The Long-Awaited Justice for Red Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

The MCU's Rejection of Red Hulk

Marvel's What If...? introduced a new Hulk, making the Marvel Cinematic Universe's constant rejections of Red Hulk even worse. The MCU has brought to life some of the most popular and beloved characters from Marvel Comics, among them Bruce Banner/Hulk. Banner's time in the MCU began in the often-forgotten movie The Incredible Hulk, but it was his role (and recast) in The Avengers that gave him a proper place in this connected universe. Banner/Hulk's story has expanded ever since, and while other Hulks have been teased, only a few have been officially introduced.

Happy Hogan's Freak in What If...? season 2

Despite being part of the original Avengers team, Banner/Hulk was never a big character in the MCU, especially when compared to heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Still, characters related to Banner and who fall into the "Hulk family" have already been introduced, but there's one who, even though has been around in the MCU for years, hasn't made his full Hulk transformation yet: Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, who in the comics becomes Red Hulk, and the recent introduction of another Hulk makes the MCU's Red Hulk rejections look even worse.

Harrison Ford MCU Thunderbolts Casting Air Force One

What If's Purple Hulk Story Makes Red Hulk's MCU Snub Worse

The introduction of the multiverse in the MCU has made way for connections to past Marvel movies and TV shows and prompted the making of the animated anthology series What If...?. The series explores alternate timelines in the MCU's multiverse in which major MCU events happened differently. What If's season 2 continued bringing more stories from other parts of the MCU's multiverse, among them one in which Marvel introduced a new, lesser-known Hulk: Freak. In the episode "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?", The Watcher shared his favorite Christmas story, in which Happy Hogan was in charge of security in Avengers Tower during their annual holiday party when Justin Hammer and his henchmen attacked the tower.

In an attempt to save a sample of Bruce Banner's Hulk blood, Hogan was accidentally injected with it and transformed into a purple Hulk-like monster, though he retained his intelligence. Hogan as Freak joins Banner, Jennifer Walters a.k.a. She-Hulk, and Banner's son Skaar as the MCU's Hulk versions, which makes Red Hulk's rejections more frustrating. Thunderbolt Ross made his MCU debut in The Incredible Hulk and returned in Captain America: Civil War, which could have seen him transform into the Red Hulk but co-director Joe Russo shared that the movie was already crowded with characters, so they didn't use Red Hulk (via ComicBook).

Why Red Hulk Needs To Be In Thunderbolts

Despite past rejections, it's still possible for Red Hulk to make his official appearance in the MCU. Thunderbolt Ross, now played by Harrison Ford after William Hurt's passing, will return in Captain America: Brave New World and is rumored to appear in Thunderbolts. It's unknown if the fourth Captain America movie could see Ross finally transforming into Red Hulk, but if he doesn't, he needs to appear in Thunderbolts.

Red Hulk is part of the Thunderbolts' team in the comics, where he and the team clean up the mess left by his military career. The Thunderbolts team is formed by reformed supervillains, and though Ross hasn't really been one in the MCU (though he was an antagonist in The Incredible Hulk), Red Hulk would fit a lot better in this team and movie than any other MCU group and movie.