Spider-Man: Brand New Day Rumor Brings An Avenger Back To His Roots
But it’s their secret, Cap.
Marvel Phase 5 is officially over, and as soon as The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters at the end of July, we’ll be entering Phase Six. The highlights of this phase are, of course, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day is slated to be a huge release too.
But despite the movie being the next one scheduled after The Fantastic Four, we know next to nothing about it. Now, however, a new leak suggests one of the major threats to the now-anonymous Spider-Man will be a very familiar face.
Recently, fans discovered that Brett Pawlak, Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s director of photography, had a public Pinterest mood board for the movie. Among the images was one featuring Spider-Man battling “Savage Hulk” — that is, Hulk in his original form, not the controlled “Smart Hulk” form Bruce Banner attained in Avengers: Endgame. Leaker Daniel Richtman is now claiming that Savage Hulk will be a major antagonist who requires Peter Parker to join forces with The Punisher to take him down.
Since Endgame, Bruce Banner has kept his Hulk side in control.
This is a surprising reveal, especially since we learned in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law that Bruce Banner is able to maintain his human form with a combination of meditation and advanced tech. He did revert to Smart Hulk form at one point, though, and if this rumor is correct, something is going to happen to make him lose control of his temper and revert further, to the uncontrollable form he was so ashamed of.
Appearances by the Hulk are always welcome, especially since lingering rights issues prevent Marvel from giving him another solo movie. But is this really the best way to bring him back to the MCU? For years, Bruce’s storyline centered on his relationship with his alter ego, and his attempt to find peace and harmony between his two forms. The creation of Smart Hulk was supposed to be the conclusion of that storyline. Why undo that progress?
Savage Hulk may make his return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
At Cinema-Con, Tom Holland said Brand New Day was a “fresh start.” Fans assumed that was because, after No Way Home, the world had forgotten about Spider-Man’s true identity. But if that also means a reversion for Bruce Banner, one of the most beloved and underused Avengers, is it really a fresh start at all?
