Marvel Confirms Why Bruce Banner Is No Longer Smart-Hulk In Shang-Chi

Marvel Studios reveals how Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is no longer Smart-Hulk in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Simu Liu's MCU debut project primarily focused on establishing his origins, including what his childhood was like as the son of Wenwu/Mandarin (Tony Leung). But, as it is part of an interconnected narrative, the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed flick also revealed how Shang-Chi gets incorporated into the bigger universe via the appearance of several familiar faces in the blockbuster, including the Avenger.

Early on, Abomination (Tim Roth) made his return to the franchise fighting Wong (Benedict Wong) in one of Xialing's (Meng'er Zhang) caged matches in Macau. Later on, Wong returned to pick up Shang-Chi and Katy (Akwafina) and brought them to what appears to be the Sanctum Sanctorum. Apparently, the first time Shang-Chi wielded the power of the Ten Rings in Ta-Lo, the energy was felt all the way to Kamar-Taj, drawing the Masters of the Mystic Arts' attention. The trio was joined by two other established MCU characters through holograms — Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Bruce. Both looked quite different since the last time they appeared in Avengers: Endgame, but Bruce's look was more interesting since he's back in his human form and no longer Smart Hulk.

While discussing Eternals in an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, co-writer Matthew 'Kaz' Firpo incidentally mentioned the status of some of the Avengers while the Emergence took place. He mentioned Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) no longer in the MCU, but interestingly, he also talked about Hulk is currently up to. According to him, Bruce Banner is working on de-evolving himself back to his human form after he found a way to become Smart Hulk in the aftermath of Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap in Avengers: Endgame.

"I think in terms of the timeline, we just lost Tony, we just lost Cap, Natasha's gone, Hulk is currently working on himself I think to make himself human rather than smart Hulk, so I think that all the Avengers were just pretty busy."

When Smart Hulk debuted in Avengers: Endgame, it didn't seem like it was a temporary state where he can easily go back and forth. It's worth noting that the 2019 Joe and Anthony Russo-directed blockbuster didn't get into specifics about what went on in the process of birthing the hybrid character. So, naturally, there's a lot of questions about it. Bruce's appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' only added more questions to his current status. But Firpo's comments make sense in terms of Bruce's arc. Perhaps after he spent a little more time as Smart Hulk and the novelty of it wore off, he realized that he didn't like the feeling of standing out in the crowd. He may have succeeded in bringing back his human form, but it's curious if there are negative side effects to this moving forward.

The Avenger's upcoming appearance on the She-Hulk series could provide a clear explanation for these queries. Based on a set photo of him wearing his motion-capture suit with CGI dots all over his face, Ruffalo will play the Hulk (or Smart Hulk) in the show — or, at least in some parts of it. Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: Banner's appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has drummed up fan interest in the character. Perhaps, it might even have something to do with the rumored Planet Hulk film.

More: Eternals: Where The Avengers Are During The Emergence