MCU Fans Explain Why Hulk is a Failed Super-Soldier
The Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Hulk seems to have lost some respect with fans, mainly due to his odd cinematic trajectory. This contrasts from those who grew up with The Incredible Hulk on TV 40 years ago when Hulk was considered the best Marvel villain there was.
Times have changed, unfortunately, due to other superheroes usurping him. Also, fans are still looking at reasons behind Hulk becoming lesser than what some think he deserved.
Recently, discussions about this contend Hulk is a bit of a failed super-soldier since he could never be replicated in a super soldier army. If one can argue Captain America was the most perfect super-soldier created by the serum, Hulk was harder to control.
Fans are split on whether Hulk was really too unique to be replicated
Deciding whether Hulk was a unique case or still fit to be used in a super-soldier army does make for an interesting character examination. Reddit decided to go there recently and analyze whether Hulk was simply too specialized to be replicated, or if other factors were at play.
The initial thought was that Bruce Banner went beyond the capability of the super-soldier serum when he started messing around with gamma rays. Most fans think he exceeded all strength of what was possible with the initial serum.
Phil Coulson basically says so in The Avengers, ultimately leading to the big question of why they never made more Hulks. Another argument is that Hulk simply is not controlled enough and too primitive to use his strength intelligently.
Picturing hundreds of other Hulks on a battlefield is a bit surreal to think about. Imagine them all running amok and not being able to fight a war in a controlled way like was possible with the serum’s human exhibitors.
Hulk might be a failed super-soldier for another reason
As Reddit users continued to elaborate, they reminded Hulk always stood alone. The combination of gamma rays he used with the serum led to him being a bit of a fluke. No one could really figure out what that mystery was on a scientific level.
This alone should give more respect to Hulk being a standout superhero based on his experimentation. No one wanted to mess with that, clearly, hence why no one made a super-soldier Hulk army.
Because of this uniqueness to Hulk, no one could have really replicated him anyway. Calling that “failure” might be a bit subjective. Nevertheless, the argument is sound giving soldiers more heart over primitive beasts was important to the military in the MCU world.
What would have happened, though, had Banner managed to fuse himself with Hulk to create Smart Hulk much earlier?
What would a Smart Hulk super soldier army look like?
The creation of Smart Hulk, of course, came late in the game and not until Endgame. Had this version managed to be a reality back during The Avengers, perhaps Hulk would have usurped Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and Natasha Romanoff.
In the Marvel comic books, Hulk experimented with the serum at several points, including injecting it with Captain America’s blood. All that did was turn him into a gray-colored monster who had the same rage issues.
For the movies, things were different. Nowadays, it means Hulk now being considered somewhat of an outcast, not including being mocked for being just a bumbling green monster.
As that Reddit thread contended, Bruce Banner/Hulk at least found an idealized version of himself once accepting who he is. How that plays out in the future is unknown, unless he can have a second chance at being an idealized super-soldier when The Avengers are threatened again.
