The Hulk's role in Avengers: Infinity War is certainly a strange one, to the point it looks like Marvel changed Bruce Banner's story late in the game. The Jade Giant only appears at the beginning, trading punches with Thanos himself. He gets beaten to within an inch of his life, before being sent to Earth. From there, though, there are only hints at the Hulk's presence. Clearly terrified by Thanos, he refuses to emerge - and it falls to Bruce Banner to play the hero.According to Mark Ruffalo, last year's Thor: Ragnarok began a sort of "Hulk trilogy." Ragnarok kicked off the Hulk's character arc, with Hulk speaking beginning the process of separating these two identities; Hulk and Banner were essentially treated as separate persons, with a sense that they were almost at war. The Hulk had actually refused to revert to Banner for a full two years. Bruce was seriously concerned that, should he change back to the Hulk one more time, he'd never revert again. Avengers: Infinity War actually inverted that, with the Hulk terrified and preferring to watch events through Banner's eyes. It was the perfect chance to shift the spotlight, showing why Bruce Banner is an Avenger in his own right.

Ruffalo's comments clearly suggest that Marvel have a long-term plan for the Hulk, a character arc that will come to a head in Avengers 4. And yet, it that's the case, how they handled Hulk in Infinity War was actually pretty strange. Here are some of our most curious questions.

  • This Page: We Have Some Questions About Hulk In Avengers: Infinity War

Why Did Heimdall Send The Hulk To The Sanctum Sanctorum?

Avengers: Infinity War opens with a beat down between Thanos and Hulk, straight up answering the question of who'd win: Thanos, with little sweat. There's a look of utter disbelief on Loki's face as he realizes that even the Hulk's power is as nothing to the Mad Titan. Fortunately for Earth, Heimdall intervenes before the Hulk can be killed. He summons dark magic to open the Bifrost one last time, sending the Hulk away to Earth. Before the title card, that already raises one strange question; why did Heimdall choose to save the Hulk? And why didn't he save anyone else either? Heimdall could potentially have saved Thor, for example, rather than leaving the God of Thunder vulnerable.

It's impossible to say for certain what was going through Heimdall's mind. The most likely solution is that he knew two Infinity Stones were on Earth and that Thanos would be going there next. That meant he wanted to send somebody familiar with Earth to the planet in order to warn it. and Thor was still too close to Thanos, leaving only Hulk.

The question then becomes not why but where. Heimdall sends the Hulk to a very specific location; Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. It's a scene lifted straight from the comics; Jim Starlin's Infinity Gauntlet miniseries saw the Silver Surfer crashland in a similar fashion, warning the Sorcerer Supreme of Thanos's evil and might. In the comics, however, the Surfer knew Doctor Strange well, and was headed there deliberately. But how does Heimdall know to send the Hulk to the Sanctum Sanctorum? It's presumably linked to Heimdall's all-seeing powers, but the movie makes it appear a random crash.

And that's where the weirdness comes in: none of this is actually explained in the film. We can make assumptions but the intention is that the breakneck pace and mounting threat of Thanos will excuse it. Which it mostly does, although that's not the end of our Hulk questions.

How Does Bruce Banner Remember What Happened To The Hulk?

Bruce Banner next to the Hulkbuster Gauntlet in Avengers Infinity War

When the Hulk reverts to the form of Bruce Banner, Bruce normally has absolutely no memory of what happened. In Thor: Ragnarok, he didn't realize that two years had passed - he genuinely thought the battle against Ultron had only just happened. And yet, in Avengers: Infinity War, it's clear that Bruce remembered everything about the Thanos fight. He's able to be surprisingly specific, discussing Thanos's power and motives at length. What changed?

There's only really one possible solution for this; that the Hulk was so traumatized by his defeat that the memories somehow bled through to Bruce. Given the Hulk has learned to speak comfortably during his two years on Sakaar, he presumably now actually understands some of what's said around him. That would mean Banner would have the vaguest memories of words and concepts, too, rather than just visual images of conflict and bloodshed. Although now we must address why the Green Goliath is playing hide-and-seek...

So, What's Going On With The Hulk?

All this leads to the core question: just what is going on with the Hulk in the first place? "The Hulk is also mightily impressed by Thanos," Mark Ruffalo noted in one interview. "Impressed" seems to be an understatement; the correct word should surely be "terrified." The Hulk has been challenged in battle before - the Abomination came close to defeating him back in 2008 - but the effortless ease with which Thanos bested him has clearly left the Hulk afraid. So much so that he won't come out to help during the Battle of Wakanda, preferring to watch through Banner's eyes. That's a remarkable decision, when you consider that Banner's death would also result in the Hulk's.

It's worth remembering, though, that the Hulk is really something of a child - one who rejoices in his own strength. He's never really known what it's like to be beaten before, and as a result approaches everything with a "Hulk smash" attitude. Even when he saw Surtur looming over Asgard, the Hulk's response was to leap forwards enthusiastically. "Just for once in your life," Thor yelled at him, "don't smash!" Now, though, the Hulk knows what it's like to be beaten. He clearly doesn't like it, and is absolutely terrified of repeating the experience. As a result, the Hulk retreats into himself, refusing to emerge. It may not be a logical reaction, but it's an emotional one that seems right for the Hulk's level of maturity.

There's a sense in which both Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War demonstrate the heroism of Bruce Banner. By the end of Ragnarok, Banner believes that he may never return should he turn into the Hulk one last time and yet he chooses to do so, sacrificing himself for Asgard. In Infinity War, Banner insists on participating in the action in spite of the fact he can't transform. He dons a Hulkbuster unit, and uses it to battle against the Black Order, proving himself an Avenger in his own right. It seems likely the third part of this arc, Avengers 4,will see both the Hulk and Banner identities come to accept one another, and find a measure of balance.

Were These Last-Minute Changes To Infinity War?

Bruce in the Hulkbuster in Avengers: Infinity War

Here's the odd thing, though: that doesn't appear to be have been the plan. All the marketing for Avengers: Infinity War featured the Hulk - the "money shot" in the first Infinity War trailer saw the Hulk charging forwards alongside the rest of the Avengers (a shot missing from the film) - and most action figures have been of the Hulk, not Bruce Banner. Now, it's true that Marvel may simply be reckoning that Bruce Banner is rather more marketable than the Hulk, but some of those action figures are a little too specific; one Hasbro Hulkbuster model actually allows the Hulk to tear out of it, hinting at a deleted major plot point (possibly during the Cull Obsidian fight).

Additionally, while Infinity War's CGI was generally strong, certain Hulk scenes were among the worst in the film. Any moment of Ruffalo's head on the Hulkbuster defy the Avengers 3 being one of the most expensive films of all time. That may reflect a change in direction, with Marvel simply able to spend less time on them because they'd changed plans late in the day. It wouldn't be surprising if they decided to keep Ruffalo as Banner throughout the film, having a knock-on effect the final act.

Things do change during production, and it's known that some elements of Avengers: Infinity War were actually shifted into Avengers 4. The weeks before Part 1's release, for example, saw a lot of confusion over whether or not Captain Marvel would appear in the film; it looks as though Marvel originally planned her to, then bumped her scene(s) up to Avengers 4 instead. It seems something similar happened with the Hulk; perhaps his character arc was supposed to end in a different way, with the Jade Giant emerging on the fields of Wakanda, but Marvel chose to save that for later. We'll find out next May.

MORE: Why Captain Marvel Hasn't Been In Previous Avengers Movies

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