When the time comes for Nick Fury to retire from the MCU, he’ll leave some big shoes behind, but one hero is the perfect choice to fill them.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a transitional period. Nearly 12 years after The Avengers came together on the big screen, the MCU is in the process of ushering in a new era of heroes. Of the original Avengers, only Clint Barton – A.K.A. Hawkeye – and Bruce Banner – A.K.A. The Hulk – remains.
Of course, there is one other character who has been a part of the MCU since the very beginning – Nick Fury – who made his debut in the first Marvel post-credit scene following Iron Man. While it’s difficult to imagine anyone but Samuel L. Jackson playing Fury, his role in the MCU is too important to part with entirely, which is why Bruce Banner’s Hulk should become the MCU’s new Nick Fury.
The MCU Still Needs a Connecting Figure
“Think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe; you just don’t know it yet.” Those were the first words uttered by Nick Fury way back in 2008. No one could have predicted just how prophetic the statement would be. At the time, Iron Man was a gamble of a film – a story about a B-list Marvel hero starring an actor in Robert Downey Jr. who was better known for his off-screen antics than his actual work. Fast-forward 16 years, and Fury hit the nail directly on the head. Iron Man birthed the largest cinematic universe in existence, and countless heroes have followed in his footsteps, with one person constant through it all – Nick Fury.
At the start, Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. were the glue that connected every MCU movie. He goes on to mention The Avengers Initiative to Stark in Iron Man, and either Fury or S.H.I.E.L.D. pops up again in every Phase 1 and Phase 2 post-credit scene to The Avengers. Bringing the original team together was Fury’s most important role, but he’s hardly disappeared after, having shown up in a total of 11 films and one show in the MCU so far. That’s some major continuity for a single character to maintain over a decade and a half and the kind of continuity that the MCU has lacked recently. As the MCU expands, the threads connecting characters become tangled and more difficult to follow. While The Battle of Earth brought a lot of heroes to the same place, the audience didn’t get to see a ton of interaction in the aftermath. A wide range of heroes attended Tony Stark’s funeral, and while it’s reasonable to think that characters like Doctor Strange and Shuri – the newly minted Black Panther – interacted, their connection remains a thin one. To assemble the next Avengers squad, someone is going to need to act in much the same way Nick Fury did the first time around.
Of course, Fury is still a major part of the MCU. He’s the acting head of S.A.B.E.R. and is coming off an appearance in The Marvels as well as a starring role in Secret Invasion. Still, Samuel L. Jackson is 75 years old. (He and Paul Rudd both age at half the rate of a normal person, proof of real-life superpowers in action.) It’s hard to imagine an MCU without Nick Fury, but Jackson will have to hang the eyepatch up sooner or later, and it’s going to leave a void. In the beginning, the Avengers had the backing of S.H.I.E.L.D., but the next iteration of the team will have to stand on its own. At the helm, it’ll need a leader with experience and intelligence. Of the remaining original Avengers, both Banner and Barton check those boxes, but the Hulk is most deserving of the role.
The Hulk Is a Fantastic Supporting Character
The Hulk has occupied a unique space in the MCU. The Incredible Hulk came out in 2008, the same year as Iron Man, with Edward Norton at the helm. It was another four years before the Big Green Guy reappeared, and this time, Mark Ruffalo had taken over as Bruce Banner, making him the third actor to play the Hulk on the big screen. Hulk became a key member of the Avengers but has yet to receive another solo project. Rumors have circulated for years about a new Hulk movie, but until it happens, the character will continue to be relegated to supporting role duties, which isn’t the worst thing. The Hulk has been a fantastic supporting character throughout his MCU run. From larger roles in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Endgame and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, to smaller spots in the post-credit scenes for Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Bruce Banner/Hulk has always been a crowd-pleaser.
Hulk’s character arc has also been one of the more complete in the MCU. He went from a fugitive unable to control his alter ego to an Avenger who still had control issues to a Revenger, as Thor dubbed his team in Ragnarok. Following his exploits in space, Banner lost the ability to transform into the Hulk for a long stretch before discovering a way, off-screen, to merge his two personalities into Smart Hulk. From there, he brought back half the universe with The Blip and then went on to mentor his cousin – Jennifer Walters – in her debut, and possibly only run, as She-Hulk. That’s a lot of ground to cover without a solo project and there’s still more story to unfold after Hulk introduced his son – Skaar – at the end of She-Hulk. Throughout it all, Ruffalo has explored both the painful and traumatic aspects of the character while also imbuing each appearance with humor, making Hulk the perfect character to span future projects.
Bruce Banner Is More Than Capable of Leading the New Avengers
Assuming Nick Fury does step down from the role of Earth’s Mightiest Personnel Director, the role could be filled by either Bruce Banner or Clint Barton. While Barton might seem like a more natural choice given his years working directly with Fury as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he could have his sights set on leading a different team that may soon join the MCU – the Young Avengers. As Barton continues to train Kate Bishop to take over the Hawkeye mantle, it would make sense for a former Avenger to lead a new, largely inexperienced team that includes his protégé. The untimely death of Maria Hill in Secret Invasion left Fury without a clear succession plan and opened the door for an existing Avenger to fill the void.
Both Sam Wilson’s Captain American and Carol Danvers – A.K.A. Captain Marvel – could be seen as logical leaders for a new team, as would James Roads – A.K.A War Machine – but there’s still an important role Banner could play. In the original team, Steve Rogers was the combat leader while Fury was more mission control. Bruce Banner/Smart Hulk would be perfect as the hero that brings everyone together and keeps them organized as they face Kang the Conqueror or whatever threat Avengers 5 brings. One of the Captains could still be the quarterback on the field while Smart Hulk works as the coach, adding both experience and a scientific mind to the fold. Of course, he could still join the fight at any time, but Banner has already shown that he’s working behind the scenes to assess new universal threats. His appearance in the post-credits of Shang-Chi showed him collaborating with Danvers and Wong to assess the origins of the Ten Rings. As more cosmic and multiversal oddities appear – see the petrified Celestial in the Indian Ocean as an example – someone is going to need to keep tabs on things the way that S.H.E.I.L.D. once did, and Bruce Banner is just the man for the job.
As long as Samuel L. Jackson wants to play Nick Fury, the MCU is lucky to have him, but when the day comes to pass the mantle, the natural choice is already among the Avengers’ ranks. While fans can hold out hope for another solo project for the Hulk, seeing the character appear more frequently in a wider variety of projects would be a lot of fun. Fury said it best all those years ago – the MCU is a big universe. As it continues to expand, someone is going to need to move across projects and bring the heroes together to fight the battles that we can’t. That’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder, but if anyone can carry the burden, it’s the Strongest Avenger.
