Avengers: Endgame’s Hulk Twist Has Likely Robbed Us Of A Perfect Spider-Man: Brand New Day Moment

Had the MCU taken a different course with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, there’s a strong likelihood Spider-Man: Brand New Day would have featured an unforgettable Hulk moment, and one that may have been remembered as one of the character’s best all-time MCU scenes.

The childish and brutish side of the Jade Giant, commonly referred to as “the Savage Hulk,” experienced an unceremonious exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he lost a one-sided showdown with Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. Apparently, he chose not to return for the final battle, forcing Bruce Banner to use the Hulkbuster armor.

Then, Avengers: Endgame effectively killed the Savage Hulk persona with the introduction of Bruce Banner’s Smart Hulk transformation. And now, with Banner slated to appear once in Spider-Man: Brand New Day in what is presumed to be a significant role, there’s a hope among many that the Savage Hulk will somehow be restored.

So despite all that’s already happened, there are still ways for Savage Hulk to show up and team up with Spider-Man in Brand New Day. Unfortunately, the potential of such a scenario has already been limited, as there are some things that can’t be undone.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Could Have Featured An Amazing Hulk Line

Similar to what happened in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the comic book Spider-Man relied on a spell cast by Doctor Strange to erase the world’s knowledge of his identity as Peter Parker. Years later, in the pages of Immortal Hulk: Great Power, Spider-Man was caught by surprise when Hulk addressed him as “Peter.“

After Spider-Man expressed bewilderment at Hulk knowing his true identity, Hulk responded, “Banner forgot. Hulk didn’t.” Evidently, the spell worked on Banner, but Hulk as a separate being who shared Banner’s body but may not have been in control when the spell was cast, wasn’t affected by it. This made him one of the few who retained the memory of Peter being Spider-Man.

Under the same principle, Spider-Man: Brand New Day could have included a similar – if not identical – reveal. But, it’s hard to imagine any situation where that would make sense, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Spider-Man and the Hulk never teamed up, so no relationship exists between them.

And even if Brand New Day were to retcon that by revealing that Spider-Man and Hulk met off-screen, it would struggle to explain away Hulk knowing that he and Peter Parker are one and the same. Peter’s identity only became public knowledge at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, by which point the Savage Hulk persona had already been repressed.

Theoretically, it could – via flashback – reveal that Spider-Man and Savage Hulk met prior to Infinity War, and that Hulk learned his identity then. During those years, Peter did very little to conceal his identity from his fellow superheroes, so it’s not implausible that Hulk would have seen him without his mask or heard his name.

That said, since Hulk and Peter Parker had no on-screen encounters before Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the meaning of this great line would be significantly diluted if it took this route, and would feel like something that had been shoehorned into the narrative.

The MCU’s Hulk Twist Has Resulted In Several Missed Opportunities

Spider-Man: Brand New Day not including this moment from Immortal: Hulk Power isn’t the only time there’s been a missed opportunity on account of what Infinity War and Endgame chose to do with the Hulk.

Given his long-held reputation as “the strongest one there is” in Marvel Comics, there was a sense that Hulk deserved a rematch with Thanos, if not in Infinity War’s ending, than at least in Avengers: Endgame’s final battle, but it was not to be.

In Captain America: Brave New Order, the MCU finally transformed Samuel Sterns and General Ross into the Leader and the Red Hulk respectively, which would have made a return from the Savage Hulk seem appropriate.

It’s now been eight years since Savage Hulk’s last MCU appearance, which is a long wait for any payoff to that twist. There was speculation during those years that Marvel may have been building up to a Planet Hulk storyline that would see the character return with a fury, but hopes for that have dimmed as well.

It’s possible that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will attempt to make up for Savage Hulk’s long absence, and perhaps even set the stage for some Hulk-centric stories to take place in the future.