While The Incredible Hulk is the MCU’s only solo movie for the character, Mark Ruffalo’s hero can go through his saddest story in the future.

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk will continue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for some time, and the character’s future setup could bring one of his saddest stories to the franchise. Ruffalo has been playing Bruce Banner for years now, having started as the MCU’s Hulk in 2012’s The Avengers. However, the actor has never had the chance to lead a solo project as the hero, something that all other original MCU Avengers actors got to do. That has to do with Hulk’s film rights being a complicated matter, with Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk being the MCU’s only Hulk solo movie.

Due to the issue regarding the character’s movie rights, Marvel Studios has had to get creative with how it uses the Hulk. Ruffalo has appeared in all four Avengers movies, with the Hulk still an active member of the MCU despite other original Avengers dying or retiring, which means the character still has more adventures in his future. Ruffalo’s Hulk has played a supporting role in some of the MCU’s best movies and series, creating an arc for the character without a solo movie, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s huge Hulk setup could bring his saddest story to the MCU.

Hulk’s Skaar Story Ties To Bruce Banner’s Tragic Childhood

Bruce Banner Is Now A Father

Disney+’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law delved deeper into Ruffalo’s character. The series explored Bruce Banner’s relationship with his cousin, Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters, with an accident leading to her becoming She-Hulk. After training Jennifer, Hulk is called back to space by a Sakaaran ship. In Thor: Ragnarok, it was revealed that the Hulk had gone to the planet Sakaar and stayed there for some time after shooting off in a spaceship at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Shockingly, this new trip led to the reveal that the Hulk has a son — Skaar.

Skaar’s MCU introduction could lead to one of the Hulk’s most tragic stories being shown in a future project. Given how he has now become a father, the MCU could finally touch on Bruce Banner’s childhood trauma from the comics. In Marvel Comics, Banner was physically and verbally abused by his father, Brian Banner. His dad was such a horrible person that he ended up beating Bruce’s mother to death in front of him when they tried to leave their home. Now a father, Bruce could remember his own relationship with his dad in a future MCU project.

Why The MCU Needs To Address Bruce Banner’s Pre-Hulk Origin Story

Smart Hulk Needs A Shake-Up

Bruce’s childhood in the comics was incredibly tragic, and with the character now becoming a father in the MCU, that childhood trauma should influence how Banner acts towards his son, Skaar. Bruce feeling nervous about raising his son without having a healthy example of how to do so would add a breath of fresh air to Smart Hulk. The character has seemingly stagnated since Banner and the Hulk properly became one in the MCU, and Bruce’s childhood trauma could be the shake-up the character needs to become interesting again for those let down by Smart Hulk.