How We Could Get Totally Awesome Hulk In The MCU

Following the end of the decade-long Infinity Saga, the Marvel Cinematic Universe finds itself in a state of transition with some of its landmark heroes. Avengers: Endgame capped off the personal arcs of the bulk of the original Avengers lineup, killing off Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in self-sacrificial fashion, giving Captain America (Chris Evans) his proper finale with his love, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), and steering Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) toward their impending replacement by their successors.

The last name on that list, however, is in a particularly strange place compared to the rest of his teammates. Hulk arrived in the MCU way back in 2008 in his lone solo film, The Incredible Hulk — branding him the only Avenger to not receive a trilogy of their own. Since then, he's appeared in a supporting role in various Avengers adventures as well as in his colleagues' movies, like Thor: Ragnarok and the post-credits scene of Iron Man 3, for example. All things considered, he never quite got a fair shake, and his run is just about over as a main character. 

Thankfully for fans of the Jade Giant, Bruce Banner wasn't the sole owner of the Hulk moniker in the comics, and won't be in the movies either. With Marvel Studios currently working on a She-Hulk series for the Disney+ streaming service, they're clearly looking towards a future dominated by new, fresh takes on the Hulk in the MCU away from Dr. Banner. As a result, it's likely only a matter of time before Amadeus Cho — The Totally Awesome Hulk — makes his presence felt, especially since the franchise already planted a seed for his arrival.

One of the main plot points of 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron was that the titular evil robot (voiced by James Spader) wanted an Infinity Stone-powered organic body to wreak havoc in, later known as the android Vision (Paul Bettany). Lacking the skills necessary to make one himself, he conscripts the aid of Doctor Helen Cho (Claudia Kim), a renowned geneticist and head of the U-GIN research group. Her background in regenerative tissue research coupled with her understanding of HYDRA technology (infused with the power of the Infinity Stones) made her the perfect candidate to enact his vision (pun intended). 

Comic readers likely recognized her name immediately, as, on the page, she's the mother of future Hulk, Amadeus Cho. The obvious implication here is that he already exists in the MCU but just hasn't appeared on-screen yet, in his kid form or otherwise. Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige and his creative team likely wanted to keep their options open by hinting that he could show up somewhere down the line, and, instead of casting someone to play him and actually introduce Amadeus on the spot, they chose instead to start a breadcrumb trail for fans to follow.

Introduced in January 2005's Amazing Fantasy vol. 2 #15, Cho started as a teenage Korean-American with a genius-level intellect. He didn't actually become The Totally Awesome Hulk until ten years later during the All-New, All-Different Marvel comic event. In the story, he removes Bruce Banner's gamma radiation from his cells and places them in his own body, thus taking on all of the powers of the Hulk. He then begins his tenure as the monstrous defender, keeping Earth safe from threats big and small while learning what being a hero truly means.

Cho's rendition of Hulk is, at his core, still very much a kid just having fun with his newly acquired abilities. He's confident and eager to help out, even if his methods require a bit of refinement. This is a nice change of pace from Banner's sullen, introverted personality, meaning Amadeus has the potential to give the Hulk IP a long-overdue shot in the arm in the coming years. Not to mention, a team-up between She-Hulk and The Totally Awesome Hulk would be a sight to see, and — fingers crossed — such a moment could be right around the corner.