Marvel Secretly Broke The Russo's Endgame Promise About Hulk

Warning: Spoilers ahead for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law episode 1

The Hulk was left with a permanent injury in Avengers: Endgame after reversing Thanos’ snap, but it turned out to be not so permanent after all, and Marvel ended up breaking an important promise by the Russo Brothers about Hulk. The Hulk’s history in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t been the best, especially when compared to those of his fellow Avengers, and he hasn’t been a big presence, but he was given an important role in Avengers: Endgame, in which, now as Smart Hulk, he was not only key in planning the Time Heist but he was the one who brought back those who vanished as a result of Thanos’ snap.

The Hulk made his MCU debut in The Incredible Hulk back in 2008, but he went through major changes after that. Bruce Banner/Hulk was originally played by Edward Norton, but he was recast by the time he returned to appear in The Avengers, with Mark Ruffalo taking his place. Since then, Bruce/Hulk joined the original Avengers team, left Earth, became a fighter in Sakaar, transformed himself into Smart Hulk when Bruce merged his mind with Hulk’s body, and brought back half of life in the universe, but the latter left him severely injured.

Although he was the strongest person in the room and thus the only one who could hold the power of the Infinity Stones long enough to snap his fingers and reverse Thanos’ original snap, Smart Hulk was left with a massive injury on his left arm which was supposed to be permanent – until he returned to the MCU in She-Hulk.

Hulk's Injury Healing Makes Him Less Interesting

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) is a lawyer specializing in cases involving superhumans. Jennifer is Bruce Banner’s cousin, and just like him, she transforms into a stronger, bigger, and green version of herself, simply known as She-Hulk, after being cross-contaminated with Bruce’s blood. Bruce is one of the already-established MCU characters that are joining Jennifer in She-Hulk, and in his first appearance alongside his cousin, Marvel already broke a promise made by the Russo brothers regarding Hulk post-Endgame.

In 2019, Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo confirmed that the damage left by the Infinity Gauntlet is irreversible, meaning that Hulk would now be stuck with a wounded and much weaker arm, just like the use of the gauntlet and the Stones left Thanos unbelievably weak. However, Joe Russo also addressed the possibility of Hulk being cured somehow, as there are “a lot of really smart people left” and maybe one of them will give him a new arm or some other solution. She-Hulk already broke this promise as Bruce has now completely healed his arm, starting with a device he created that allowed him to stay in his human form and which he mentioned also helped his arm heal (though not entirely), and later using Jennifer's blood. After their incident on the road with a Sakaarian ship, Jennifer was cross-contaminated with Bruce's blood, and he explained to her that they share "a rare combination of genetic factors" that allow them to synthesize gamma radiation into something else. Bruce further analyzed Jennifer's blood and was able to use it to completely heal his arm, even though no one thought that would be possible.

The point of Hulk having a permanent injury as a result of the use of the gauntlet and the Stones was for it to serve as a testament to the power of the Infinity Stones and the snap, but instead, the MCU completely forgot about that and gave Bruce a somewhat quick solution. While Hulk is not a hated character, he’s the one member of the original Avengers that has struggled most to connect with the audience, and leaving him with a permanent, physical reminder of the events of Avengers: Endgame was a perfect way to explore his character a lot deeper through how he has dealt with the aftermath of the Battle of Earth and Iron Man’s sacrifice, thus making Hulk a much more interesting and layered character. Although it's understandable that the MCU wants to separate itself from Thanos and the events of Avengers: Endgame, the supposedly permanent reminder through Hulk's wounded arm actually benefited the character.