In May of 2008, the first Iron Man film was released, marking the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A few short weeks later, The Incredible Hulk was brought to the big screen, in which actor Edward Norton was cast for the role of Bruce Banner. The Incredible Hulk movie is often overlooked by Marvel fans, because it’s up in the air whether or not it can be seen as part of the official MCU.
Some say that the film should be considered canon, but it hasn’t had any real impact on the Marvel characters or their storylines following its release. It is also nowhere to be found on Disney Plus amongst the rest of Marvel’s projects, leaving some fans to wonder if even Marvel Studios considers The Incredible Hulk to be important to the franchise.
According to a fan theory from Reddit user Supervinyl, however, all of this might be about to change. The theory suggests that Norton’s Banner/Hulk, as well as everything that went down during The Incredible Hulk movie, were officially canonized during What If…? episode 3. During this episode, Hulk’s story mirrored some of the events that took place during The Incredible Hulk, and subsequently overlapped with the movie’s timeline. This led the fan to believe that Hulk’s story was being played out in two different universes at the same time.
Now that Loki has created the multiverse and confirmed the existence of multiple timelines, it’s entirely possible that there’s more than one Bruce Banner/Hulk at large in the universe. Based on the timeline connections between episode 3 of What If…? and The Incredible Hulk movie, the theory proposes that Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, and the Abomination are all variants. This would mean that Norton’s Hulk and Ruffalo’s Hulk are both the “real” Bruce Banner.
Banner, Ross, and the Abomination were all introduced in The Incredible Hulk and have since returned in movies and television shows that are indisputably MCU canon. Obviously, Bruce Banner came back in 2012, when Mark Ruffalo took on the role in the 2012 Avengers movie. Ruffalo has been playing Banner/Hulk ever since. Betty Ross just returned in What If...? episode 3 and Abomination reappeared once more in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, earlier this month.
Supervinyl notes that Banner, Ross, and Abomination all currently differ in appearance from their initial debut in The Incredible Hulk. This factor, in addition to the overlap in both story and timeline in What If…?, is what led the fan to believe that The Incredible Hulk fits into the MCU by making its characters variants.
Based on what fans have seen from Loki, variants don’t all look the same. Although Hiddleston’s Loki and the “President Loki” variant from Loki episode 5 look identical in appearance, not all variants will share the same face. Classic Loki, kid Loki, boastful Loki, and Sylvie are all considered to be variants of the same person, with similar powers and backstories, but none of them look anything alike. If it’s possible for there to be a Loki in the form of an alligator, the chances of Norton’s Banner and Ruffalo’s Banner being variants is quite likely. The same goes for Betty Ross and Abomination.
The Hulk has remained a background character in the MCU for quite some time now. Ruffalo has never been given the chance to tackle a solo movie of his own but has played a significant role in the Avengers movies and other popular films from the Infinity Saga, including Thor: Ragnarok. Only half of the original Avengers team is still alive in the Marvel Universe, now that Natasha, Tony and Steve are gone, and Phase 4 seems to be focusing on the stories of their surviving teammates. This includes Thor, Clint, and Banner.
Ruffalo will reprise his role as Bruce Banner in the upcoming Disney Plus She-Hulk series, which gives hope that the Hulk and Hulk-adjacent storylines will finally get some more recognition in the franchise. Additionally, with the amount of influence the multiverse currently has over the MCU, the Reddit theory isn’t too far of a stretch. Introducing Ruffalo’s Hulk as a variant in the She-Hulk series would stick to the current Phase 4 theme and pave the way for a more complex Banner storyline.
Marvel is notorious for planting easter eggs and small details that hint at big events to come in the future, leaving plenty of room for fans to speculate about what might happen next. Perhaps What If…? episode 3 purposely included references to The Incredible Hulk so that Marvel could find a more substantial fit for the movie amongst past, present, and future projects. Establishing The Incredible Hulk’s place within the MCU would also put an end to the debates about whether or not the film should be considered canon.