In the first episode of the already aired “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” we witness the origin of Jennifer Walters as She-Hulk. However, the most surprising aspect is the return of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk.
As one of the few original Avengers still active, The Hulk has accompanied us for over a decade. However, many fans may not know that until last month, The Hulk was merely a peripheral character in the MCU.
The original Hulk movie was directed by Ang Lee and produced by Universal Pictures, while the well-known “The Incredible Hulk” was a co-production between Marvel and Universal, with Universal still handling distribution. Even when The Hulk appeared in “The Avengers” in 2012, the copyright remained with Universal.
This is why, despite The Hulk’s active presence in the MCU over the years, he has only made cameo appearances in various films, as Marvel did not have the distribution rights for a solo Hulk movie; they only had the rights to use the character.
A similar situation exists with Sony’s Spider-Man, but the difference is that just last month, Universal’s rights to The Hulk finally expired, marking his complete return to the MCU family and also meaning that Marvel can finally produce a solo movie or series for The Hulk.
According to multiple media reports, Marvel has long been planning a personal story for The Hulk, which will unfold in two parts, telling the stories of “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk.”
Hints of this were already seen in the first episode of “She-Hulk,” where the Sakaar spaceship appearing at the beginning serves as a signal. Banner has explained in the series that this spaceship is a communication vessel from Sakaar, meant to send a message to someone on Earth. At that time, only Banner and Jennifer were on board, and combined with the plot of “Thor: Ragnarok,” it is clear that the person Sakaar is looking for is Banner.
In the comic storyline, during his time on Sakaar, The Hulk not only overthrew the native rulers but also married a local alien queen, resulting in the birth of a son—Skaar.
Skaar is The Hulk’s illegitimate son on Sakaar, who also possesses the ability to transform into The Hulk. Unlike The Hulk, Skaar’s Hulk form is his default state, while his human form appears only occasionally. He also inherits Banner’s personality split; in his human form, Skaar is an independent personality who despises his Hulk form and is kind and longs for peace.
Skaar inherits The Hulk’s strength and his mother’s superpowers. He can communicate with the forces of nature and use them to his advantage, as well as harness gamma rays mixed with magic as weapons in battle. Additionally, Skaar is a powerful warrior, wielding a massive longsword.
Although Skaar is Banner’s illegitimate son, he harbors a deep hatred for Banner because after Banner left Sakaar, the planet was soon visited by the Planet Devourer. Although they escaped disaster under the protection of the Sakaaran queen’s soul, her soul dissipated as a result.
Skaar blames Banner for his mother’s death, and thus, after arriving on Earth, he has longed to take revenge himself. However, when he discovers that multiple personalities exist within Banner, and that the one his mother loved was just one of them—the Green Scar personality—Skaar temporarily halts his revenge. He states that he will only consider his revenge complete once he kills the Green Scar, and until then, he will not act against Banner.
In “She-Hulk,” the search for Banner by Sakaar is likely related to his illegitimate son Skaar. Perhaps during Banner’s two years on Sakaar, The Hulk secretly left behind an heir, and after the overthrow of the Grandmaster, his offspring stirred up conflict on Sakaar, prompting the Sakaarans to send a message to Banner, hoping he would return to resolve the issue.
Currently, only one episode of “She-Hulk” has aired, and the mystery surrounding the Sakaar spaceship will gradually be revealed in future stories. Let’s look forward to the arrival of the second episode.