Mark Ruffalo Reveals A Surprising Alternate Storyline For Bruce Banner At The End Of Avengers: Infinity War

Mark Ruffalo stepped in and took over the role of Dr. Bruce Banner and his alter ego, the Hulk, in the first "Avengers" film in 2012. Ruffalo's part proved to be a pivotal one, too, as the Incredible Hulk had the honor of facing off mano a mano with the film's antagonist Loki (Tom Hiddleston) during the infamous battle in New York. Hulk easily swatted the God of Mischief around like a ragdoll, smashing his body into the cold concrete of Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) newly-minted Avengers Tower. 

And in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Hulk easily dispatched the sequel's mechanized maniac (James Spader) once they went toe-to-toe during the Sokovia sequence. Yes, the Incredible Hulk had a propensity for roaring in at the end of "The Avengers" movies and saving the day. But that all ended when Thanos (Josh Brolin) showed up with the Power Stone and faced off against Hulk in the opening sequence of "Avengers: Infinity War." 

Despite the presence of a deleted scene featuring Banner's angry alter ego running alongside the darkly clad Dark Avengers team members — Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) — in the first trailer for "Infinity War," the Hulk does not show up again in the film. Once beaten by Thanos, Banner is reduced to wearing the Hulkbuster armor in the invasion of Wakanda. But believe it or not, Ruffalo's Hulk was originally supposed to save the day in "Infinity War."

Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) found himself on his own and unable to transform into the Hulk after the green goliath was easily defeated and embarrassed by the Power Stone-wielding Thanos (Josh Brolin) in the very first sequence of "Avengers: Infinity War." But the actor who portrays one of the most powerful Marvel superheroes claims that the Incredible Hulk was supposed to have a much bigger role in the third "Avengers" film.

"Hulk was supposed to come busting out of the Hulkbuster at the end," Ruffalo said of the "Infinity War" alternate ending during an interview at Emerald City Comic-Con (via The Direct). "I don't know if you know that. And we shot that. We shot it four times, and it wasn't working. And then, we realized that — well, the [Russo] brothers realized — that we couldn't have Hulk, again, save the day. That we had to have Banner lose without Hulk."

"We decided it would be better for the story if Hulk doesn't show up," Ruffalo continued. In the end, "Infinity War" directors, the Russo brothers, had no choice but to sideline Banner's alter ego in "Infinity War," or there may never have been an "Avengers: Endgame." Still, it can be argued that Hulk couldn't have stopped Thanos by himself since the Titan had collected all but one of the Infinity Stones when he teleported to Wakanda.