world war hulk
It’s been 4 days since “She-Hulk: Attorney At Law” premiered with its first episode on Disney+ worldwide. There were plenty of Easter eggs, callbacks, and references to the world of MCU and Marvel comics. Our website already covered callbacks to the OG Avengers in the episode. check it out here.
The 9-episode show follows Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk), juggling life as a superhero and her career as a lawyer. However, internet rumors and a surprise Easter egg in the first episode suggest the show is planning a solo Hulk outing – World War Hulk.
World War Hulk in Marvel Comics
The world war hulk was a viral comic that was published between May and November 2007. It was written by Greg Pak and follows the events of Planet Hulk. It consisted of five main issues titled world war hulk and three other limited series: World War Hulk: Front Line, World War Hulk: Gamma Bodyand World War Hulk: X-Men.
The comic begins with the Illuminati members (Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Reed Richards, and Black Bolt) banishing the Hulk from Earth. He lands on the planet Sakaar. Hulk eventually takes over Sakaar and marries a woman named Caiera. However, Caiera and their unborn child both die when the ship that originally brought the Hulk to Sakaar explodes. Blaming the Illuminati for his death, and more powerful than ever due to his time spent absorbing radiation levels on the planet Sakaar, the Hulk returns to Earth to exact revenge on his allies.
He wreaked havoc and fought multiple battles around the world with the Avengers, X-men, Young Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the Gamma Corps. Instead of killing them, he forced them to become gladiators and fight for his amusement. The run ultimately ends with the Hulk reverting to his Bruce Banner form and being imprisoned in a deep underground SHIELD facility.
The message
The first major clue was the scene where a spaceship emerges in the middle of the road. This draws the car with Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk) and Bruce Banner (Hulk) off-road leading to a tragic accident, injuring them both. This leads to Banner’s blood mixing with Jennifer’s, giving him “Hulk-like” powers. After realizing, when Jen (Jennifer) asks Bruce if they really hit a ship, Bruce responds by saying that “they were probably trying to send a message.”
If Marvel is really heading towards the World War Hulk storyline, this could be a great opportunity for them. As the message that Bruce is talking about could be about skaar – the hulk’s son, while he was on the planet Sakaar. In this case, it would be the two years Bruce spent in Skaar in Hulk form, during the events of Thor: Ragnarok. In it, Hulk was one of the main gladiators in the Grandmaster Arena. He was later rescued by Thor and Valkyrie.
However, the inclusion of this scene surely suggests that Marvel should do some kind of reckoning with the Hulk’s time in Sakaar. Smart-Hulk (as Bruce now calls himself in Hulk form) will surely investigate the matter.
The blood
In the episode, after Bruce explains to She-Hulk his powers and the uniqueness of his DNA, he destroys the remaining vials of Jennifer’s blood. He explains this by saying, “Even if there’s only a one-millionth percent chance that makes us another.”
world war hulk comic event also followed the origin of red hulk and depowering of Bruce Banner. It also focused on the Red Hulk wanting to create an army of Hulks to take over the world. Now that She-Hulk is also part of the MCU, the chances of Hulk’s blood falling into the wrong hands have become more possible. Perhaps more versions of Hulks are on their way to future phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The problem
In 2006, Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures reached an agreement renegotiating their rights to the Hulk character. This led to the 2008 achievement The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton playing the title character. The movie was in the MCU timeline but didn’t do well. Later, Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo to play the character in Avengers in 2012.
Without Universal’s nod, Marvel is bound to use Hulk only as a supporting character in its films. That’s why so far there haven’t been any new solo Hulk movies. However, Ruffalo himself has publicly declared his interest in starring in his own Hulk movie.
With so many secret projects still in Marvel’s backyard, a World War Hulk movie could very well happen in the future. All he would need is just the right amount of stardust. Planet Hulk has already been adapted Ragnarok, and that the Sakaarian spaceship dredging up the Hulk’s unfinished business might be the best clue. However, it is still unclear if this would happen at this time. The Multiverse Saga or after. When and how it happens will probably be one of the biggest treats for all “Big-Green-Guy” fans everywhere.
