There Are Actually 21 Heroes The Hulk Has Never Met In The MCU
When "Professor Hulk" is introduced in "Avengers: Endgame," we get proof that he's one of the world's most famous superheroes. A group of children ask for a selfie with him, while clearly having no idea who Ant-Man is and pretty much ignoring Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. And that makes sense. After all, if you're a regular citizen in the MCU who saw the footage of the Battle of New York, you may not have noticed the archer or the spy in black, but there isn't much chance you missed the huge, green monster leaping from building to building and going one-on-one with the massive Chitauri Leviathans.
And yet in spite of his fame, there are actually a whole bunch of MCU heroes — 21 in total — who have never had the opportunity to cross paths with the Hulk. Some lived in the wrong time, some live in the wrong place, and some came teasingly close to meeting the green goliath before circumstance made it impossible. Here are all those heroes — from gods to secret agents and more.
The Hulk came close to meeting the Warriors Three
We don't know exactly how long it was between Thor's arrival on Sakaar in 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok" and his escape with Bruce Banner and Valkyrie to Asgard. The strange temporal nature of Sakaar makes the question even more complicated. But considering how quickly Hela takes apart Asgard's armies, it wouldn't seem to be more than a week or two. However long it was, the Hulk didn't miss the Warriors Three by all that much.
The first thing Hela does upon arriving on Asgard is murder Volstagg and Fandral. Not long afterward, she kills Hogun and slaughters most of the rest of Asgard's soldiers. So, sadly, the Hulk never got the chance to meet any of the Warriors Three, in spite of being the first non-Asgardian Avenger to visit Asgard — though again, as The Doctor might call it, "timey wimey" stuff confuses things since both Rocket and presumably Captain America time-traveled there during the events of "Endgame."
Hulk and Sif have never battled side by side
According to The Express, it was a scheduling conflict between "Ragnarok" and the since-concluded NBC drama "Blindspot" that kept Jaimie Alexander's Sif out of the third "Thor" film. She was likewise nowhere to be found in either 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" or "Endgame." She enjoyed a brief cameo in "Loki," however, and is expected to return for the upcoming "Thor: Love and Thunder." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said that the narrative reason for her absence is that Loki, disguised as Odin, banished her.
So there's no way Sif could have met the Hulk. She's not part of the epic final battle against Thanos and his armies in "Endgame." The only possible way Sif might have met the Hulk is if somehow offscreen she had become one of the citizens of New Asgard and likewise met the Hulk there — also offscreen — during his visit there to retrieve Thor. But from what we know of Sif, there's absolutely no way — if she had been in contact with the people of New Asgard — that she would willingly sit out the fight with Thanos.
The Hulk was born too late to meet the Howling Commandos
While the group makes bigger footprints in the source material than they do in the MCU, with the exception of Captain America and Bucky, the Howling Commandos don't factor much into the narrative after 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger."
Not counting a few members featured solely on "Agent Carter" — whose canonical status is unclear — we meet five members of the Howling Commandos: Monty, Jim Morita, Gabe Jones, Frenchie, and Dum Dum Dugan. Most had passed away long before they would have had a chance to meet the Hulk.
The only way any of the survivors could have met Bruce Banner is during the Stark Tower party in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." We see a number of World War II vets at the party and in fact one of them — or, at least, the Watcher disguised as one of them — is played by the late Stan Lee. But while these men may have known Steve Rogers during the war, it doesn't seem likely any of the aged Howling Commandos were among them.
John Walker is lucky he hasn't met the Hulk
Introduced in "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," John Walker, aka US Agent, has not yet had the opportunity to meet the Hulk. He's met Bucky, Sam Wilson, and some of the Dora Milaje. None of those meetings have gone well. While Sam, Bucky, and John seem to find a modicum of understanding by the end of the series, it's doubtful Walker's going to be getting any invitations to join the Avengers any time soon.
Bruce Banner does not seem like the kind of guy who would gel any better with Walker than Sam and Bucky do. The mild-mannered scientist wouldn't work well with this hotheaded reflection of Steve Rogers, and the "other guy" would be much less patient with him than Sam and Bucky were.
In the source material, the Hulk and US Agent haven't had much interaction. They do have something of an encounter at Nick Fury's funeral (he gets better) in 1995's "Incredible Hulk" #434. It doesn't go well for US Agent, and that's with the Hulk barely trying.
Battlestar sacrificed himself before he could meet the Hulk
In Episode 4 of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," Lemar Hoskins — aka Battlestar — sacrifices himself to save John Walker from the Flag Smashers. Lemar's death is understandably traumatic for Walker, who goes on to publicly execute one of the Flag Smashers, which directly leads to him losing the title of Captain America.
If John Walker and Bruce Banner should ever meet, Battlestar's story may actually provide them with a similar experience. Mark Ruffalo is set to reprise the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the upcoming "She-Hulk" series. If She-Hulk shares a similar origin to her comic book counterpart, then it will be because Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters is injured and Banner gives her some of his blood to save her, which in turn transforms her. This will no doubt be a difficult decision for Banner, just as Walker chose to ultimately take the super soldier serum without giving any to Lemar — something that could have saved his friend's life.
If Yelena ever meets Bruce, it may not work out well
Since she's only ever appeared in "Black Widow" — and, per Variety, confirmed for "Hawkeye" — Yelena has had no reason to meet the Hulk, although that could change. With the "Black Widow" post-credits scene confirming that Yelena is working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, for the time being at least Yelena goes where the mysterious Val tells her.
Nick Fury was smart enough to never send Natasha after Bruce Banner as an assassin, but Val might not share that wisdom. Considering she's tasked Yelena with murdering Clint Barton, and the very fact that she's willing to employ John Walker, we know Val's used to even shakier moral ground than Fury, which is saying a lot. Val could see Hulk as a loose cannon she wants eliminated or, perhaps more likely, a weapon for her arsenal. It isn't like he'd be the only unstable hero she's been willing to use.
Red Guardian is probably fine keeping his distance from the Hulk
David Harbour's Red Guardian hasn't appeared in anything beyond "Black Widow" yet, and certainly nothing with Bruce Banner. In the source material, however, the Hulk has a long history with Russian heroes. It was in 1981's "Incredible Hulk" #258 that Russia's first super team — the Soviet Super Soldiers — made their premiere, though Red Guardian wasn't part of that iteration of the group. There have been seven versions of Red Guardian in the comics, and the fourth — Josef Petkus — led the People's Protectorate against the Hulk in his 30th anniversary issue, 1992's "Incredible Hulk" #393.
The Hulk actually had reason to call an earlier Red Guardian his comrade. Back before the Soviet Super Soldiers' premiere, the third Red Guardian — and the only female one so far, Dr. Tania Belinsky — occasionally worked alongside the Defenders, including the Hulk, starting with 1976's "Defenders" #35.
The adult Groot is gone
The Incredible Hulk and the adult Groot share at least a couple of things in common. Both prove to be insanely powerful when they lash out, and both are — at least, before the emergence of the Professor Hulk — creatures of few words.
But sadly they'll never get to meet. The adult Groot sacrifices himself in 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy" to save his friends when the Dark Aster crashes into Xandar. For a while after the release of the film, fans thought the Baby Groot they saw dancing in the mid-credits scene was Groot reborn, but it was eventually revealed that the new Groot was a completely different character.
While we never see them interact, it's more than likely Hulk did get to meet the younger Groot. They're both in the final battle of "Endgame" as well as at Tony Stark's memorial service.
Yondu came close to meeting the Hulk... maybe?
By the time the Guardians meet any of the Avengers, including the Hulk, Yondu is no longer with us. The Ravager gives his own life to save Star-Lord, his adoptive son, toward the end of 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." But depending on how you look at it, Yondu kind of came close to meeting the Hulk. In fact, had a certain scene been left in "Ragnarok," he would have made it even closer to meeting the Hulk than the Warriors Three did.
When "Thor: Ragnarok" got its home release, among the other extras was a deleted scene in which Yondu shows up on Asgard just as Skurge is about to decapitate an innocent woman. Hela orders the execution because none of the Asgardians will give up the location of Heimdall. Skurge hesitates, but eventually lifts the his axe. In the finished film, an Asgardian man agrees to tell them where Heimdall is just in time to save the woman. In the deleted version, however, it's Yondu who pushes his way through the crowd to stop Skurge, but not out of any sense of justice. He just wants directions.
Regardless, the scene shows Yondu on Asgard not long before Hulk's arrival, but it's probably best it was left on the cutting room floor. Yondu's equipped with his prototype fin in the scene, which we don't see him wearing until "Guardians Vol. 2," in which he dies not long afterward.
Peggy Carter never met the Hulk, though she may know his work
While 2014's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" reveals that Steve Rogers got back in touch with Peggy Carter once he was revived from his long sleep, we never see any of the other Avengers interacting with her, including the Hulk. Banner isn't even on Earth when Peggy passes away during the events of 2016's "Captain America: Civil War."
It's possible Peggy Carter is monitoring Bruce Banner's work before the accident that first transforms him into the Hulk. In 2012's "The Avengers," we learn that Banner was trying to find the secret of the late Abraham Erskine's formula when he was changed into the Hulk, and considering her connection to Rogers, she may have felt like she had a personal stake in the scientist's progress.
The likelihood of Carter even knowing about Banner's work is unclear, however, because the timeline is murky. We know Carter was still working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1989 because she's there for Hank Pym's resignation in 2015's "Ant-Man." We know that by 2014 she was retired and in poor health. We don't know when, in those 25 years in between, she retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. or when her health began to decline — or when/if she might have started observing Banner.
Hulk might have gotten near Sylvie
Besides Loki — whose status as a super "hero" might be up for debate — we don't see Sylvie meet any heroes during the events of "Loki," the Hulk included. From what we know of how Sylvie avoids the TVA before and during the events of "Loki," however, it's possible she's seen the Hulk in action.
In Episode 2, when Loki tells Mobius about his theory that the Loki variant — he doesn't know who she is yet — is hiding in apocalypses, he uses the destruction of Asgard in "Ragnarok" as an example. He actually uses the Hulk in the example, posing the hypothetical of pushing the Hulk off the Rainbow Bridge and saying it wouldn't cause the timeline to splinter because Asgard is destined to be destroyed regardless.
When Loki and the TVA eventually find Sylvie, she's hiding in a Roxxcart mall in Alabama in 2050 that's about to get hit by a category 8 hurricane. That doesn't necessarily mean that was the only apocalypse she ever used as a hiding spot however. She may very well have traveled to the events of "Ragnarok," where she could have gotten a gander at the Hulk.
Isaiah Bradley was too much of a man to meet the Hulk
Just as Steve Rogers does in "The First Avenger," we learn in "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" that Isaiah Bradley, while he still worked for the United States military, disobeyed orders in order to rescue his fellow soldiers. Unlike the men Rogers liberated, Bradley's brothers-in-arms later died because of the super soldier serum to which they'd been exposed. Unlike Rogers, rather than being rewarded for his efforts, Bradley was thrown into prison and kept there for decades. Bradley never had an opportunity, or a reason, to meet Bruce Banner or his green alter-ego.
It's conceivable — if Bradley were less honorable and had left his fellow soldiers to die — that the military would have tapped Bradley to go after Banner either before or during the events of 2008's "Incredible Hulk." Yes, he still would have been an older man, but as we see in "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," old age hasn't seemed to drain Bradley of his strength. Also, Bradley would have been 16 years younger in 2008 than when we meet him, and it isn't like General Ross would have suffered a lot of moral dilemmas in sending an elderly man into battle. Not to mention that Emil Blonsky's own advancing age is one of his biggest motivators for volunteering to get the super soldier serum in "The Incredible Hulk."
Xialing never met the Hulk, but perhaps someone like him
While both the eponymous hero and his friend Katy are introduced to Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers in a post-credits scene for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," by that point Shang-Chi's sister Xialing has split off from him and isn't a part of the meeting. In fact, a few minutes later, the post-credits scene reveals Xialing has taken over the remnants of the Ten Rings organization.
Of course, while she hasn't met Bruce Banner, there's a good chance Xialing's met another gamma-irradiated man-monster. When we meet Xialing she's the owner of the Golden Daggers Club In Macau, where we see Doctor Strange's associate Wong have a brief throwdown with none other than Emil Blonsky, aka the Abomination. There's no way to know for sure, but it's possible Xialing would insist on meeting any huge, green supervillains wanting to compete under her roof.
Ying Nan could have used the Hulk's strength
Because of her situation — and beyond the pair she fights alongside in "Shang-Chi" — Ying Nan likely hasn't had the opportunity to meet most of the MCU's heroes, and that includes the Hulk. Just like Xialing, Ying Nan isn't with Shang-Chi and Katy when they have their meeting in the mid-credits scene with Wong, Bruce Banner, and Carol Danvers. Presumably, she is still in Ta Lo at this point along with the Great Protector and the rest of her people.
Obviously, the Hulk could have been a big help in the battle toward the end of "Shang-Chi," as could any number of Marvel's other heroes. It brings to mind whether or not even Doctor Strange knows about the pocket dimension of Ta Lo and what Ying Nan and her people there have been guarding the Earth against for so long. it sounds like exactly the kind of thing that should be on the Sorcerer Supreme's radar — and the kind of thing that the Hulk might get called in for.
Monica Rambeau's too new to have met the Hulk
While in the beginning of the series she doesn't have any powers, by the end of "WandaVision" Monica Rambeau's push through Westview's hex wall gifts her with new abilities that haven't been fully defined just yet. She's so new to the hero game that we don't even know what her codename is yet; her comic book counterpart has used different ones over the years, including Captain Marvel, Photon, and Pulsar.
But since Bruce Banner has had nothing to do with the character's only two MCU appearances so far — in "Captain Marvel" and "WandaVision" — there's been no chance for the two to meet. That could change in the next couple of years. Rambeau is confirmed to be appearing in next year's "The Marvels" and there's always a chance Banner could make a surprise cameo like he does in "Shang-Chi." Not to mention there's always the possibility of future "Avengers" sequels, should Rambeau be brought into the fold.