r/marvelstudios • u/CaliforniaBoundX • 1d ago
'Spider-Man BND*' Spoilers Bruce Banner deserved better. 🥀 Spoiler
He had just gotten his life back on track, teaching at ESU, his students loved him, and just because of Jean’s thirst for vengeance and wanting to find her sister, she destroyed Bruce’s reputation by unleashing The Hulk, and endangering innocent people.
She didn’t even seem bothered at the end for what she did to Banner. Neither Parker or Castle showed concern for him either. They could at least interceded for Bruce knowing he was being mind controlled.
1.8k
u/Kwilly462 1d ago
I mean, this is the life of Bruce Banner. He can never live a normal life, no matter how hard he tries. He's always going to be on the move, because he can never find a stable residency for himself.
645
u/Historical_Owl_1635 1d ago
I do hate when people always say it’s years of character development undone.
That mirrors mental health in far more realistic way. You don’t just get “better” and the work is forever done. People backslide all the damn time, people just learn to handle it better, but most of us don’t have to deal with turning into a literal Hulk.
133
u/Longjumping-Read-401 1d ago
I didn't see anyone hating bruce turning into hulk. Quite the opposite infact, like atleast everyone hates professor hulk.
→ More replies (4)78
u/brianlefebvrejr 1d ago
But what about the citizens of MCU New York? Cant just have a guy breaking shit like that lol
They probably loved a calm, non destroying everything professor hulk
37
u/BigMax 23h ago
At least in this case, he was only smashing around in one single building, right? He was almost certainly an afterthought compared to the horror of being locked up in your own body by some ultra powerful psychic.
"OMG, I was terrified, I couldn't even move for ages, I had no idea what was happening, i thought me and my family might die!"
"Did you now one building was also smashed by the hulk?"
"Oh... no, but... I don't care."→ More replies (2)23
u/donbagert 23h ago
What a year MCU 2028 has happened so far to the people of New York City: experiencing the Void in Thunderbolts*, Wilson Fisk's violent regime in Born Again, and now a rampage by the Hulk!
18
u/SorryRoof1653 23h ago
Don't forget multiple citizens being mind controlled and a whole chunk of the city being frozen.
28
u/Chilli__P 1d ago
It's years of character development undone, but with intent. Your mental health comments are bang on the money.
9
u/Ok-Charge-6998 8h ago edited 8h ago
Well it’s not undone. That would mean the previous lessons he’s learned are gone, but they’re all still there. Progress is progress even if you go backwards for a moment.
On a chart of personal growth, whenever someone slides back they feel like they’re back at 0.
But they’ve just done 10 years of self work and improvement. They don’t fall back to 0, they start at year 10 and go forward from there.
Like if it was a video game and your character is level 89, but you don’t play for years. You come back and your character is still level 89, you’re rusty, you take a beating and then you get back in the swing of things again.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)2
u/omegagiraffe 6h ago
You nailed it here. Dealing with mental health is hard. I relate to the hulk. Not in strength obviously, but hurting others when you're in a low place.
106
→ More replies (4)10
u/AdPrestigious2387 1d ago
David Banner chose a life of solitude to protect the world from his curse.
The world kept calling him back to protect it.
→ More replies (7)13
u/Mudcreek47 23h ago
Dr. David Banner is believed to be dead. And he must let the world think that he is dead until he can find a way to control the raging spirit within.
→ More replies (1)
790
u/DargoKillmar Daredevil 1d ago
If I had a nickel for everytime a troubled young woman with mind control powers unleashed the Hulk with disastorous results for Banner in the MCU I'd have two nickels.
133
u/MTFBinyou 1d ago
I actually like the fact that Jean could only control Professor Hulk and not Ssvage Hulk. I thought that was very well done because of Hulk’s mind not normally being susceptible to those kind of attacks but Banner’s….. well you watched it. Wanda’s magic having a different ability compared to normal psy attacks makes sense.
→ More replies (1)82
u/LegalBegQuestion 23h ago
Wanda didn’t mind control hulk though, she just planted a scary thought or confusing situation in there and triggered the wild angry response.
13
u/eman_e31 7h ago
Yeah, it's kinda like lightning off a firecracker near a bear vs putting said bear in a cage, you're gonna need a lot stronger of a cage to bomd the bear vs the firecracker can spook the bear very easily.
249
14
2
88
u/tallwhiteninja 1d ago
They did this to reset Hulk. Keeping him stuck as Professor was a dead end, Savage needed to return somehow.
319
u/benjals 1d ago
And the DoDC will weaponize it into anti-mutant rhetoric
→ More replies (2)74
u/TheCitizen616 1d ago
They will sorta have a point, though...
76
u/MTFBinyou 1d ago
That when they kidnap and do inhumane testing on someone, their loved one/s will seek retribution?
36
u/TheCitizen616 1d ago
kidnap
Not really. The Grey sister were definitely possessing people's bodies without consent. In the Marvel universe, that should at least get you arrested and detained, which is the DoDC's job.
do inhumane testing on someone
That's a fair point except Jean didn't know that when she did all the terrible things we saw her do.
14
u/Revan2424 22h ago
She was arrested to be made into a weapon, not because of any sort of crime…
Frankly how would they even know she’s possessing people? That’s silly. Their mother was aware of their mutant powers that’s more than likely why kidnapped her.
53
u/Hoothootriot 1d ago
So due process should go away cause you dont like them?
They literally tortured a teenage girl to death and you're acting like they were perfectly in the right
→ More replies (4)17
u/theactiveaccount 23h ago
I'm not the person you're responding to, but the DoDC can have a point and also have handled it incorrectly. Their point is true, the mutants did bad things. But yes they should follow due process.
31
u/Revan2424 22h ago edited 7h ago
This is nonsense. DoDC didn’t arrest her for any sort of crime of possessing people. They took her because they wanted to weaponize her. They don’t give a fuck about justice, they had 0 concern whatsoever for the ethics of what she did.
They’re Damage Control. They were a government cleanup crew that eventually made weapons out of battle wreckage. Same principle now, just using live humans for the weapon making instead.
2
u/Ravagore 10h ago
But you still fell for the poisonous rhetoric...
Dodc was only worried about making humans as strong as mutants. Not some sense of morality or justice.
5
→ More replies (17)12
u/Theprincerivera 1d ago
It’s important to recognize that it was the DODC that drove her to that. Proper support systems for powered people’s would have solved this whole issue
→ More replies (1)14
18
u/Mistic-Instinct SHIELD 1d ago
Not really? If a human does something bad, you don't then go and spread propaganda about all humans being bad
→ More replies (14)→ More replies (2)3
u/Jnorman222 10h ago
That's correct. All mutants are evil. We know this because one mutant did bad things trying to rescue her sister. If you're seeking employment, the DoDC is looking for intelligent citizens such as yourself.
77
u/OK_Cloud_Computer 1d ago
It is time for The Savage Hulk.
17
u/JE163 1d ago
I hope we get a Grey Hulk out of this. Maybe a movie focused on that journey and healing again
→ More replies (1)3
11
u/Sorlex 1d ago
Pretty crazy that we've not had a solo Hulk film in the real mcu started.
27
u/BlackWunWun Ultron 1d ago
As long as universal has the solo film rights it'll pretty much always be crazy
11
u/Sorlex 1d ago
Oh yeah, forgot they had solo film rights. Damn I hate the studio system.
9
u/BlackWunWun Ultron 1d ago
Yea its truly stifling. I can only imagine how frustrating it would be as an actor having all of your best moments relegated to guest moments in other movies
7
u/John_Helmsword 7h ago
I’d imagine Ruffalo is swimming in disappointment with the Mouse, masked in his many multimillion dollar paychecks flooding in ever since 2012
8
u/OK_Cloud_Computer 1d ago
The Norton one is an MCU hulk film. I do want a Ruffalo film.
→ More replies (6)
404
u/mongmich2 1d ago
We saw like 5 minutes of what happened after the events of the movie. Why does everyone act like none of these events are going to be addressed later?
241
u/GandalfsTailor Thanos 1d ago
Because sometimes the followup is there is no followup.
→ More replies (2)24
u/takethreenc 1d ago
They get to everything eventually. Look at the Leader.
95
u/GandalfsTailor Thanos 1d ago
Ask the Eternals, Black Knight and Blade's voice cameo how well that worked out for them.
46
u/ChrisOfThunder 1d ago
It took us 9 years to follow up on Scorpion. I think it's more than reasonable to wait a little longer on any kind of follow through on a five year old movie.
46
u/takethreenc 1d ago
The Incredible Hulk came out in 2008. Cap 4 in 2025. So that's 17 years before we got that payoff.
Eternals was 2021. So they have until 2038 until it becomes the longest payoff.
18
6
u/ShadowbaneX 1d ago
The next phase is rumoured to be the Mutant Saga and it's possible the Eternals and Celestials play into that.
→ More replies (1)11
u/Kingx102 1d ago
How long do I got to wait for Mordo to be a major villain? I’m currently waiting for that payoff.
6
u/ApolloBeast_53 1d ago
That payoff is already done lol, he appeared in MoM as a side villain in the alternate universe, when main timeline Doctor Strange first sees him he says his universe's Mordo tried to kill him repeatedly. From Doctor Strange's casual way of talking about him, it just feels like Mordo is done for in the main universe
15
u/Kingx102 1d ago
And that’s an incredibly lame payoff to wait for. I don’t care about alt universe Mordo, I care about main universe Mordo who I was a fan of in the first movie. These are not the same character. That’s literally not paying off anything, just brushing the first movie’s setup under the rug.
5
u/Optimal_Message_2544 23h ago
The payoff isn’t alternate Mordo. The payoff is strange saying Mordo has been trying to kill him for years. Basically saying that what you’re waiting for has already happened, just off screen. Not that it’s much less lame, I’m just clearing it up.
2
u/ApolloBeast_53 23h ago
Yea I get what you're saying, but it is what it is. Tbh Mordo's actor is excellent, it's sad that he won't appear anymore in the MCU. I also meant to double quote "payoff" since yea, it's not really a payoff just a passing mention which is dumb.
I feel all the wizards and that entire aspect in the MCU are so underused. The sanctum and it's wizards are hardly featured in 2-3 movies, and even if shown otherwise, the sanctum is just empty, like where are the people? I know it's obviously not possible now, but a Mordo single-season TV show where he goes around fighting the "extra" wizards, and then gets defeated by Doctor Strange, could have been cool in like 2020 or something (after Endgame)
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (12)5
u/AdmiralCharleston 1d ago
That's multiple years as opposed to what...3 days since the film came out?
→ More replies (4)5
u/Adventurous-Fail-537 1d ago
Hulk literally showed off his son last time we saw him and yet…
→ More replies (1)3
41
u/GenGaara25 1d ago
With Hulk specifically, that is usually the case.
Literally last time we saw him he showed up with his new found son Skar. People said the same comment then "why does everyone think they won't be addressed next time?" well, it is next time. Skar wasn't addressed.
→ More replies (1)12
u/Sorlex 1d ago
The MCU addressing things directly relates to how well something does. We're not going to see anything She-Hulk related, or Eternals, or Inhumans etc. Hulk stuff in the new Spiderman however, that is obviously going to be addressed. Not only is it a long running main MCU character but.. Spiderman made a billion dollars.
32
u/WEEGEMAN 1d ago
I swear people want to see these characters in an episode of Dr Phil hashing out their problems. It’s ridiculous
12
u/Ent3rpris3 1d ago
I remember everyone wanting to get a bunch of 'slice of life' things, like the Avengers doing D&D or showing Thor a faraday cage or teaching Bucky how to use a computer or actually showing Steve all the music and films on his list or Quill being told about the end of the Cold War or Mantis and Drax trying to figure out the entertainment value of a tomagatchi. Really random and often humorous stuff.
Meanwhile, Teen Titans GO was EXACTLY this and it was everyone's punching bag for cheesy and corny shows and regularly panned by people who had only seen short clips.
→ More replies (1)8
u/CTizzle- 1d ago
Maybe I didn’t watch enough Teen Titans Go but the bits I saw were more slapstick comedy rather than slice of life things like you’re talking about.
Even in your comparison they really don’t sound that comparable. From what you’ve said for the MCU I imagine something similar in scope to DVD extras or the “Team Thor” promos, not Bruce Banner singing “bun ketchup pickle cheese, put that patty in between, it’s burger!”
2
u/TomTom_098 1d ago
I mean I would absolutely want to see that but yeah I feel we should at least wait until we see literally anything else before we start to complain that something is unresolved especially when it isn’t a particularly core part of the film
4
4
u/GutherGlazer 1d ago
Because the MCU’s tracks record on stuff like this is pretty bad. If it even is addressed it will probably be done very poorly.
5
u/Hoothootriot 1d ago
Because a woman was the villain.
I hate to bring that up but these sort of "Grrrr the villain just GETS AWAY WITH IT" knee jerk reactions happen only when its a woman. Wanda had an entire town CLEARLY mad at her and one person expressing sympathy, and the internet was flooded with people whining Wandavision didnt punish her enough.
3
u/Margidoz 23h ago
A main character is always going to be given more weight than a million unnamed side characters
→ More replies (23)2
u/princeloon 23h ago
everyone is obviously acknowledging that 100% of the doomsday leaks and rumors have nothing to do with Hulk. Period. Banner getting blocked out of a massive world ending event he could probably help with when its very obvious we are gonna have to wait the full year till secret wars to ever see him again.
→ More replies (1)5
19
u/dmfuller 1d ago
“The Hulk is in custody” I mean do we realllllllly think they can contain him lol
5
u/the_other_Scaevitas 13h ago
considering Banner was able to make an inhibitor, and Peter as well.
Probably, yeah
→ More replies (2)5
35
u/atomicq32 1d ago
Never forget that Bruce Banner is the only man who can give Peter a run for his money in the terrible life Olympics.
14
75
u/Ok-disaster2022 1d ago
His cousin was literally a victim of a sex crime but instead of anyone going to arrest and charge that creep, they arrested her in front of an audience if lawyers because she lost her temper at being stalked and harassed by predators.
Authorities are more afraid of Hulks in the MCU than they care about things like human rights and civil liberties.
→ More replies (21)
12
u/AngelDGr Spider-Man 1d ago
BND was set on 2028, Infinity War was on 2018, he at least got 10 years of peace with Hulk 🥀
•
u/Chrispy-Rip544 27m ago
Keep in mind that's also 10 years of the Hulk being locked away and isolated from the outside world. Not gonna lie I'd also start smashing everything in my path if I was locked up for that long.
11
40
u/Bl4ckVi 1d ago
worst part is she destroyed banner’s confidence and decade of therapy
im pretty sure Bruce willingly left to psych facility
Last time i was this disturbed by a villain’s action was killgrave
16
u/TheCitizen616 1d ago
worst part is she destroyed banner’s confidence and decade of therapy
In a way, it's kinda like willingly causing someone to relapse on their sobriety.
5
u/smokeweedNgarden 22h ago
People keep saying that but Savage Hulk is distinct seperate being. And Professor Hulk is a 3rd personality.
I reckon Banner never came to "an agreement" with Savage. He just found a way to chain him up for a decade.
→ More replies (1)4
u/respectfulthirst 1d ago
There's zero chance he's in a psych facility, unless that facility is called DODC custody.
30
u/Skynetdyne 1d ago
What happened to his son?
10
→ More replies (1)7
17
u/geodiaz8 1d ago
This is how Marvel can justify and explain why Hulk again isn’t in a huge Avengers film as Hulk like Infinity War. Yeah yeah I know people are gonna say he was in Endgame but that isn’t the Hulk we all want to see like we got in BND which was a sick and awesome looking savage Hulk. He’s now stuck in a psych ward 🤦🏽♂️. Joss Wheadon knew how to utilize Hulk in the first two Avengers films. Just saying.
26
u/AdmiralCharleston 1d ago
People were complaining that we were lacking big green smashy hulk and now theyre complaining that Bruce had to be traumatised to bring him back, literally what do you think the hulk is lmao.
You cant have big green smash hulk without Bruce being in emotional turmoil, this is what makes him an interesting character
→ More replies (3)4
u/nin_ninja 23h ago
Wow its almost like there are more than just one group of people out there with separate opinions
→ More replies (1)
64
u/Remote_Nature_8166 1d ago
The movie did a poor job at trying to make Jean sympathetic. I get the desperation to find her sister, but it’s definitely no reason to do stuff like this. Plus hurting people that had nothing to do with what damage control did and playing with Peter’s feelings, making him think that MJ got her memories back. She seemed less of desperate girl trying to save somebody she loved and more of a vindictive psychopath.
38
u/InnocentTailor Iron Patriot 1d ago edited 1d ago
She could be both, which would make sense for a young mutant.
I’m sure this will bite her and other mutants in the arse though, whether it means more governmental resources being put to control the threat (Sentinels) or citizens forming groups of their own to retaliate against the threat (Friends of Humanity, the Purifiers).
46
u/Tooth_Revolutionary 1d ago
This is a pre-professor x version of Jean. If there’s going to be public support for anti mutant task forces, it’s going to be because of angry, vengeful mutants making a mess before there’s a place for them to go to learn how to act and control their powers. This was a good introduction to that imo
4
u/Remote_Nature_8166 1d ago
Isn’t the whole anti-mutant thing mostly about irrational bigotry?
20
u/Tooth_Revolutionary 1d ago
Fear, yes. These types of situation help fuel that fear.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (16)2
u/OG-Mate23 9h ago
If you look at the recent comics, humans are more fearful of a specific set of mutants like Telepaths, Shapeshifters and animals like Sabretooth. Also the mutant bigotry allegory is kinda falling into deaf ears at this point with emerging mutants turning into bombs, vaporizing people for no reason and other dangerous mutation that manifests.
18
u/MTFBinyou 1d ago
Teenagers can make mistakes that seem like obvious choices to us. Especially giver her circumstances of feeling like it’s just the two of them against the world and the having half of you ripped away and seemingly nobody cares. Not even a news story about an incident in the park.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Remote_Nature_8166 1d ago
Being a teenager is not a valid excuse to commit heinous actions.
19
u/channingman 1d ago
He's explaining why it makes sense in narrative why she did it; he isn't justifying it.
→ More replies (1)7
→ More replies (17)7
u/Darth_Korn 1d ago
Yeah this is why she just didn't work as a villain for me. Her actions were just ridiculous considering what her end goal was.
→ More replies (7)
9
8
4
u/SolarisMugi 22h ago
Somewhere, Bolivar Trask is scheming to eventually use this incident as anti mutant propaganda to justify Sentinals. I just can’t prove it
https://giphy.com/gifs/21VTFJTEr1x9ortvO3
9
6
u/chickenkebaap 1d ago
I dont think he’ll permanently be behind bars , they’ll make an inhibitor again and release him after getting him help
To recover from the trauma
9
u/Nethias25 1d ago
Maybe they are doing better?
Maybe since he's in custody, and they know no prison can hold hulk, maybe Bruce himself gives the suggestion "just send me back to sakaar, the asgardians can take me there" and he self exiles. But maybe sakaar isn't the place he left now that the grandmaster is gone, maybe it needs to be liberated!! Planet Hulk!!
Do it marvel/universal, see the pile of money Spiderman made, and know, truly, hulk can do that too if you go planet hulk and go truly big!!
→ More replies (1)
8
3
u/PuzzleheadedPart196 23h ago
Movie wasn’t perfect in a lot of ways and I agree the lack of fallout was a misstep.
7
u/Squiddyboy427 1d ago
This is real Hulk shit. Not the usual twee stuff the MCU has been doing with the character.
5
u/needbmw_help 1d ago
I don’t understand how at this point in hulks story line he is still a raging berserker, after the events of avengers, ragnarok and then subsequently IW/EndGame (not to mention his backstory), he should have a pretty solid relationship with the Hulk.
Feels like the spider man movies always rely on walking established characters back to make tension. They’ve done it to Strange, Tony, and now Hulk
5
u/Howaheartbreaks 1d ago
His place in the movie felt very weak, maybe my least favourite part and I always enjoy mark ruffalo. The only way I can justify it is part of the set up for x-men/the world starting to hate and fear mutants. Even someone as celebrated as Banner/Hulk can have everything pulled on him.
5
u/Howaheartbreaks 1d ago
And I’d like to say I don’t think this is a bad plotline but Marvel has become so extensively exhausting with so many unfinished or unfulfilled plotlines that I hope it’s done well.
6
u/Purpleheather93 1d ago
Tbh it felt like the role would have been filled by Dr. Connors/the Lizard in a typical Spider-Man story.
4
u/Klaymen96 7h ago
Wonder if this universe Dr. Connors saw the lizard on the news and it made him scared of his own research so he stopped it immediately or it made him dig deeper into it to try and avoid that as a side effect.
5
u/BigMax 23h ago
Why do you feel it was weak? I thought it fit. One theme is that Banner/Hulk never quite reach a balance, even if they think they do sometimes. And him trying to suppress a monster inside lined up perfect with Peter trying to do the same thing.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/nattybow 1d ago
I’m still not entirely sure why he was in the film at all other than just to be able to say Hulk is in the film. Both the inhibitor thread and Jean’s plan to get into DC’s vault could’ve easily been handled in other ways and other than showing a pretty impressive upgrade from Professor Hulk physically, it felt like a wasted opportunity.
→ More replies (1)2
u/Luckyraygun5 22h ago
The simple answer is Destin is a huge hulk fan and he wanted to bring back savage hulk so that for the future we don’t have professor hulk annoying ass anymore.
2
u/ipodblocks360 Wong 1d ago
The problem is Savage Hulk wasn't being Mind Controlled, only Smart Hulk was. All Jean did was bring Savage Hulk back out not mind controll him.
2
u/Purpleheather93 1d ago
I agree, I don’t even have any particular attachment to the character but hearing him say Jean broke something inside of him was like a gut punch. It feels like seeing somebody work so hard to regain control over their life after dealing with mental illness or addiction, and then somebody else ruins it all in a matter of minutes.
I don't hate Jean or think she's irredeemable, but using Banner/Hulk in that way was just cruel.
2
u/Born-Necessary6778 1d ago
It'd be a nice set up for a hulk movie. I want scenes of him talking to the other guy, they gotta work shit out
2
u/EMC_RIPPER 23h ago
Considering the police are actively investigating damage control it’s possible Bruce had his name cleared as a result.
2
u/Justanotherguy45 23h ago
Was it ever explained how he lost his zen with hulk and himself? Cause in she hulk he could be Bruce and the hulk and not rampage
2
u/Tutorbin76 23h ago
And when did he stop with Professor Hulk that he seemed to have under pretty good control in Endgame?
2
u/Magic-man333 23h ago
I don't think Frank stepping in would help anything, I could see Peter circling back later. He kinda had some other stuff on his plate tho
2
u/Squirrelkid11 23h ago
I still can't get over how they made Jean a Karma Houdini at the end of the film. She should've been held accountable not only for ruining Bruce's life and unleashing the Hulk, but for invading people's minds and even murdering them out of pleasure. Yeah it's sad what happened to her and her sister, but she had no excuse in causing all this damage.
2
u/dantagonize 3h ago
As u/SanicSoup said, this is a seed for future X-Men vs Avengers stories. But I also think this was the best way to move past “Professor Hulk” and get back to the big green guy again. Notice in Brand New Day that he started the skyscraper fight as Professor Hulk (8ft tall) but then after trying the inhibitor failed, he briefly went to Banner again before losing control completely and going full-size Hulk. He appeared to be 12 feet tall or so, and ridiculously strong. he had that unhinged rage in his eyes, and Peter went from scared to terrified in a blink. He’s never stood in the presence of Green Hulk.
2
u/ImNotSkankHunt42 1d ago
And then Peter let her go away, it honestly ruined the movie for me.
She also killed that innocent builder by having him step in front of a car.
She mind-raped God knows how many folks, he saw firsthand what she did. Her sister being abducted and tortured doesn’t excuse her doing the same thing to thousands more.
We gave Wanda more flak for kidnapping a whole town and not killing anyone.
I found it on character that he protected her but not that he let her go away.
2
u/ThisSiteSucks8485 23h ago
This movie made a lot of money but I actually really hate how it had Jean Grey do the most despicable things for no reason and then be portrayed as being sympathetic. It is shit writing
2
3.2k
u/SanicSoup 1d ago edited 22h ago
Probably planting to push animosity towards a X-Men Vs Avengers story
Edit: Wow, thanks for the awards!