Since the MCU’s inception, one of the most prominent characters and vital heroes to the story of the Infinity Saga has been Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962, The Hulk is one of the most iconic heroes in all of Marvel Comics. While Marvel Studios didn’t have access to characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, and The Fantastic Four when they first began building their interconnected universe, The Hulk was the biggest hero they had access to, so he was one of the first characters to get a movie in the form of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk which opened in theaters a month after Iron Man. Though the character was recast with a new actor, the Hulk has since become a fan favorite due to his appearance in The Avengers and having many of the film’s most talked about moments.

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Despite only having one solo film to himself in the MCU (and one that’s often discredited as non-canon), the character has still managed to undergo a transformative character arc over the 11 years of the Infinity Saga due to his appearance in various MCU projects. The MCU has drawn inspiration from many eras of Hulk stories, from the popular 1970s The Incredible Hulk television series, Peter David’s iconic run on the hero, the Planet Hulk comic storyline, and many more to craft a tapestry that crafts a unique story for the films.

With the release of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on the horizon and The Hulk set to appear once more, helping his cousin Jennifer get a handle on her powers and potentially setting up the character’s new future, take a look back at the character’s evolution through the course of the MCU in a story that shows how a monster becomes a superhero.

The Incredible Hulk

     Universal Pictures

The Incredible Hulk was the first entry of The Hulk’s journey in the MCU and the second film in the overall franchise. While often forgotten for years due to the fact that Edward Norton would later be recast, recent entries in the MCU have brought back the late William Hurt and Tim Roth, reprising their characters as Thunderbolt Ross and Abomination respectively.

In the case of Bruce Banner and The Hulk’s story arc, this is the film that finds the character in his most iconic: a man on the run trying to keep the beast that dwells within him from causing destruction. Banner spends the whole movie trying to get rid of the Hulk, running from the destruction he has caused. In the film’s climax, he realizes that while the creature is dangerous, it can be good if aimed at the right target, and he leaps out of a helicopter knowing the Hulk will fight the Abomination.

The movie ends with Banner alone in a cabin meditating, but in contrast to the beginning of the movie when he was trying to stop the Hulk from coming out, here he is experimenting with controlling him. The movie ends with Banner opening his eyes, with the green Hulk hue and a smirk showing his first step into having a handle on the creature, laying the groundwork for his next story in The Avengers.

The Avengers

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Despite a new face, with a great Mark Ruffalo stepping into the part of Bruce Banner, this Hulk story does very much pick up with the lingering plot line leftover from The Incredible Hulk. In contrast to the previous film that showed Banner keeping a low profile trying to stay out of trouble, this is a Bruce Banner that while still on the run is helping as a doctor. He is doing good as Banner, and when he is first recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. he originally believes that they want him for The Hulk. While having gained some control of The Hulk, he still is unsure about being a hero. Yet of all people, it is Tony Stark who makes Banner believe in himself.

Banner pointedly asks Stark, “you’re saying The Hulk saved me. That’s a nice sentiment…for what exactly?” Within the context of The Avengers, it is so The Hulk can be a hero, helping save the Earth. He is their ultimate weapon, the one that Tony uses to refute Loki’s army. The one that the army eventually contracts all their firepower on. When Banner shows up at the Battle of New York, his journey to control The Hulk in the previous film is complete when he says “I’m always angry” and he transforms. This Hulk is destructive, yet is not a mindless monster. It also sets up Banner’s arc through the rest of the film series, where he will eventually be the key to saving the entire universe.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Bruce Banner appears in a cameo in Iron Man 3 during the end credits, but his next big appearance is in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film establishes that Bruce Banner and The Hulk are now fully integrated members of The Avengers, often a big gun only deployed in important missions titled ‘Code Green.’ Banner has formed a romantic flirtation with teammate Black Widow, been allowed to work as a scientist with Tony Stark, and formed friendships with his fellow teammates. After years of being a man on the run, he has finally found a home.

This makes his Scarlet Witch-induced Hulk-out all the more tragic because the world is once again afraid of the Hulk. Banner believed himself a hero, however, he is reminded of how he can easily be pushed to being a threat. Banner does not think he can have a normal life, one that he wants with Natasha. He reverts to his old ways, ending the film again a man on the run but this time it is in his Hulk form. Banner has retreated so far into himself that for the first time in his life, The Hulk is in complete control.

Thor: Ragnarok

Audiences would next see The Hulk two years later in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, where it is revealed The Hulk’s Quinjet ended up in space and crashed on the planet Sakaar where he has been living as the Grandmaster’s champion fighter. In contrast to Earth, the citizens of Sakaar love The Hulk for the destruction he brings.

Banner has not been out in two years, allowing The Hulk time to mature and grow into his own entity with a personality. The film draws heavily from the Planet Hulk storyline as well as the speaking Hulk of the Peter David run on the character in the comics. This is the first time Hulk has been able to have full conversations.

When Hulk sees Natasha’s recording, he is calmed down and Banner emerges for the first time in two years. In many ways, he has been in a midlife crisis, and the appearance of his old friend Thor makes him snap out of it. Banner now doesn’t want to ever turn into The Hulk, fearing he has now gotten too strong and that he may never be Banner again if he turns. In the film’s climax though, he jumps out of an aircraft similar to The Incredible Hulk to Hulk-out save the day. This will become important for Avengers: Infinity War with how much Banner relies on The Hulk, but only when it is convenient for him.

Avengers: Infinity War

Outside his cameo appearances, Avengers: Infinity War features the least amount of Banner and The Hulk, but that is the point. This is the moment where the two sides come into conflict with each other, at the worst moment. This is the point where Hulk and Banner are in a crisis.

The Avengers established The Hulk as the team’s trump card, as that moment is repeated in Avengers: Infinity War when Loki says “we have a Hulk,” so when Thanos easily beats The Hulk, who was the strongest Avenger in the previous two films, it establishes just how powerful of a threat the mad titan is and how the team will need everything they have to defeat him. This is the final time audiences not only see The Hulk in this film but the monster version of the character in the MCU so far.

Throughout the film, Banner and The Hulk conflict with one another. Hulk has grown tired of Banner only letting him come out when he needs him, to fight his battle. Hulk’s time on Sakaar made him his own person, yet Banner still sees him as a weapon to be aimed as he did in The Incredible Hulk. Much like how the Avengers fail to stop Thanos because they are fractured after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Banner and The Hulk are fractured, and they now need to be a united force setting up where the character needs to go for the next entry.

Avengers: Endgame

During the five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame, it is established that Banner and The Hulk have merged to become one entity. The two sides are no longer in conflict but one united force, uniting Banner’s intellect with Hulk’s strength merging the best of both worlds. In the comics, this is the persona known as Professor Hulk, but in the MCU is often referred to by fans as Smart Hulk.

Smart Hulk was originally set to appear in Avengers: Infinity War during the battle of Wakanda but was cut as it took away from the sense of doom the filmmakers needed for that films final act. Moving the reveal of Smart Hulk to Avengers: Endgame works for multiple different reasons. For one, it provides a great moment for the audience (seen through Ant-Man’s eyes) to show how much has changed in the five years since Avengers: Infinity War. The other, more importantly, is what it means for the Hulk as a character. It establishes that in the five years since Thanos’ defeat, and in the absence of many superheroes due to his ‘snap,’ Bruce Banner and his Hulk have stepped up to become a proper superhero, one adored by the public.

     Marvel Studios

Avengers: Endgame also pays off the exchange between Tony and Bruce in The Avengers. When it comes time for someone to wear the new Infinity Gauntlet and bring everyone back, the only person who can do it is The Hulk. When Banner asked Tony all those years ago what The Hulk saved him for, he could not have known that it would be for this purpose, but Banner says “it’s like I was made for this.” In the grand story of the Infinity Saga, The Hulk’s purpose was not to smash but to heal. The Hulk grows from a symbol of destruction into healing the world.

Since Avengers: Endgame, Bruce Banner appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings outside The Hulk persona, and The Hulk will also appear in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. It seems that his days as a mindless monster of destruction are over, and in many ways that is a good thing, the culmination of Bruce Banner and The Hulk’s journey from two sides at war with each other to a unified person. The monster has grown into a superhero, and now he no longer needs to go on the run. While the comics and the popular television series see Banner cursed to be on the run and revert to his status quo, the MCU has given The Hulk’s story something unique: an ending where he can find peace.