Warning: The following post contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame!
Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner had one of the most amusing character arcs in Avengers: Endgame. After the movie’s five-year time jump, it was revealed that he discovered a way to stay in Hulk form with his scientific genius intact. That definitely made the heroes’ plan to retrieve the Infinity Stones from the past a lot easier. Once they obtained all six stones, Bruce used a makeshift Infinity Gauntlet to snap Thanos’ victims back into existence. Unfortunately, the power of the stones also took their toll and caused severe burns to his right arm, leaving it in a sling at the end of the film. According to Endgame co-director Joe Russo (via Heroic Hollywood), the sling won’t be coming off anytime soon.
“He’s lost an arm,” said Russo. “He lost Natasha. That’s not coming back. He’s damaged himself. I don’t know. It’s interesting. That’s permanent damage, the same way that it was permanent damage with Thanos. It’s irreversible damage. His arm, if you noticed, is a lot skinnier. It’s blackened. So, he loses a lot of strength there.”
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Of course, this is a comic book movie. If time travel is possible now, fixing Bruce’s gamma-irradiated skin should be a cakewalk. However, Joe and his brother, Anthony Russo, won’t have any say in the matter, since the pair are reportedly done working for Marvel Studios (for now). Still, that didn’t stop Joe Russo from speculating on how Bruce can heal himself.
“But who knows?” asked Joe Russo. “There’s a lot of smart people left. Maybe someone helps him repair that. Maybe someone gives him a new arm. I have no idea where that character goes from here. The nice thing is we didn’t have to pay attention to where it goes after this, we just try to tell a satisfying ending.”
Where would you like to see the Hulk show up next in the MCU? How do you think his arm could be healed? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
