Bruce Banner appears in Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, but he's back to his human form — no longer Smart Hulk like in Avengers: Endgame.
Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) makes a surprising appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings, but he's no longer Smart Hulk as he was in Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios makes their exclusive return to the big screen with the debut of Simu Liu's newest Avenger. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Shang-Chi featured a mostly contained narrative, but it also featured several reminders that it exists in the MCU.
That includes the appearance of several familiar faces throughout the movie. Early on, Abomination (Tim Roth) makes his return to the franchise fighting Wong (Benedict Wong) in one of the caged matches in Macau. Wong returns later on at the end, directly transitioning to the much-talked-about post-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.In it, the sorcerer brings in Shang-Chi and Katy (Akwafina) to what appears to be the Sanctum Sanctorum to have a closer look at the mythical Ten Rings. Then arguably the biggest cameos in the movie are revealed; joining them via the same hologram system used in Endgame are Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Bruce. Both looked quite differently since Carol Danvers now has long hair. But Banner's appearance is much more interesting.
Instead of taking the form of Smart Hulk, Bruce is back in his full human form. Interestingly, he's still nursing the same arm injury he suffered from executing the reverse snap in Endgame. When he debuted five years after Thanos' (Josh Brolin), it didn't seem like being Smart Hulk was a temporary state, and he can easily go back and forth. Granted that the 2019 blockbuster didn't get into specifics about what went on in the process of bringing together his personas, the hybrid appeared to be permanent. No wonder many are surprised to see Smart Hulk back in his human alter-ego. So, how is this possible? There is a couple of plausible explanation to this. Firstly, this could be a long-term side effect of wielding the power of all six Infinity Stones. As seen in both the Mad Titan and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), doing so takes a toll on one's body. By the time the Avengers found Thanos in the garden, he's significantly weaker, meanwhile, the act almost instantly killed Tony Stark. Wielding all that power from the gems could, ultimately, rid him off of the gamma radiation in his body that birthed the Hulk in the first place.
A second possibility may have to do with what's happening in the She-Hulk series. As confirmed by Marvel Studios, Tatiana Maslany is set to play Jennifer Walters in the Disney+ series with both Roth and Ruffalo reprising their respective MCU roles. In the comics, Banner saved his cousin by donating blood to her, hence making her She-Hulk. Considering Marvel Studios' penchant for sticking to origin stories, chances are that this would also be the case in the franchise. Assuming that this pans out, it's possible that this weakened the gamma radiation that fuels the Hulk, resulting in Bruce returning to his human form. Otherwise, considering his newfound relationship with the sorcerers, perhaps it's something Wong or even Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), after all, the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) was able to separate his two identities in Endgame.
Does this mean that Marvel Studios is retconning Banner's Avengers: Endgame reveal? It's difficult to say considering there's very little known about his transformation to Smart Hulk to begin with. Perhaps this is also part of their plan for the character moving forward, and She-Hulk could provide the whole story of his Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings appearance. In any case, this undoubtedly gives the Hulk another potential long-term personal story in the MCU which is a welcome development since he's one of the three remaining original Avengers still active in the franchise.
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