Over 10 years before his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Red Hulk appeared in another project where he threw down with the Hulk. Red Hulk’s MCU debut is coming in Captain America: Brave New World’s story, with Harrison Ford taking the reins as Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross. As one of the many villains of Captain America: Brave New World, Ross will transition into Red Hulk long after his character’s first appearance in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Whether this will set up Red Hulk for more appearances in upcoming Marvel movies remains to be seen, but there is no denying the excitement being raised by his franchise debut. As many will be aware, though, Red Hulk is a character with an illustrious history that began long before the 2025 Marvel movie. Red Hulk is primarily known as an antagonist of, well, Hulk, with the two having many clashes over the years. One of these conflicts came over a decade before his MCU introduction and teased what a live-action brawl between the rage monsters could look like.
Red Hulk Fought The Hulk In A Marvel Show 13 Years Before The MCU Even Debuted The Character
An Animated Marvel Show Depicted Their Clash Excellently
In 2012, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes began airing its second season on Disney XD. The animated show highlighted a different version of the тιтular team from the one in the MCU, focusing on the initial roster of Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, The Wasp, and Hawkeye. Many other Marvel heroes were included in the series and some later joined the team, with The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes season 2 also introducing some big Marvel Comic villains.
Other heroes who eventually joined the team in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes include Vision, Ms. Marvel, and Black Panther.
One of these villains was Red Hulk himself, with the character debuting in season 2, episode 9, and framing the Hulk for several rampages. Eventually, Hulk confronted the mysterious red-skinned monster leading the two to fight in a shipping container yard. Hulk easily overpowered Red Hulk at first before the latter gained the upper hand. Eventually, Hulk’s allies arrived and they defeated Red Hulk together before he fled. Red Hulk appeared later in the season, specifically in episode 22, detailing exactly how a Red Hulk vs. Hulk dynamic could be shown outside of the comics.
Why The MCU Took So Long To Debut Its Red Hulk
Rights Issues Were Likely The Main Reason
Knowing that Red Hulk appeared in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes long before the MCU, the burning question is why the latter franchise took so long to introduce the character. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is not a storytelling decision, but a behind-the-scenes hindrance tied to the film rights for the character of the Hulk. The Hulk has only had one solo MCU film due to the rights for the character being owned by Universal Pictures. This has led to Hulk being used as a supporting character since the MCU began, thus affecting Red Hulk’s arc too.
As alluded to, Red Hulk is predominantly a villain of the Hulk in Marvel Comics. As such, his most likely origin story would have come in a hypothetical Hulk trilogy, something that the MCU has lacked. Due to the decisions Marvel took with the Hulk as a character and the Infinity Saga as a whole, a fitting project for a Red Hulk story has simply not presented itself. Captain America: Brave New World changes that. The film is essentially a sequel to The Incredible Hulk, only with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Captain America at its center.
Captain America: Brave New World’s cast includes Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/The Leader, and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross. All three of these characters were huge players in The Incredible Hulk, with Marvel opting to fold them into Sam Wilson’s story in the absence of more Hulk solo movies. For this reason, Red Hulk’s debut has had to wait until 2025, 17 years after Ross’ debut in the MCU and long after other Marvel Comics adaptations – like The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – told his story.
The MCU’s Red Hulk May Never Even Fight Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk
The Two Monsters May Be More Amicable Than Antagonistic
Now that Red Hulk is finally in the MCU, one could be forgiven for getting excited about a potential clash with the Hulk himself. However, the sad reality is that the ever-desired fight between Red Hulk and his green counterpart may never happen in the MCU. For one, Hulk is no longer the raging monster he was introduced as, with Avengers: Endgame turning him into Smart Hulk. As a result, Banner is now smart enough to avoid needless conflict, and potentially above fighting an old enemy for the sake of it.
Secondly, and arguably more pressing, is the fate that befalls Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World. The character could be killed during the events of the film, or at least reverted to his normal self as Thaddeus Ross by the time the credits roll. Another possibility is that he, like Hulk before him, is pacified and reduced to a less feral and rageful version of the character. Any of these possibilities drastically reduce the likelihood of a Hulk vs. Red Hulk fight in the MCU’s future, outside of the chance of multiversal variants going at it.
The MCU Tried To Bring In Its Red Hulk Way Closer To The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ Red Hulk Vs Hulk Fight
A Phase 3 MCU Film Nearly Debuted Red Hulk
When concerning Red Hulk’s MCU debut, the character was almost featured in a movie long before Captain America: Brave New World and much closer to his appearances in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The movie in question was 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo telling Comicbook.com that Red Hulk was in early drafts for the film. This certainly makes sense given that Thaddeus Ross plays a big part in the film, but the Russos decided against it.
They reasoned that Ross served instead as an embodiment of the political arguments at the film’s center. As the Secretary of State, Ross was a big catalyst in the Sokovia Accords being brought about in the MCU and fitted that role perfectly, with the need for another big superpowered threat being lesser than what Ross ended up being in the actual film. Moreover, the Russos explained that Red Hulk’s introduction would require a backstory that caused the film to grow too large, leaving the character’s debut for the MCU‘s Captain America: Brave New World.
