I Still Can’t Get Over The MCU Adapting One Of The Best Hulk Comic Stories Of All Time Almost Entirely Off-Screen

I"ve said it before and I"ll say it again: the MCU has underserved Hulk for too long, and I"m still miffed by the fact that one of the character"s best comic book stories was mostly adapted off-screen. The Hulk is well accustomed to being a secondary character in the MCU, which I don"t think is a station befitting of such an icon from Marvel Comics. Even more frustrating than seeing Hulk play second fiddle to others is not seeing him at all in a movie filled with traditional Hulk villains. Namely, Captain America: Brave New World.
Bruce Banner"s baffling omission from a movie that debuted both Red Hulk and the Leader is difficult to stomach, as it all but confirms that Hulk will never receive another solo movie. While I still hold a glimmer of hope that a World War Hulk adaptation is still in the pipeline, it"s hard to see how this will slot into the MCU"s imminent release slate. Besides, Marvel already skipped out on properly adapting the traditional setup for World War Hulk, one of the best Hulk stories written.
Planet Hulk Is One Of The Marvel Hero's Very Best Comic Stories Hulk's Character Was Fleshed Out Significantly Close Marvel Comics" "Planet Hulk" run was first published in 2006 and was preceded by the one-shot, "New Avengers: Illuminati." The premise saw the members of Marvel"s newly-formed Illuminati, comprising Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Mister Fantastic, Namor, Black Bolt, and Professor X, bamboozling and banishing Hulk from Earth by trapping him in a space shuttle destined for a safe alternative planet due to the danger he posed to Earth. After inadvertently encountering a wormhole, Hulk is taken much further than intended to the planet Sakaar, ruled by the despotic Red King.
"Planet Hulk" was a sprawling tale that earned widespread acclaim from fans and comic book critics.
Through the use of debilitating "obedience disks," Hulk is forced into regular gladiatorial combat alongside a variety of extraterrestrials, including the Kronan, Korg, and insectoid Sakaaran native, Meik. The power of these disks is enough to subdue even the Silver Surfer, who ultimately helps Hulk and his cohorts to escape. Hulk then finds love in the form of Caiera, another Sakaaran native, and revolts alongside her and his fellow gladiators (the Warbound) against the Red King before being crowned the new king. While ruling Sakaar, Hulk and Caiera have a child, Skaar.

Related World War Hulk: Plot Details & Everything We Know Marvel Studios has been putting the chess pieces in place for a World War Hulk movie, which could be the biggest non-Avengers event movie in the MCU.
Posts 2 "Planet Hulk" was a sprawling tale that earned widespread acclaim from fans and comic book critics. This was especially true for fans of the Hulk, who saw "Planet Hulk" as a much-deserved exhaustive exploration of his character, pushing beyond the typical characterization of a witless rampaging rage-monster that was enhanced by the reasons for his exile. It was also filled with pathos as Hulk starts a family (that is ultimately taken from him) and becomes a liberator as well as a superhero.
We Only Get To See A Tiny Bit Of The MCU's Actual Planet Hulk Adaptation Before It Ends Thor: Ragnarok Was A Loose Planet Hulk Adaptation Close Many of the story beats in "Planet Hulk" should be familiar to MCU fans, though only fleetingly. Thor: Ragnarok was something of a patchwork movie, loosely adapting Planet Hulk firmly in the context of Thor"s continuing story. I still believe Thor: Ragnarok is one of the best MCU movies ever made, and I"m glad that Hulk was at least involved. Nevertheless, the focus was resolutely on Thor, with the titular hero being the one to meet and befriend the live-action adaptations of Korg and Miek, two important characters in Hulk"s Marvel Comics mythos.
Thor: Ragnarok also loosely adapts the limited series "Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions."
Larger beats like Hulk"s liberation of the planet from a despotic king and his pivotal romance with a Sakaaran were also glossed over entirely. Hulk is revered as the Grandmaster"s foremost champion, but his connection to Sakaar doesn"t run as deep as the comic book story. Instead of having the life he built torn asunder by an explosion that wipes out millions, including his wife, Hulk is convinced to hand control back to Bruce Banner by a recording of Black Widow, with Banner firmly resolving to leave Sakaar with Thor.
Skaar's Introduction Makes Us Not Seeing Most Of The Planet Hulk MCU Story Even Wilder Hulk Was Evidently Involved In More Than Just Fighting On Sakaar

What makes the absence of so many factors from the "Planet Hulk" run from Thor: Ragnarok more baffling is the fact that huge events are later revealed to have occurred. Hulk was on Sakaar for two of Earth"s years, though it is established that time works differently on Sakaar. This means Hulk might have been thriving on Sakaar for several, maybe even hundreds of, years.

Related Wait, Did Hulk Go Back To Sakaar Before She-Hulk? She-Hulk: Attorney at Law teases the possibility that the Hulk returned to Sakaar, maybe even multiple times, after the events of Thor: Ragnarok.
Posts She-Hulk: Attorney at Law certainly paints such a picture as it introduces Hulk"s secret son, Skaar. I"m glad that this means that the MCU is leaning into the "Planet Hulk" storyline, but it also suggests there is a sizeable chunk of Hulk"s Sakaar arc that has yet to be adapted. Furthermore, it isn"t as if fathering a son is a menial occurrence. It"s wild to think, in fact, that there was no allusion to a romance on Sakaar that would have led to this outcome in Thor: Ragnarok.
In Marvel Comics, Hulk also fathers another son, the villainous Hiro-Kala.
There are also wider implications that come with Skaar"s introduction. Hulk"s son plays a huge role in Marvel Comics, even boasting his own run in "Skaar: Son of Hulk," after debuting in "World War Hulk #5." This has led many to theorize that an MCU adaptation of World War Hulk is indeed on the cards, due to Skaar"s central importance to that series. Then again, Marvel may just be introducing Skaar to pad out its own version of the Young Avengers, which, in a stark departure from comic book precedent, is currently being assembled by Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel.
Why The MCU Didn't Adapt Its Planet Hulk Story On-Screen Marvel Studios Didn't Hold Distribution Rights For Hulk Close Hulk"s history with Marvel Studios isn"t exactly as clean-cut as most other MCU stalwarts. For most of Hulk"s MCU career, Universal had owned the distribution rights to the character and had first refusal on any sequels to The Incredible Hulk or any movie that stars Hulk as a main character. While these rights reportedly reverted to Marvel Studios in 2023, thus explaining The Incredible Hulk"s arrival on Disney+ around the same period, this has ostensibly dissuaded Marvel Studios from producing a Hulk-led film.
There is a good reason that some fans, myself included, are keeping their fingers crossed for a "World War Hulk" adaptation.
Unfortunately, this meant that Hulk could never have received a fully fledged Planet Hulk movie in the Infinity Saga. It wouldn"t have fit the MCU"s timeline for Marvel to have waited until 2023, with Hulk now taking a backseat in his Smart Hulk guise as fresher MCU faces step into the forefront of the franchise. With that in mind, Thor: Ragnarok was the best that Marvel Studios could deliver regarding a "Planet Hulk" adaptation, but it also meant that Thor had to take center stage ahead of his "friend from work."
Nevertheless, Skaar"s arrival is difficult to ignore. There is a good reason that some fans, myself included, are keeping their fingers crossed for a "World War Hulk" adaptation. This hope has been bolstered by the recent arrival of the Leader and Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World. The MCU"s world has never been so overrun by Hulks, after all.

Hulk
Created By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby First Appearance The Incredible Hulk (1962) Alias Robert Bruce Banner Alliance Avengers, Defenders, Horsemen of Apocalypse, Fantastic Four, Pantheon, Warbound, S.M.A.S.H., Secret Avengers Franchise Marvel Upcoming MCU Movies