Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-36932233-20180916170910

The Incredible Hulk is the most underrated film of the MCU, even though it was amazing. Putting aside the statistics and technicalities, the movie just felt great. But after that solo film, Bruce Banner/Hulk started to lose screen time, dialogues, and importance.

Moreover, so much was left unresolved. His undying love for Betty Ross? Not addressed even once, and an awkward romance with Natasha Romanoff now stands on thin ice. His knowledge of Thunderbolt Ross's corrupt acts? Not exposed, buried, as he becomes Secretary of State and screws things up even further. His rough relations with Thunderbolt Ross? Not a word about Banner from Ross, or from Ross about Banner. The two were in the same house during Infinity War (Ross in hologram form), yet they never spoke or referred to each other even once. Sam Sterns' infected body and gamma contaminated blood? Leads to absolutely nothing. Sterns isn't seen ever again, doesn't become the Leader or does anything that leaves traces behind.

All of the above is just left open, and forgotten. And all of that is simply what the movie showed us. As a character, Bruce Banner is also just left mostly unnoticed and incomplete. His life has no direction, and he has no future. He helps S.H.I.E.L.D. find the Tesseract, then helps The Avengers as Hulk, then helps Tony build two superbots, then helps The Avengers as Hulk, then gets lost and found on another planet, then accompanies Thor and helps him on Asgard as Hulk, then fights Thanos as Hulk, gets sent back to Earth, then helps a bit as himself before helping a bit on the field in the Hulkbuster armor. In other words, his 7 PHDs leave him with extremely minor roles, even in terms of science, while he's worthless in combat without the Hulk or some armor.

Why is all of this happening? Why are The Avengers so important, yet Bruce Banner and Hulk are extremely minor? It's like Banner is a scientist in the shadows, and Hulk is the brainless heavy, a surplus of labor to the team. Why does every other character have something to live for, something to chase, some direction to head in, while Banner and the Hulk are stuck in one spot and moving within the same square inch of space? 