Mark Ruffalo's Avengers Dream Team Is Still The Original Six MCU Heroes

Mark Ruffalo picks his fellow original MCU heroes when asked to build his dream Avengers team. The actor wasn't the original choice to play Bruce Banner/Hulk, as he replaced Edward Norton from Louis Terrier's The Incredible Hulk. However, the role is now mostly associated with him as he continued to play the part since debuting in 2012's The Avengers until last year's Avengers: Endgame.

By the time Ruffalo joined the MCU, the franchise's Avengers team was already complete; each of his fellow actors had previously appeared in Phase 1 other than him. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Captain America (Chris Evans) all had their solo films, while Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) were involved in some of those standalones. Ruffalo's Hulk was treated as a continuation of Norton's without any mention of a recast. Considering that he's been essentially part of the universe's founding team of heroes, it's not surprising he'd pick his original squad when asked to form his dream Avengers team.

Quoting a fun game from EW where the outlet asks the public to build their own Avengers team with limited funds and each hero is tagged with a price, Ruffalo simply asked for more "dollars" so he could be able to pick the original six. He, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye are deemed premier (except for Hawkeye who's down a notch) characters in the grid, so the provided money isn't enough to pick them all. Check out his full tweet below:

The makers of the game don't really explain what's the logic behind the positioning of their heroes. It doesn't seem to be power-based, which would've made more sense if one is building a powerful, yet balanced Avengers team since Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are near the bottom of the list. Perhaps it's based on popularity. After all, the original six Avengers are on top of the roster, and they're arguably the most well-loved characters in the MCU simply because people have spent more time with them. Thus, the public is more emotionally-invested to their journeys as individuals and as a team.

All that being said, the chances of seeing the original six Earth's Mightiest Heroes on the big screen are slim to none at this point. Avengers: Endgame marked the end of the road with half of them: Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff died for a greater cause, while Steve Rogers finally opted to retire from his superhero gig. Only Thor has a definitive movie future in Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder, with Clint Barton and Bruce Banner's next appearances more likely on the small screen.

It may take a lot of time for people to acclimate to an MCU without the original six Avengers, but the harsh truth is, some of them had to exit the franchise for it to be sustainable. The characters and the actors who play them are not getting any younger and filming these blockbusters are rigorous and tiring. Narrative-wise, it's very important for Marvel Studios to prove the franchise has stakes, especially when people had started to question whether or not it had the guts to let go of its premier players. Despite all this, the public can be assured a new team will form in the aftermath of the Infinity Saga, it probably just won't be anytime soon.

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Source: Mark Ruffalo, EW