Hulk: The Disrespected Avenger (MCU)
Out of all characters in the MCU Hulk is absolutely the worst. From his inception to endgame it's been a tough ride for the Jade Giant. All because of Disney and Universal petty squabble.
The Incredible Hulk Uses The Worse Origin Story
Okay so a lot of people forget this movie exists however its important to show how bad they started Hulk in the MCU. The actual movie itself is alright but it's Bruce Banner's origin story that kind of sucks. In case you are unaware MCU Bruce Banner directly takes his origin from Earth 1610's Hulk aka The Ultimate Hulk. Bruce Banner got his power by making his own bootleg super soldier serum for the government. This is incredibly lame. The original Hulk's origin had Banner working on a gamma bomb for the government but saw, what would become his long time friend, Rick Jones in the blast zone. He runs out to save him and does. Only to not save himself and get hit by the gamma bomb. You see the difference between these two origins? The ultimate universe and MCU just makes Bruce a "lab experiment gone wrong". 616 Bruce's origin is about heroism and misfortune. It tells you Banner is a good person at the end of the day. His ultimate and mcu origin doesn't tell you anything about the character. Now I can get over this if it was the only problem but sadly its one of many.
Age Of Ultron: Natasha and Bruce Is Dumb
Skipping over avengers because that was easily the best showing of Hulk in the mcu. We take a small pit stop at Age Of Ultron and by age they meant a week of Ultron. Anyway for some god forsaken reason Joss Whedon thought it was a cool idea for Natasha and Bruce to be a couple.... It wasn't. It came out of nowhere and still the 2nd most underdeveloped relationship in the mcu only being beaten out by Steve and Sharon Carter. The sun getting low thing is absolutely eye rolling. It treats Hulk like an ape/animal instead what he's supposed to be, a child. I don't think I need to explain much further everyone agrees this is garbo. (On a side note while talking about Hulk's relationship whatever happened to Betty Ross? Does Bruce even like her anymore? Does Betty see Bruce on TV and never thought to get in touch with him? We'll never know because the MCU dropped the character.)
Thor Ragnarok: Using Hulk Aesthetics But None Of The Substance
Okay in this movie the MCU is taking inspiration from the critically acclaimed storyline Planet Hulk. Which is kinda shitty to be honest. Don't get me wrong Ragnarok is a good movie however by taking in elements of planet hulk you've effectively killed off a number of ideas that could be used for Hulk lore. For starters let's talk about the Green Scar. The Green Scar is an alternate personality Bruce made to help him survive the harsh environment of planet Sakaar. His intelligence is about greater than Joe Fixit's but less than the Professor Hulk. His strength is greater than most Hulk personalities only comparable to the Devil Hulk (not including when he goes worldbreaker). This is the Hulk everyone loves. So when you hear that the Hulk is going to planet sakaar you think "wow they're bringing in the world breaker personality." Ahaha no. It's just Savage Hulk in armor. Which is the main problem it's a thor movie with hulk in it. You've taken only the aesthetics of a beloved storyline and none of the substance. The reason people like the Green Scar is not because Hulk is a gladiator. It's because he became a hero of alien world and was finally at peace. Only for everything to have been taken from him and him being rightfully upset. Now that story can't be used on the big screen anymore.
Endgame: The Professor Personality Sucks And Bottle Caps The Character
Finally we reach the last nail in the coffin and oh boy this was the wrong move. In case this wasn't readily apparent Bruce suffers from Disassociative identity disorder. It's the main reason there are as many Hulk personalities as there are stars in the sky. Instead of Marvel Studios playing into this limitless fun idea they decided to throw the whole concept away. The Hulk in endgame is a clear adaption of Peter David's merged/professor hulk persona. As said above the professor removes Bruce's D.I.D off the table. Once you go for the professor you can't do much else with the Hulk. From here on out its just Banner wearing Hulk's skin. It's the main reason the professor hasn't been seen for years in the comics. He neuters Hulk's growth and potential. Once you remove the Hulk D.I.D its over. The character has peaked. I guess that would be fine if they didn't neuter it in every single way. The merger happens off screen in the five year jump. WHY?! You take a pivotal moment for the character and have it off screen. This also harkens back to what I was saying before with aesthetics with no substance. They wanted the professor in the mcu but they didn't earn it. It's all so stupid.
Where Can You Even Go With The Character Anymore
Hulk's D.I.D has been removed so no new alters. Planet Hulk is off the table since it was kind of used in Ragnarok. I guess they could go down the Future Imperfect route since they've gotten the professor persona. Immortal Hulk could be a thing but they'd have to have Bruce disassociate again to bring about the devil hulk. Well Ruffalo is appearing in she-hulk. So hopefully they do something interesting with him but dang this character is screwed.