Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like Bruce Banner when he's angry—especially if you're a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The Hulk has mellowed over the years, evolving from a city-smashing engine of destruction in The Incredible Hulk and Avengers: Age of Ultron to a universe-saving legend in Avengers: Endgame. But the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer teases a meaner, greener side: Savage Hulk is back.
After another shirt-ripping, pants-tearing transformation, the Hulk towers over the web-slinger. Spider-Man quips, "I didn't know you could get that big!" before a thunderclap sends him flying. This Hulk is bigger and angrier than we've seen since Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel and Hasbro's toy line has officially confirmed the Savage Green Hulk incarnation is smashing back into the MCU.
Why Is Hulk Human in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'?
"If you see me with this off, run," Banner warns in the trailer, referring to the Hulk inhibitor device he wears to keep himself human. The gamma-dampening device, which previously allowed Smart Hulk to revert to Banner in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, inevitably comes off. As a gamma radiation expert, Banner mentors an unknown Peter Parker, who seeks to suppress his own mutating DNA. "So," his pupil asks, "could you get rid of the bad aspects but keep the good?" Banner replies, "How would you decide what parts of nature are good or bad?"
Why Is Bruce Banner Not Smart Hulk in 'Brand New Day'?
Without his inhibitor device, Dr. Banner regresses into Savage Hulk, seemingly under the telepathic control of a mysterious hooded woman. This archetypal Hulk is a green, monosyllabic monster—"the strongest one there is"—who grows stronger the angrier he gets. Banner previously used a metronome and breath-control to keep the "Other Guy" at bay, but after aiming his alter-ego at the Abomination in The Incredible Hulk, he gained more control by The Avengers. Still, rage has triggered destructive outbursts, like when Loki's scepter caused a Helicarrier rampage, or when Scarlet Witch's mind games led to a Hulkbuster showdown in Age of Ultron. In the 11 years since Hulk's last public smash-out, a childlike but savage Hulk reigned as a gladiator on Sakaar, then hid from Thanos. Banner finally merged man and monster into Smart Hulk in Endgame—a harmony that lasts until Brand New Day.
Who Is the Savage Hulk in Marvel Comics?
"Is he man or monster or... is he both?" asked the cover of Incredible Hulk #1 in 1962. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced Bruce Banner, cursed to transform into a gray-skinned behemoth after gamma radiation. The green Hulk emerged in issue #2, and by issue #4, Banner used a gamma ray projector to switch forms at will. Over time, the Hulk evolved into the merged Professor Hulk, but the Savage Hulk—powered by rage—remains a core persona. Now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day brings that savage side roaring back.
For more on the trailer, check out our breakdown of Spider-Man vs. Hulk: Tom Holland Unleashes Chaos in 'Brand New Day' Trailer. And for the latest on the MCU's future, see Shang-Chi 2 Still in the Works.
