The Hulk is one of the most popular characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Edward Norton’s turn as the green monster in The Incredible Hulk, actor Mark Ruffalo took over the role starting with The Avengers. Ruffalo’s performance has been well received and the Hulk continues to be a prominent player in the MCU.
However, a fan recently took to social media to argue how Ruffalo’s Hulk was underutilized and had little to no contributions to the overall plot of the Avengers films. As a result, the fan’s comments ignited an online debate regarding the Hulk and how the character has been used in different projects in the MCU’s recent past. Here is what fans are saying about the harsh reality of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk.
Marvel Fan Highlights How Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is Underused in the MCU
Mark Ruffalo debuted as Bruce Banner / Hulk in 2012’s The Avengers and has featured in all of the subsequent films in the franchise along with cameos and supporting roles in other MCU projects. During the events of Avengers: Endgame, Banner transforms into Professor Hulk, aka Smart Hulk, where he retains his intelligence along with the Hulk’s physical prowess.
In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), @UpToTASK argued that it was the Smart Hulk iteration of the character that had been more useful and made significant contributions to the Avengers as a team member. In contrast, the Hulk was previously simply used as a comic relief character and contributed to some cool fight scenes. Here is what the fan said:
Is this a Safespace again? F*ck it.
While I loved the Hulk he has mostly been for comedy and some cool moments. He added NOTHING to the Avengers film. Hell he fought his teammates more than the actual bad guys! As Professor Hulk he did more than he’s ever done in any other film https://t.co/i1xKEOu0jh pic.twitter.com/HwmhECj6Yt
— It Was All a Dream, I Used to Read Wizard Magazine (@UpToTASK) March 15, 2024
The user’s tweet references the events of Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Thor: Ragnarok, where the Hulk fights against his own teammates such as Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, and Thor. Hence, the Hulk’s rage, which is his biggest weapon proves to be counterproductive for the Avengers as a team.
Marvel Fans Debate Over the Hulk’s Portrayal in the MCU
After the user pointed out how Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk barely contributed to the Avengers as a team member and was mostly relegated to humor and battles, fans jumped online to discuss the shortcomings of the character’s MCU portrayal.
Here is what fans said about the Hulk being underutilized in the MCU on X.
The reverse option is Hulk. Hulk was better in The Incredible Hulk and Whedon's Avengers than he was under the Russos.
— snausages (@lion_lynch) March 15, 2024
Isn’t that kinda what’s great about Hulk? Hes the nuclear option.
Unstoppable but can be turned against you in a second.
Unless we start really diving into his psyche (which I’m all for) then I like the uncontrolled Hulk over the helpful one. IMO.— 𝚂𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙷𝙿𝙰𝚆 𝙴𝚇𝙲𝙴𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚂𝙼 (@SouthpawLeftist) March 15, 2024
You mean exactly what he was in comics? Hulk was awful in the Russo Movies and served no purpose. What did he do as “professor hulk”? A snap… his only purpose.
— Xavion Newkirk (@Pr1meX) March 16, 2024
I'll maintain Hulk is infinitely hard to portray if he's just a rage monster. This is heightened if it's not a solo outing basically retreading the horror of the man/monster dynamic. I get why people want the monster back, but that is incredibly one note for a character
— Cuzz Lightyear (@HeWhoRunsFades) March 15, 2024
To be fair, Hulk genuinely has historically been an antagonist or at least a big natural disaster to deal with a great deal of the time. But MCU hasn't really had him have the best of his "Hero Avenger" periods either.
— Len McCain (@TelepresenceLen) March 15, 2024
As the tweets indicated, most fans argued against the sentiment that the Hulk did not contribute much to the Avengers as a team member in his initial appearances. Some fans even cited the Hulk’s comic book history as a recurring obstacle in the path of the Avengers to justify his portrayal in the earlier Avengers movies.
At the same time, some fans denounced the notion that Ruffalo’s Hulk was more useful in his Smart Hulk persona. Ultimately, fans generally feel that portraying the Hulk as a rage monster who can often turn on his teammates and fight them is more true to the character’s comic book counterpart. Thus, most fans seemed to agree that the Hulk’s character was handled better in his earlier MCU appearances.
The Incredible Hulk and the Avengers movies are streaming on Disney+.
