What Happens To Hulk In Spider-Man: Brand New Day - And What It Sets Up For His Marvel Future

Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"

Back in the '80s, there were apparently plans to have Nicholas Hammond's Peter Parker aka Spider-Man from the '70s TV show "The Amazing Spider-Man" cross over with Bill Bixby's titular character from "The Incredible Hulk" in a TV movie. This turned out to be an early example of a canceled Marvel movie we'll never get to see, since the proposed project never got off the ground. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," though, finally let Bruce Banner aka the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Spidey (Tom Holland) hang out in a major motion picture. 

For this particular story, Banner is working at Empire Status University when Parker shows up to inquire about whether or not it's possible to suppress "monstrous" parts of one's DNA. In this exchange, it's revealed Banner is still using an inhibitor to keep his Hulk persona under wraps. After the two share a friendly chat on the ESU campus, Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) users her telepathic powers to control Banner, force his Hulk persona to come out, and break into an important Damage Control vault. Eventually, Spider-Man (with a woefully overwhelmed Frank Castle aka The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal) shows up to stop the Hulk, who eventually breaks free of Grey's control and causes further damage as a savage version of the Hulk.

This newest part of the entire Hulk MCU timeline is bound to leave audiences not only enthralled, but also intrigued about where Banner goes next in the various Marvel movies happening after "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." 

The finale of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" doesn't involve Bruce Banner in any capacity. Instead, the last audiences see of this character in "Brand New Day" is a weary Banner, back in his human form after the Spidey vs. Hulk battle, being wheeled into an ambulance frantically asking paramedics if he hurt anyone. Later on, a TV news anchor notes that Banner is at a hospital receiving "psychiatric help." After so many years of being Smart Hulk or helping folks as a professor, Banner's "relapsed" into his destructive persona and is being kept cut off from larger society.

These lines and developments don't necessarily indicate which MCU projects this character will appear in. However, they might suggest why he's not around in a forthcoming MCU event. In the various trailers Marvel's dropped for "Avengers: Doomsday," there's been nary a trace of Banner. Normally, it'd be hard to imagine there'd ever be an "Avengers" installment devoid of the Hulk. However, after his "Brand New Day" rampage clearly left Banner shattered and the character being held in a hospital, this guy doesn't look to be in any shape to fight Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.). 

Still, in every Hulk movie, he looks to be down for the count before gathering his bearings and fighting the good fight. Expect Hulk's nadir in "Brand New Day" to be eventually followed by an MCU comeback where he once again emerges as a triumphant hero.