Avengers: Infinity War
A new theory suggests the Hulk is actually a Skrull impostor in the MCU , explicate Bruce Banner ’s foreign behavior in bothThor : Ragnarokand this year’sAvengers : Infinity War . The shapeshifting race known asthe Skrullsare at long last becoming part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year , withCaptain Marvelloosely inspired by theKree - Skrull War . Most viewer are expecting this to be frame-up for a next " Secret Invasion " secret plan , which may even means shapeshifting aliens have already on the QT replaced some of the MCU ’s hero and secondary characters . As a result , all attention is presently focalise on the major character arcs ; anybody who ’s acting out of character could potentially be a Skrull .
According to Mark Ruffalo , Marvel is partway througha three - film arc for the Hulk , one that kicked off in last year’sThor : Ragnarok , continued on throughAvengers : Infinity War , and will culminate in next year’sAvengers 4 . But something about this arc seems to be striking an off - note with viewers , to the extent that some are already hypothesize Banner has on the Q.T. been replaced by Loki .
Read More:Infinity War Theory: Loki Was Posing As Bruce Banner
Over onReddit , one attentive fan has come up with another possible explanation . He argues that the Hulk has indeed been replace - but not by Loki . Instead , he suggests that the Bruce Banner we ’ve seen since 2015’sAvengers : eld of Ultronis in reality a Skrull impostor . Let ’s take a look at the evidence , and evaluate how likely this hypothesis is .
Bruce Banner is Seriously out of Character In Thor 3 & Avengers 3
The Hulk ofThor : Ragnarokwas very unlike to the rampaging titan we ’ve see in the MCU to date - so much so that he ’d essentially evolve a character and personality of his own andlearned to speak . When Thor eventually got Hulk to metamorphose back into Banner , we learned that the Hulk had take away the steering cycle for the last two years . That was used to excuse why Bruce seemed more than a petty flaky and disoriented , to the extent that even Thor felt he seemed out of character . On the face of it , it seemed to be little more than an representative of Taika Waititi ’s sensory faculty of humour ; but there may well have been more to it than that .
InAvengers : Infinity War , the strangeness simply increased . The Hulk abide a brutal pulse - down at thehands of Thanos , before being shake off to Earth - and changing back due to the trauma of it all . Curiously , though , Bruce actually remembered everything he ’d experienced as the Hulk - and even recognise things about Infinity Stones he had no reason to know . That contrasts with every other shift , include inThor : Ragnarok , where Bruce typically ca n’t remember anything he did as the Hulk . The rest of the film controversially avoided Bruce call on into the Hulk again at all , with the two personality appearing to be in conflict .
Promotional prototype forAvengers 4have teased that the Hulk is about to go through another major alteration in condition quo , assume the so - scream " Professor Hulk " persona . This translation of the Hulk seems to be less bulky , and thus likely not quite so physically strong . intelligibly , we ’re bear to believe the two personalities are in a state of warfare , and they ’ll ultimately blend into one being ; TV audience seem to be notice that idea unpersuasive , however , and are alternatively suggesting other alternative .
Related:Did Marvel Change Hulk’s Story In Avengers: Infinity War?
Hulk Becoming A Skrull Has Comic Book Precedent
It ’s commonly believedCaptain Marvelwill introduce the Skrullsas frame-up for the far-famed " Secret Invasion " plotline . In the comics , this arc revealed that the Skrulls had been softly roll up superheroes over the class of yr , capturing and replacing them with their own impostors . Marvel made a witting decision to debar take in any of the high - visibility heroes be replace ; it was felt that would detract from major discharge like " Civil War . " If the MCU is indeed heading for a " Secret Invasion " plot of land , then we can reasonably adopt Marvel Studios will practise similar logic . titulary heroes like Captain America , Thor , and Iron Man are in all likelihood safe , just because their character arcs are too inherent to the MCU ’s momentum . But secondary Avengers , drift from the Hulk to Black Widow to Scarlet Witch , could actually have been replaced .
Interestingly , sometimes Skrulls become absorb in the indistinguishability they ’ve take over , and actually block that they ’re impostors . That ’s especially the case when replacing more complex the great unwashed - including those who suffer from a form of multiple personality disorderliness . So if the Hulk has been replaced by a Skrull , he may not be cognizant of it .
In the comics , theSkrulls can duplicate the powers of superhuman organism , but it ’s difficult for them to do so . What ’s more , unpredictable powersets like the Hulk ’s - a being whose strength maturate in proportion to his craze - would likely be even operose , so a Skrull version of the Hulk would actually be weaker than the normal one . That would fit neatly with the Hulk ’s near - licking at the hands of Thor , his difficulty when it come to deal Fenris , and the beat - down he suffered at the hands of Thanos .
Page 2 of 2:How The Hulk-Skrull Theory Fits the Ongoing Story of the MCU
How A Hulk-Skrull Fits Into The MCU
Of course , the real question is how well this fit with the MCU ’s on-going narrative . At the origin ofThor : Ragnarok , the Hulk has been miss for two years . That means the Skrulls could conceivably have captured him concisely after the conclusion ofAvengers : Age of Ultron . In that Reddit post , it ’s suggested the Hulk attempted to break area in the Quinjet , and the Skrulls noticed him . Another possibility , though , would be that the Skrulls were monitoring the Battle of Sokovia , and realized one Avenger was leaving in a Quinjet , presumptively abandon the relaxation of the Avengers . They intercepted the Quinjet - perhaps near Fiji , where S.H.I.E.L.D. suffer cartroad of the plane .
The Skrulls would conceivably then be able-bodied to spend quite a while working on the Hulk , search his DNA and endeavor to replicate his powers . Only when they were quenched would they have get look at how to send their replacement back to the Avengers . But why would they send their Hulk to Sakaar ? It may be that they deduced there was a solid fortune Thor could turn up here , pass on Sakaar seems to be at the heart of a all-encompassing array of wormhole . As the Redditor luff out , there ’s evidence inThor : Ragnarokthat the Hulk has n’t been the Grandmaster ’s Champion for long ; his case still has n’t been added to Grandmaster ’s statue memorialise his Champions .
Related:Thor: Ragnarok Wastes Bruce Banner
The Redditor suggests a subtly unlike variant on this , though ; that the Hulk is n’t the only Skrull sham inThor : Ragnarok . The hypothesis suggests Skurge is a Skrull as well , and his missionary station was to get Thor to Sakaar . He then flip-flop English to find out about the potential young threat of Hela . At the end of the film , Skurge thus sacrifices himself so as to ensure the main Skrull intelligence officer , the Hulk , is successfully engraft in the Avengers . It ’s a rather more tortuous ontogeny of the theory , and an attractive one in that it remove the element of chance from this Skrull scheme .
Is The Hulk-Skrull Theory Plausible?
While it ’s an interesting hypothesis , this one does n’t seem terribly likely . For one thing , this three - film character arc for the Hulk is clearly evocative of the Peter David incline , with some scene lift almost perfectly fromIncredible Hulk#376 . It seems more fair to assume Marvel is setting the Hulk and Banner personalities in difference . By that indication , the slightly out - of - fictitious character Bruce Banner inThor : Ragnaroksimply reflect Taika Waititi ’s more humourous style , and Banner ’s unusual ability to commemorate what happened to the Hulk inAvengers : Infinity Waris just a case of plot public convenience .
Secret Invasionactually face Marvel Comics with a difficult choice . On the one hired hand , they intelligibly wanted some major eccentric to in reality be Skrull impostors , if only for striking effect . At the same fourth dimension , though , Marvel did n’t want to damage the character arc that had been primal to the last few years ' Charles Frederick Worth of storey . That was why they did n’t use " Secret Invasion " to reveal Tony Stark had been a Skrull impostor duringCivil War . While that fib had damaged Iron Man ’s popularity among comic book reader , it would have been far too convenient a solvent . Likewise , Marvel avoided using the Skrulls to resurrect Captain America , who ’d been killed off in the aftermath ofCivil War . Marvel Studios will look the same problem if they do a Skrull invasion ; they ’d risk weakening the dramatic and narrative result of the last few motion picture . It ’s unlikely they ’d retcon an entire character arc in this manner .
Perhaps the one key takeout food from this theory , though , is that some buff do n’t seem happy with the Hulk ’s arc inAvengers : Infinity War . We ’ve already had theories that the Hulk is really Loki ; now we have another , that he ’s a Skrull impostor . There ’s clearly a mass of dissatisfaction with howAvengers : eternity Warhandled the Hulk , and that will likely give Marvel suit for concern . Hopefully , the last film in this looseHulk " trilogy"will convey the story to a square conclusion .
More:Avengers 4 Should Keep One Character Dead
Source : Reddit , viaCBR
