Shang-Chi’s Smart Hulk Retcon Hints Banner Lost In Endgame

Mark Ruffalo appears as Bruce Banner, not Smart Hulk, in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ credits scene, and the change suggests Banner lost out in Avengers: Endgame. The struggle between Banner and Hulk has been explored in the MCU since way back when Edward Norton was playing the Green Goliath, but Phase 3 of the MCU developed it much further. Thor: Ragnarok kicked off a new arc for Hulk, who was now able to talk, if briefly, and had largely taken over from Banner. Things switched further in Avengers: Infinity War when, after Thanos beat Hulk early in the movie, Banner was left without the green guy to back him up despite trying his best to convince him to come back out.

The culmination of that was seemingly Avengers: Endgame’s Smart Hulk, who brought together the brains of Banner with the size and brawn of Hulk, ostensibly as the perfect compromise for both parties. That made it all the more surprising when Shang-Chi’s mid-credits scene retconned Endgame’s Smart Hulk, with Ruffalo back to being Banner instead (although still with an arm injury from Hulk’s Snap). No explanation was given, but the MCU’s future is set to explore it.

The first She-Hulk teaser trailer showed Smart Hulk, which supports theories that’s where the change will happen ahead of Shang-Chi’s timeline. According to Eternals co-writer Kaz Firpo, Banner is working on not being Hulk around the time of the movie. That he’s actively trying to de-Hulk himself changes the perception of his arc in Endgame, as it suggests it wasn’t perfectly balanced. Instead, Shang-Chi’s Smart Hulk retcon and the teases of an explanation for it, and the fact Banner wants to change back, hint Hulk won in Endgame and was the more dominant personality there.

Banner losing to Hulk in - or perhaps even after - Avengers: Endgame would fit with his story, even if it contradicts the apparently ideal compromise they had found. Hulk has always been someone Banner has struggled to control, and he's a force of nature that is hard to defeat or keep down for too long; he doesn't appear in Infinity War because of his will, and that's something Banner himself cannot overcome no matter how much he pleads. During the time jump between Infinity War and Endgame, the relationship between the two personas obviously shifted, and while the latter presented it as something both parties agreed upon, it could have been Banner more reluctantly finding balance in order to best benefit the new world order, before finally figuring out out to turn himself back.

Smart Hulk seemingly enjoys the newfound status quo and attention in Avengers: Endgame, which runs counter to Banner's own, more introverted personality, which would further fit the idea of Hulk "winning" or at least becoming more dominant in the search of an equilibrium between them. With that, Banner knowing that Hulk got the better end of the deal, struggling with having to continuously live as Smart Hulk (especially in the aftermath of the Blip, his snap, and Black Widow's death and his inability to bring her back) could have become too much for him, leading to him forcing the change back. After all, if he is actively working on it, then it means he's no longer happy with the deal, even if he was when he made it. With She-Hulk likely to explain just how Bruce is no longer Smart Hulk in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, then there's scope to dive much deeper into this story and explore just what the change meant to him and why he's turned back.

Next: Why Bruce Banner No Longer Wants To Be Smart Hulk After Endgame