Marvel Is Hinting At Banner's Darkest Origin For World War Hulk

Warning! SPOILERS for She-Hulk episode 1.

By putting Bruce Banner in the spotlight in a way that hasn’t been done since The Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law set up what could be a dark origin for the reported World War Hulk movie. Due to the complex legal arrangement with Universal, Marvel Studios never did another Hulk movie after The Incredible Hulk, limiting Hulk to the Avengers films, Thor: Ragnarok, and now the Disney+ series She-Hulk. However, with reports of Marvel Studios now finally planning on making a Hulk movie that would take inspiration from World War Hulk, Bruce Banner’s story in the MCU can be revisited and better explored.

As the first Hulk-centered project in the MCU since 2008, She-Hulk would have the difficult mission of being a Jen Walters story while also making up for almost 14 years of Hulk and his universe being almost an afterthought in the broader MCU. Complaints about where Marvel was taking Hulk as a character have been common ever since Avengers: Age of Ultron, and while Thor: Ragnarok did something new with the character, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame add comparatively little to Hulk’s story. In fact, the introduction of Smart Hulk in Endgame seemed like a closing chapter for Hulk in the MCU, but now She-Hulk episode 1 hints at that not being the case.

In She-Hulk episode 1, the Smart Hulk serves as Jennifer’s teacher on being a Hulk, a dynamic that sets up comedic moments while also revealing a lot about Bruce Banner. By teaching potential World War Hulk movie.

Why Hulk's Future In World War Hulk Can Reveal His Past

She-Hulk encounters a Sakaaran Spaceship

In the comics, an important event that leads to World War Hulk is the death of Hulk’s wife, Caiera, and the seemly death of Hulk’s son, Skaar. After blaming the Illuminati for the death of his family, the Hulk entered his most intense state of rage yet and returned to Earth seeking revenge. However, at the end of World War Hulk, it is revealed that Hulk’s son had survived. While a one-on-one World War Hulk adaptation would not work given how it has been years since Hulk left Sakaar, plus how there's no Earth-616 Illuminati, the idea of Hulk having a son in Sakaar can lead to a World War Hulk movie that explores Banner’s backstory. The Sakaaran spaceship in She-Hulk episode 1 hints at Hulk’s time in Sakaar having implications for his future, which could be the introduction of Hulk’s son Skaar. By finding out he has a son, Bruce Banner can reflect on what his own childhood was like. That could be the MCU’s way of referencing Brian Banner, Bruce Banner’s abusive father.

Hulk's Dark Backstory In The Comics Explained

Bruce Banner was raised by a loving mother but also by an abusive father in the Marvel comics. Brian Banner hated Bruce thanks to a twisted sense of jealousy over Rebecca, Bruce’s mom, but also due to believing Bruce was a mutant. Brian would often physically hurt Bruce Banner, inflicting an immense amount of pain and trauma on Bruce. It’s hinted in the Marvel comics that Bruce Banner’s childhood trauma led him to develop dissociative identity disorder, which would only be diagnosed by the time the Hulk gamma accident had already happened. In the comics, the "Hulk" alter ego actually came to be far before the accident, as Bruce created an imaginary friend called “The Hulk” as a child, which doctors dismissed as just a coping mechanism after Brian Banner killed Bruce’s mother. Such a tragic backstory has so far been missing from the MCU Hulk, although the Ang Lee 2003 Hulk movie did address it.

After more than a decade of being a ing character with little to no backstory apart from The Incredible Hulk, Hulk might now finally receive a solo story that ties into his origins. How exactly a World War Hulk movie would happen is still difficult to say as the Smart Hulk form seems to work just fine. However, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law episode 1 hints at a dark Hulk story, proving that his darkest origin story can happen in the MCU.

New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law release on Thursdays on Disney+.