In Avengers Endgame, Bruce Banner merges his mind with the Hulk’s body, evolving into an idealized “Professor Hulk” who bears a surprising resemblance to DC Comics’ Superman. While audiences have seen other Superman-like characters in the MCU like Captain Marvel (who possesses Superman’s power levels) and Captain America (who displays Superman’s morality), the Hulk appears an unlikely choice to represent the MCU’s Man of Steel. However, an examination of Professor Hulk’s appearance and activities in Endgame shows the Hulk not only embodies classic Superman tropes, he draws them from the weirdest and most powerful version of the Last Son of Krypton: the Silver Age Superman.
Referring to a period from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s when the Comic Code Authority forced comics to tell more “wholesome” stories for children, the Silver Age was a very strange time for Superman. Writers and artists constantly dreamed up bizarre stories where Superman dated a telepathic mermaid, dried his laundry with his heat vision, and created a Super-Chess bot to give himself a challenge. Celebrated and ridiculed by comic book fans, the Silver Age Superman seems out of touch with today’s super hero drama, but in Endgame, Professor Hulk plays with every corny idea this Superman introduced.
Professor Hulk is Basically Just Superman Now
Professor Hulk’s introduction in Endgame shows the Green Goliath sporting a T-shirt, a bathrobe… and oversized Clark Kent-style glasses. While the spectacles appear to be a carry-over from his Bruce Banner days, the dark frames and lens shape appear almost identical to the glasses worn by Henry Cavill and Christopher Reeve’s versions of Superman. This also feels like a call back to The Incredible Hulk #390 when Professor Hulk wears reading glasses and styles his hair into the “S” shape of Superman’s classic spit curl. The glasses actually manage to fool Hulk’s friend Rick Jones who shouts, “I never believed that glasses-as-disguise thing really works, but wow! I’m convinced!”
Of course, in Endgame, Banner’s brilliant disguise fails to fool a group of kids who immediately recognize the mild-mannered green scientist as the Incredible Hulk. Here, the film plays with another trope of Silver Age Superman – his relationship with children. While Superman has always been popular with kids, the Silver Age version was a particularly clean cut, wholesome hero (most of the time) who was intentionally used as a role model in comic book PSA ads. Professor Hulk plays with this dynamic – posing for a photo with the children and later reminding them, “Listen to your mom! She knows better!”
Once Professor Hulk leaps into battle, he gets an actual superhero suit instead of his usual purple pants. Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding reveals the Hulk costume has a giant “H” on his chest, much like Superman’s classic “S” symbol (yes, we know that symbol stands for “Hope” in Man of Steel – but it still meant “Superman” back in the Silver Age). The Hulk’s “H” emblem is hidden in the lines of his suit, but sharp-eyed fans can still spot it.
Professor Hulk Invents Silver Age-Type Machines
Professor Hulk’s strongest link to the Silver Age Superman, however, comes later in the film when he tries building a time machine for the Avengers. Testing his invention on Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man), Hulk accidentally moves time through Lang, transforming him into a child, an old man, and a baby before finally turning him back to normal (although sadly, not before Ant-Man wets his pants).
This goofy scene references all the Silver Age Superman comics when the Man of Steel invented or discovered weird “scientific” gadgets he stored in his Fortress of Solitude. Many of these devices jump started very strange stories, like when Superman created “Superman robots” – each with identical powers to his own – who occasionally ran amok. There were also devices that split Superman into two people – separating his Clark Kent persona from his Man of Steel identity, or turning him into “Superman-Blue” and “Superman-Red”. (Interestingly this also happens in Endgame when the Ancient One separates Bruce Banner’s astral form from his Hulk body).
What truly makes Professor Hulk’s invention a Silver Age trope, however, is how everyone ignores the earth-shattering implications of Banner’s machine. Although Banner may have not built a time machine, his invention offers both immortality and eternal youth. Ant-Man clearly retains his memories no matter what age he becomes (since his child self recognizes the Avengers), meaning with some fine-tuning, Professor Hulk could restore anyone to their physical prime and let them live forever. His machine could revolutionize medicine, and alter the course of human history – yet when he proclaims his discovery “a total win,” the Avengers just roll their eyes.
This, hilariously, refers to multiple Silver Age Superman stories where Superman invents something that could benefit all of humanity – and then proceeds to use it once and forget about it forever. In one Silver Age story, he creates a “Super Steel” capable of withstanding any impact, which has huge implications for the auto and building industry. However, Superman just creates one slab of the steel to use as a door for his “treasure cave.”
While Banner has always been a genius, his Professor Hulk form seems to have raised his intelligence to Silver Age-miracle levels. This actually makes sense as Banner suffers from multiple personalities in the comics and could have created an even smarter persona when he manifested his Superman-like Professor Hulk form (not unlike how the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards can make himself smarter by stretching his brain).
Unfortunately, since Hulk’s Silver Age mannerisms are completely out of place in the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe, no one takes his discoveries seriously. Ironically, while Professor Hulk’s superhuman intelligence now puts him on par with Superman's most powerful depiction, no one notices.