Over Memorial Day weekend, the news broke that Mark Ruffalo will reportedly reprise his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The wall-crawler's MCU movies always pair Spidey up with an Avenger, and this is an incredible pick.
For starters, they've never crossed paths on screen before, despite having a pretty amazing history on the page. The character lends himself well to a story where Spider-Man explores his duality
We still have no real idea what this movie will look like, but it's safe to assume these two will fight and team up. Peter Parker has never been overly close with Bruce, but chances are the doctor will become his latest big screen mentor. Beyond that, how else might he factor into what we see next summer?
By clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below, you can learn more about the comic books we think will be a key source of inspiration for Spider-Man: Brand New Day...
5. Amazing Spider-Man #382
In this two-part story (which began in Amazing Spider-Man #381), the Hulk is infected with a Gamma virus that increases his rage and strength. The only way to stop the Jade Giant is for him to burn it out of his system, but how long can Spidey fend him off?
Fortunately, the web-slinger manages to get through to Bruce Banner by reminding him that he's not a killer and is being manipulated by the virus. The Hulk successfully overcomes what it's doing to him and commends Spidey for his quick thinking.
If we're getting Spider-Man vs. the Hulk in Brand New Day, then an experiment gone wrong in ESU—where Banner could be working as a college professor—would explain why Spidey enters the fray. Plus, if this brings an end to Smart Hulk before Avengers: Doomsday, that's a big win.
4. Immortal Hulk: Great Power #1
In this one-shot story, Loki's attempts to relieve Bruce Banner of The Hulk lead to the Green Goliath's essence being transferred into Spider-Man. With that, we get Spider-Hulk, and Peter and Bruce later work together to figure out how to make things right.
Ultimately, Spider-Hulk and the OG Hulk clash, with the web-slinger cured of his newfound rage. At the time, the world had been made to forget who Spider-Man was, but The Hulk somehow remembered, and that could be an interesting moment to touch on in Brand New Day.
Admittedly, Spider-Hulk vs. Hulk isn't what most fans want from a street-level story. This would make the movie a bit of a CG-fest, but providing the balance is handled well, there's no reason not to include this as a set piece somewhere in the movie.
3. The New Fantastic Four
In Fantastic Four #347, a Skrull managed to capture the Fantastic Four and, pretending to be Susan Richards, convinced Wolverine, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Ghost Rider to form a New Fantastic Four to avenge their "deaths."
In reality, she wanted them to battle the Mole Man so she could retrieve a powerful Skrull device that had crash-landed on Monster Isle. This new team struck a chord with fans, and while we have no idea how they could assemble in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we'd love to see it.
With the Hulk and Ghost Rider already rumoured to appear, why not just throw Hugh Jackman's Wolverine into the mix for what would arguably be one of the MCU's biggest, best team-ups to date? We'd likely need the Multiverse to be in play, though...
2. Ultimate Marvel Team-Up
Issues #2 and #3 of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up saw the Ultimate Spider-Man fight The Hulk and...well, that was pretty much it. Similar to Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3, Peter is the first superhero to discover that the rampaging monster is really scientist Bruce Banner.
That's not going to work in the MCU, but if filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton needs inspiration for an epic, fun fight between these two, this is a spectacular place for him to start. After all, they're bound to square off at some point in the movie.
The meeting ends with a strong hint that their respective origins are somehow connected, and that might be a fun plot point to explore in the MCU, seeing as Marvel Studios has largely ignored how Peter got his amazing powers.
1. Amazing Spider-Man #328
This story took place in the Hulk's Joe Fixit era, and when Sebastian Shaw offers him a large sum of money to take on Spider-Man, he sees no reason not to agree. However, the twist here is that Peter Parker had cosmic Captain Universe powers around this time.
As you might expect, that completely changes the way this fight plays out. The web-slinger makes short work of his foe, going so far as to punch him into the atmosphere above Earth at one point. Spidey, ever the hero, brings Hulk back to Earth and they leave it at that.
Once again, we're not expecting a direct adaptation. There are, however, elements here that would lend themselves well to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Joe Fixit's MCU debut is long overdue and may even lead to the Maestro appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.