Avengers Endgame: Encore has finally begun its global rollout with a new mid-credits scene that sees Hulk recruited by Doctor Doom. Audiences were just reunited with Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner after four years in Spider-Man: Brand New Day ahead of his expected absence from Avengers: Doomsday. It's safe to say that nobody anticipated seeing the gamma genius again until next year's Secret Wars, making his return in the Endgame re-release all the more surprising.
Avengers Endgame: Encore added several new scenes to set up Doomsday, arguably the most important of which brought back Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. The Jade Giant returns to the MCU for an unexpectedly early follow-up to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, confirming that he responded to his Jean Grey-induced outburst by locking himself two miles underground to isolate the Hulk.
Banner explains that he has been in "self-containment in a joint base military complex two miles under the surface of the Earth" in response to his Hulk-out incident from Brand New Day, which marked his first in over a decade.
The re-release teaser takes a horror-esque turn when Banner's ramblings about a "gamma suppression serum" are interrupted by Victor von Doom. The OG Avenger seemingly transforms into the Hulk as Doctor Doom magically enters the bunker to take him away, saying, "Mr. Banner, I'm here to collect you."
Fans have taken the mid-credits scene as confirmation that Banner will return in the next Avengers movies as an ally to Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, either as a willing participant in his cause or a mind-controlled monster. However, Doom might have a higher purpose for the Hulk as he executes his "heroic" agenda.
Doom is already rumored to have recruited Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange in time for Doomsday, as he did before in 2015's Secret Wars comics when the Avenging sorcerer viewed Doom as the only way to save the Multiverse.
Outside the Doctor Strange rumors, the only help that Doctor Doom seems to have is from his Latverian Witches, who could be other MCU magical users in disguise. While Doctor Doom may have also taken the Hulk to mind-control against Earth's Mightiest Heroes, that very same storyline was just done in Brand New Day, suggesting that the supervillain may have other plans for Banner.
There was a certain horror vibe to Endgame: Encore's mid-credits scene, with Doom's arrival coming across as more of an abduction than a recruitment, especially as he told Banner that he was there to "collect" him. One theory speculates that the Hulk could replace Molecule Man from the Secret Wars storyline as an important part of his plot to create Battleworld...
Why Mark Ruffalo's Hulk Might Be Crucial to Avengers: Secret Wars, Not Doomsday
Those familiar with Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars will be well aware that Doctor Doom's masterplan to overcome the Incursions that are destroying the Multiverse to create Battleworld. The genius sorcerer spent the lead-up to the event gathering the power he needed to create a patchwork reality from the Multiverse's surviving remnants, where he would ultimately rule as God Emperor Doom.
Doom achieved that goal by harnessing the power of the nigh-omnipotent Beyonders who exist outside the Multiverse, although Tom Hiddleston's Loki may be taking over that part for the MCU. In order to maintain that power, Doom required a living conduit to hold onto it and channel it into himself.
Endgame already confirmed that the Hulk's gamma-infused nature allowed him to handle the energy of the Infinity Stones, which is effectively the energy of the universe, since the six stones date back to the Big Bang. That talent may have attracted the attention of Victor von Doom, who may be hoping to use Hulk as a vessel for Loki's newfound Multiversal power once he seizes it.
Funnily enough, Hulk just recently unlocked new cosmic powers in the comics that would undeniably make him Phase 6's most powerful character. The MCU likely won't take the Hulk to those heights, but that's not to say that Doom won't inadvertently create the most powerful on-screen version of the Jade Giant yet.
Up until now, there haven't been any major signs that Mark Ruffalo will reprise his MCU role in Doomsday, let alone join up with Doctor Doom. Unless Marvel Studios has been keeping Banner's part in the madness especially top secret, there is a high chance that Hulk's return will be saved until Secret Wars next year.
