Why Mark Ruffalo's Hulk Is Human Again In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

If you watched today's newly-released trailer for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and came away with a few pressing questions, you're not alone. When did Tom Holland's Spidey and Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle/Punisher suddenly get so chummy with one another? Considering this film marks their first on-screen meeting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not sure! What exactly is going on with the mutating DNA inside Peter Parker's body? Your guess is as our good as ours. And why the heck is Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner looking so, uh, Bruce Banner-y instead of his usual Smart Hulk form? Now that we can explain.

While "Brand New Day" is sure to make good use of the character, Dr. Banner has gone through quite the trajectory since we last saw him on the big screen in "Avengers: Endgame." After helping Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark save the universe from the Mad Titan Thanos, Hulk has taken somewhat of a backseat in the years since. Banner next popped up in the post-credits scene of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" in 2021, though inexplicably in his human form once again and wearing an arm sling. Hulk also had a brief foray into seasons 2 and 3 of the animated "What If...?" Disney+ series, though that's not the main universe in the MCU.

In between those appearances, however, Banner played a significant supporting role in "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law" — and that's where we received our official answer regarding his ability to switch from Smart Hulk to "puny" Bruce once more. For those who skipped that series, well, you missed out on one of the funnier and more entertaining Disney+ shows (despite what a bunch of angry YouTubers may have told you). Either way, here's why Bruce is slightly less green.

While we would defend "She-Hulk" as one of the MCU streaming shows that's actually worth watching, this is a prime example of why turning this sprawling cinematic universe into several splintered homework assignments wasn't the best idea Disney ever had. Confusion surrounding the state of Bruce Banner and Hulk has lingered since he first showed up at the very end of "Shang-Chi" and, based on the continuing confusion after the debut of the "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer, well, Marvel has a bit of a communication problem on its hands. Fortunately, that's what we're here to clarify.

So what's the deal with our green-blooded big guy no longer appearing quite so big or green in "Brand New Day"? That has to do with the basic premise of "She-Hulk," which established that Bruce has developed a prototype inhibitor device to tamp down the gamma radiation in his body and allow him to revert back to his more familiar human form ... until a car crash occurs, with Bruce's cousin Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) at the wheel, and damages the device. This allows Hulk's blood to mix with an injured Jennifer's and turn her into She-Hulk.

While a somewhat convenient plot development (remember, Bruce and Hulk's integration into Smart Hulk was meant to be permanent), this handily explains why Ruffalo is able to appear as himself once again, why Marvel's able to save some money on expensive visual effects, and why we can look (hopefully) forward to seeing him Hulk out again. That doesn't explain whether we'll see Bruce's son Skaar (Wil Deusner) ever again, but let's focus on one mystery at a time, folks. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" hits theaters July 31, 2026.