Smart Hulk originally was the last active hero in previous versions of Avengers: Endgame - and his super suit has a subtle piece of branding to show for it. The remaining heroes after Avengers: Infinity War went through a number of changes once the time jump in Avengers: Endgame happened. While each of the original Avengers dealt with The Snap in their own ways, Bruce Banner is arguably the one who changed the most.

After years of Bruce and Hulk fighting for control, they learned to co-exist during this stretch. Combining Banner's brilliant mind with Hulk's incredible strength, Smart Hulk - as he has been named by Marvel - became the best possible version of the hero. This Smart Hulk transformation came at a great time in the MCU, as the fallout from The Snap left the universe with far fewer heroes than it had before. Even the ones who survived the event didn't all continue to suit up in the years that followed. But, one version of Avengers: Endgame would've had Hulk be the last active hero.

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This detail comes from The Art of Avengers: Endgame book. A section of the book is dedicated to the various designs considered for Smart Hulk, both in his pedestrian clothes and superhero suit. Ryan Meinerding was the one responsible for conceptualizing Hulk's new look and revealed that one idea for Avengers: Endgame had Hulk act as the last superhero. To make this point clear, Meinerding also revealed a subtle symbol hidden into the final and alternative designs. Read what he had to say below, followed by concept art of the various looks.

"I was trying to come up with a design for him that was a Super Hero look - the idea being that all the Super Heroes, after Infinity War, were gone, so Hulk's the only one left. He would actually be doing the job of all of the Avengers, and you would see him feel like a true, amazing Super Hero - and that costume was meant to elucidate that point. Whether it screams it or not, there is an H on his chest. I worked it in there subtly - but if you know it's there and you know to look for it, you can see it pretty easily."

https://imgur.com/a/oW9svpZ

While Hulk's final suit for Avengers: Endgame does have the "H" worked into the chest, it is not entirely accurate to say that he was the last active hero. Iron Man and Captain America certainly moved past their heroic days, while Thor locked himself away in New Asgard. Meanwhile, Hawkeye took a dark turn to become Ronin. Any hero duties were then left to the new Avengers team Black Widow was running, which had War Machine on Earth and Captain Marvel, Nebula, and Rocket primarily in space. It's possible this idea of Hulk being the last active hero was from an alternate draft of the film, perhaps the same one where Black Widow was going to run an orphanage for all the newly orphaned kids and thus wouldn't be leading the Avengers.

Even though Avengers: Endgame doesn't show any of the Avengers actively being heroic after the time jump, Hulk was going to be the exception. A deleted scene that was featured during Avengers: Endgame's theatrical re-release showed Hulk saving people from a burning building. This moment may have been cut, but the movie still clearly shows that the public perception of Smart Hulk has changed since we last saw him. Instead of pedestrians being afraid of Hulk, kids walked up to ask for a photo with him during the diner scene. It even appeared that Hulk had his own catchphrase that the kids knew.

Since Avengers: Endgame didn't take advantage of Smart Hulk embracing his heroic duties (and later films neglected his major role), we may never get to see that in the MCU now. His arm is permanently damaged after using the Infinity Stones and it appears She-Hulk is the one who will take the spotlight moving forward. But, with Banner's intellect and the advanced technology in the MCU, maybe a fix for his arm will be found in possible future appearances by Hulk.

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