Maybe the most puzzling announcement Marvel has made is the one they haven’t. Despite the flood of news they’ve given us about their phase 3 and 4 plans, and the addition of Spider-Man to the MCU, there’s been nary a peep about everyone’s favorite green rage monster.
This is puzzling. Hulk is literally and figuratively a big deal, someone who finally came into his own in Avengers 1. Yet just as it seemed like Marvel was finally giving fans the Hulk they wanted, they drove right by and left him alone out in the rain. With his thumb out and his metaphorical bag slung over his shoulder.
I’m not trying to minimize the failures of movies of Hulk Past–both recent versions have been awful (though the Edward Norton film of 2008 was more watchable than many people credit). But every other Avenger has starred in multiple solo films (and some of them have been arguably as bad. Thor 1? Come on. Loki aside, it was not great). Hulk’s a wildly popular character who’s gained a lot of momentum thanks to Mark Ruffalo’s masterful portrayal. The absence of a Planet Hulk film seems like a big hole.
For those of you not familiar with the Planet Hulk story, it’s basically this: Hulk crash lands on an alien planet, is captured and forced to compete in gladiatorial contests. Eventually, he wins his freedom, sparks a rebellion, overthrows the government and falls in love. Also, he becomes emperor for a while. I’d watch that just so I could see Hulk debate the merits of the capital gains tax and star in his own House of Cards spin-off.
In all seriousness, Planet Hulk is a really great story and would have tied-in with Marvel’s plans extraordinarily well. So well, in fact, that I wonder if they had decided to go ahead with it and got cold feet at the last minute. Consider the following:
- The Civil War storyline that will be featured in Captain America 3, actually coincides with the beginning of the Planet Hulk plot. In the comic books, Tony Stark and others get together and not only talk about the Superhuman Registration Act, but also decide that Hulk (after recently going berserk and trashing Las Vegas) is too dangerous. So they blast him into space, which is when things start getting interesting.
- Planet Hulk was teased in Thor: The Dark World. That big rock monster that Thor handily smashes in his first scene? The monster has a brother who plays a prominent role in Planet Hulk and relates the tale to Banner.
- Guardians of the Galaxy was a smash hit, but with Guardians 2 scheduled (and their likely appearance in the Infinity Wars), don’t we need some way to tie them into the rest of the universe? Shooting Hulk into space seems like as good a way as any to have the worlds collide.
Granted, I’m more than a little biased here. Along with Spider-Man, Hulk is perhaps my all-time favorite comic book character. Spidey slinging his way home is great and all, but why not do something with the character they have? So come on, Marvel. Give the fans what they want: Hulk and lots of him. Don’t make us angry, you wouldn’t like us when we’re…well, you know.
Good read, from what I have been reading recently Marvel has been hesitant to pursue solo Hulk film after the lukewarm reception of their past two endeavors. Ruffalo even said it will be tough portray the character conflict between Bruce Banner and the Hulk for a full 2 hour film without it feeling repetitious.
Having said that, Planet Hulk and to a lesser extent World War Hulk would look awesome on the big screen.