhaps the only hero powerful enough to take on the raging beast. The Sentry debuted in 2000, and was said to harbor the power of a million exploding suns, thanks to an injection of an experimental super-soldier serum. This makes him one of the Marvel Universe’s most formidable characters, who has been both a hero and a villain in the time since his debut. Marvel Studios’ potential World War Hulk adaptation could feature this epic battle between former friends the Hulk and the Sentry.

This is especially true if World War Hulk takes place in the MCU following the release of Phase 5’s Thunderbolts, as the Sentry has been speculated to be appearing in the upcoming crossover project. Originally thought to be played by The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun, Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman has now assumed the role in Thunderbolts, though his exact function in the 2025 movie is still unclear. The Sentry’s potential Phase 5 debut, however, could introduce him to the MCU just before Bruce Banner’s Hulk embarks on his global rampage, allowing this destructive battle to be seen in live-action.

What Other World War Hulk Moments Would Work Well In The MCU?

Aside from adapting the battle between the Hulk and the Sentry in the MCU, Marvel Studios’ potential World War Hulk project could bring some of the Marvel Comics storyline’s other brilliant moments into live-action. This could see Hulk destroy the former Avengers Tower during a spar with New York’s heroes, take on mutants and the soon-to-be-introduced Fantastic Four, fight his own cousin, Jennifer Walters’ She-Hulk, and gain enough power to threaten the entire world. Ultimately, Marvel Studios’ World War Hulk would likely end in Bruce Banner’s incarceration, though this certainly wouldn’t be the end of the Hulk in the MCU.