The MCU just debuted one Marvel villain who could easily revert the Smart Hulk back to his previous form, opening new possibilities for those who wish to see the classic iteration of the character return. The Hulk’s story in the MCU timeline has certainly had interesting points, but has also had its fair share of divisive moments over the years.

Perhaps the most divisive of these was the decision to adapt the Professor Hulk storyline, introducing the Smart Hulk and essentially getting rid of the previous version of the green berserker. Given the hopes this will be reversed in the MCU like it was in the comics, the franchise recently debuting a villain who could do so is certainly interesting.

The Hulk’s Story Has Stagnated For The Past Few Years In The MCU

While the Hulk has been a key part of the MCU for years, the franchise has used the character very sparingly throughout its story. This is particularly true for the MCU following Avengers: Endgame, as the Hulk’s only real appearances in the franchise since have been in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.

While She-Hulk: Attorney At Law focuses a little more on the Hulk and his role in She-Hulk’s origin story, the show still doesn’t spend much time fleshing out the hero further. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings does suggest the Hulk has maintained some important alliances with fellow heroes, but this tease hasn’t been followed up on in four years.

This seems to be partly because much of the Hulk’s character arc has been resolved via the Smart Hulk. With the premise of the MCU Smart Hulk being that he retains Banner’s consciousness even while using the green giant’s strength, there’s less of an incentive to follow up on the Hulk, since the tension between him and Banner is gone.

With this providing a somewhat unsatisfactory conclusion to the Hulk’s main story – since it doesn’t really see the Hulk and Banner work together, but rather that Banner essentially takes over in both forms – it’s understandable that there are hopes the Hulk’s original form can return. Interestingly, we have just met one MCU villain who’d easily be capable of that.

The MCU’s Newest Villain Absolutely Has The Power To Revert The Hulk Back Into His Original Form

Mephisto’s comic powers are hard to overstate, and Mephisto’s MCU powers seem to be very much the same. The cloak that Mephisto grants The Hood in the MCU is shown to have immense and dark power, and Mephisto’s deal with Riri in the ending of Ironheart sees him seemingly bring a character back from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, which is a major feat.

With this backdrop in mind, it seems very much possible that Mephisto would be capable of reverting the Hulk back to his original form if he so wished to. Given the comic Mephisto has commonly used his powers for far bigger things – and the MCU version is seemingly the same in this regard – it doesn’t seem like it would be a challenge for the villain.

Instead, the question becomes what could motivate Mephisto to do so. While the Hulk has faced Mephisto far less than some other comic heroes, it could still make sense for the demon to want to sow extra chaos in this way, especially in a scenario where this was perhaps requested of him.

Given Ironheart‘s ending positions Mephisto to be a key MCU figure going forward, it could make a lot of sense to bring Mephisto and the Hulk back once more in a way that livens up both of their stories. Indeed, there are a few different paths it seems the MCU could use to make this approach work.

Why Mephisto Could Want To Get Rid Of Smart Hulk In The MCU

The MCU Mephisto appears to be as focused on his “deals” as his comic counterpart, which immediately opens some ideas about how he and the Hulk’s story could intertwine. While the MCU Hulk’s story has been more relaxed of late, there are still villains who would no doubt enjoy the havoc that him reverting form could at least temporarily create.

One of the most likely candidates for this would be that of The Leader, who was reintroduced to the MCU in Captain America: Brave New World. The Leader appears aware of the nature of the wider world given he seems to tease a multiversal threat to Sam Wilson, and could be willing to get Mephisto to do his dirty work with a deal while locked away in The Raft.

Since The Leader’s plan in Captain America: Brave New World involved deploying the Red Hulk – and his vendetta against the Hulk himself hasn’t been explored in decades – this could be a viable way to explore this path. Indeed, since The Leader has previously made a deal with Mephisto in the comics, this seems more possible than it might initially appear.

There’s also the possibility for the MCU to draw from other comic stories that could work here. The comic story that sees Banner accidentally create the Hell-bound Infernal Hulk after trying to split himself from the Hulk could make sense as a backdrop here, as could using Mephisto’s fear of the One Below All, who essentially powers the comic Hulk.

All things considered, it certainly doesn’t seem impossible for the MCU to decide to use Mephisto’s introduction to justify reverting the Hulk back to his prior form and thus further explore this iteration of the character. However, even if this doesn’t happen, it’s still exciting to note powerful new figures are being introduced who seem very capable of such feats.

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  Marvel Cinematic Universe

  Created by

  Kevin Feige

  First Film

  Iron Man

  Upcoming Films

  ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Blade (2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars

  First TV Show

  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

  Upcoming TV Shows

  Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Wakanda, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man, Vision Quest

  Cast

  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors

  The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.

  
  

  
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  Hulk
  

  Created by

  Stan Lee, Jack Kirby

  First Film

  The Incredible Hulk Returns

  Latest Film

  Avengers: Endgame

  First TV Show

  The Incredible Hulk

  Latest TV Show

  She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

  Cast

  Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Mark Ruffalo

  Bruce Banner, AKA the Hulk, is one of Marvel’s most iconic heroes. The character, who shifts between a mild-mannered scientist and a brutish green brawler, has starred in several live-action and animated movies and TV shows across seven decades and counting.

  
  

  
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