The rumored World War Hulk movie would help fix a lot of the MCU's Hulk problems, but for a successful adaptation of that story to happen, Marvel needs to get rid of the Smart Hulk. While Mark Ruffalo's version of the Hulk never got a solo film in the MCU, the character was present in all of the Avengers films – plus, he had a sort of co-lead role in Thor: Ragnarok. The Taika Waititi film tried to add a new spin on the character and brought a more humorous relationship between Hulk and Banner. However, Avengers: Infinity War chose not to feature the Hulk for most of the movie, and by the time audiences saw the character again in Avengers: Endgame, he was now the Smart Hulk.
Inspired by Hulk's time as "Professor Hulk" in the comics, MCU's Smart Hulk is seemly the perfect balance between Bruce Banner and the Hulk, in which Banner has the agency while keeping the Hulk form. The Smart Hulk reveal was one of the most surprising moments of Endgame, especially because Bruce Banner and Hulk were on bad terms in Infinity War, a film in which the Hulk decided not to appear after the fight with Thanos. Banner never got into detail about how he and Hulk had come to that resolution, and the true origin of the Smart Hulk remains a mystery.
The Smart Hulk situation became even stranger during the MCU's Phase 4. In the Shang-chi and the Legend of Ten Rings mid-credits scene, which happened after Endgame in the MCU timeline, Bruce Banner appeared in his human form, which was already a surprising event. However, in the She-Hulk trailer, it's the Smart Hulk who's training Jennifer Walters. Not only that, but the Smart Hulk in She-Hulk does not have his arm injury, which places a question of where exactly the show takes place in the MCU's confusing Phase 4 timeline. Either way, for an MCU World War Hulk movie to work, the Smart Hulk can no longer be part of the story, as he is the total opposite of what the Hulk should be in that story. Instead, Hulk needs to become a real threat again – one that is big enough to draw the attention of either the Avengers or a possible Earth-616 version of the Illuminati.
World War Hulk Would Give The MCU Hulk A Story Again
While Hulk had a mini-arc spread throughout Ragnarok, Infinity War, and Endgame, the character currently doesn't have much to do in the MCU. The Hulk is training Jennifer Walters and possibly setting up She-Hulk as his replacement in the Avengers, but it is difficult to imagine an exciting future for the Smart Hulk. He clearly does not have the same interest in fighting as the original Hulk had in 2012's The Avengers, and the MCU already has plenty of other characters to fill the role of a genius scientist – not to mention an Earth-616 version of Reed Richards coming soon in the Fantastic Four movie. A World War Hulk film not only could give the Hulk an impactful arc, but it could also bring the character back to its roots: someone who is good at heart but that often presents a menace to the world. World War Hulk could also give Ruffalo's Bruce Banner a great way out of the MCU, either with the character dying or choosing to live on another planet forever.
How Phase 4 Can "Kill" Smart Hulk
Considering how it's still unclear when She-Hulk takes place in the MCU timeline, it is hard to know the status of the Smart Hulk in the MCU. If the Disney+ series takes place after Endgame, then the Smart Hulk is back and with his arm healed. However, if the show takes place before the main events of Endgame, then the MCU may have already killed the Smart Hulk, as Bruce Banner is back in his human form during Shang-chi.
In that case, it is possible that Banner was not telling the truth in Endgame and that he and the Hulk had not really worked things out. Between Endgame and Shang-chi, the Hulk may have caused the Smart Hulk transformation to revert, and now he and Banner could be back to their classic Jekyll-Hyde dynamic, essentially killing the Smart Hulk. A resentful Hulk angry at Bruce Banner for having been suppressed for the last few years would be the perfect starting point for a World War Hulk movie.
