I’m Devastated That The MCU’s Most Ridiculously Powerful 2 New Hulks Will Almost Definitely Never Be Seen Again

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The MCU just introduced two of the most powerful Hulks ever to be seen in the franchise - and I"m devastated that it looks like we may only get the single appearance from them both. While the Hulk is undeniably one of Marvel"s most fascinating characters - and a core part of the original MCU Avengers team - it"s also hard to ignore the ways the character has been put to the backburner on-screen over the years. As such, the MCU timeline has seen the Hulk stagnate somewhat, with fans frequently calling for the character to get more adaptations of his comic storylines.
However, there have been signs of a light at the end of the tunnel in this regard, as teases like Banner being a part of the remaining MCU heroes still in contact to protect the world in the ending of Shang-Chi and The Legend Of The Ten Rings - or the reveal of his son Skaar in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law - suggest the Hulk may take center stage again. That said, the MCU hasn"t totally held back on providing some epic Hulk moments, and indeed provided a truly impressive one in the final part of 2024 - albeit one with its own complications.
The MCU Brought In 2 Immensely Powerful Hulks At The End Of 2024 December 2024 Brought In 2 Of The Most Powerful Hulks The MCU Has Ever Seen Close The final week of 2024 saw the MCU bring in two notable and incredibly powerful Hulks to the overarching franchise, allowing those who"d been clamoring for a little more of the Hulk - or for a story revolving around the green behemoth that didn"t see him still remain Smart Hulk - to get a glimpse at their dreams. In fact, What If...? season 3, episode 1 opened the final chapter of the show by unveiling two absolute titans, instead of providing one lone powerful Hulk.
The first of these Hulks to be introduced is known as The Apex, and formed after Bruce Banner attempted to get rid of the Hulk by subjecting himself to another massive dose of radiation - splitting the Hulk form from himself, but also making the being into a more mindless and villainous figure. Worse yet, The Apex can create other smaller gamma beasts to do its bidding, which is shown to have essentially changed the entire world for the worse, as the endless tides of creatures provide a truly challenging foe for the heroes of Earth to face off against.
The Apex wipes out the original MCU Avengers team - and an arguably more powerful version of the original Avengers team to boot, since they had all started using massive mechs to take on these forces - showing just how powerful this version of the Hulk really is. However, he"s not even the strongest Hulk in this episode, as he"s taken down by an even more formidable version of the jolly green giant.
Ultimately, Bruce Banner becomes an even stronger version of the Hulk again when he eventually decides only he can truly face down The Apex, and radiates himself with a colossal dose of gamma radiation once more in order to become the Mega Hulk. Mega Hulk"s Godzilla-like form and powers allow him to wrestle control from The Apex by way of his ability to dole out huge blasts of radiation - albeit at the cost of Bruce"s ability to exist alongside humanity, as he takes the gamma monsters away from society to ensure everyone is kept safe from the creatures.
Why The 2 New MCU Hulks Are Unlikely To Ever Appear Again In The Franchise The MCU's Newest Hulks Look Set To Never Show Up In The Franchise Again Close Though both The Apex and Mega Hulk are fascinating takes on the Hulk lore - and excitingly close to some of the most epic Hulk storylines we"ve ever seen in the comics - they"re very unlikely to appear ever again for a selection of reasons. Most pressingly, Mega Hulk basically destroys The Apex in their battle, meaning it"s decidedly impossible for this exact version of the character to ever return, and a similar version from another universe cropping up would appear to undermine this epic battle.
However, Mega Hulk himself is also more or less out of the running in terms of cropping up once more. Since the whole story takes place in one of the several alternate universes What If...? hinges around, there"s nothing tying it to the main MCU world - and while Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are almost destined to feature a range of multiversal cameos at some stage in their story, it"s likely this will focus more on Marvel"s movie and show history like Deadpool & Wolverine did, rather than bringing some bonus Hulks back in.
What If's Ending Raises 1 Hope For The Return Of Both New Hulks There Is A Way For The Hulks To Return In The MCU - Albeit An Unlikely One Close While much of What If...? is entirely self-contained, the ending of What If...? season 3 diverts from this in an interesting fashion, showing us the Guardians of The Multiverse that Captain Carter put together and giving audiences a look at them traveling through the multiverse itself. The show ends with the Watcher giving the remaining members of the team the offer to watch over the new multiverse alongside him, suggesting that any theoretical multiversal crossover storylines in the upcoming Avengers movies could feature these characters, especially if different worlds and universes begin to collide.
This opens up the door for other figures from What If...? to emerge as well, which could theoretically raise a way both Hulks could return, since they could be drawn in from different universes to provide some more majorly powerful figures to add into the fray. That said, this possibility also isn"t looking all that likely, especially given how many other characters could instead be used to fill that void for the MCU - and because the franchise already has so many characters that audiences are hoping to see before the Multiverse Saga ending makes crossovers and major cameos less feasible.
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Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
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