A new version of the Hulk has been introduced in Avengers: Endgame that mirrors the persona of Professor Hulk. But why this version looked weaker than the original one?
MCU’s Heroic Character
Avengers: Endgame was a product that accumulated after years of storytelling. It was perhaps an opportunity for the makers to show how far the MCU characters have already and could travel. For an instance, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, started off as a selfish weapons trader but the character transformed into a selfless hero. A similar character journey that MCU has echoed is of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk. However, the arc left him weaker as the movies and projects started to progress and raise questions as to predict who is supposed to be the strongest one.
In the comic world, Professor Hulk is a character blended from brains and brawn. This depicts that the superhero includes both the strength of the Hulk and the intelligence of Bruce Banner. Apparently, when Avengers: Endgame tried to encrypt this idea to life, the makers failed to reflect the strength that made him stand far behind on the battlefield by the end. But like every good theory, there are yet some mysteries behind the drastic shift in the Hulk’s character.
The Mirror Persona of Professor Hulk
One reason behind the lazy transformation could be the fact that Professor Hulk’s intelligence injected more humanity into Bruce. And as a result, the Hulk’s rage got tempered enough to impact the strength. With that said, the traditional version of the hero always lived with his humanity; like he showed in The Incredible Hulk. Now since his strength controls his rage, his other demeanor lowered his overall power and muscle mass. But his rage does appear for a while when he throws a bench following Natasha Romanoff’s death.
Hulk was perhaps the most prominent character during the first Avengers (2012). But apparently, in the final fight that happened on two different occasions, the Hulk failed to stand up against Thanos. While this is definitely after Thanos’ years of preparation and training, something that was more awful to experience was to see a hero like the Hulk fail in one punch. The reason behind this could be the decline in his gamma levels over the last couple of years.
Being exposed to so many enemies in the past, his journey through the space might have weakened the hero inside to the point where he could bond with Bruce Banner in Avengers: Endgame. That is what would have made the Professor persona turn much weaker in the MCU. However, it was expected that once the snap would take place, his gamma levels would burst. Additionally, his appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings eluded a stronger character for the future.
With that said, Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, has had many personalities throughout the comics. But this version of Professor Hulk has focused more on the brains and less on the brawn.
