She-Hulk: Attorney at Law brought Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner back into action on Disney+ for the first time and established a rule that has now become the show's first big plot hole. The legal comedy series centers on Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters, who eventually becomes the hero known as She-Hulk. The fourth-wall-breaking, gamma-irradiated lawyer was portrayed by Tatiana Maslany in the series, which aired for only one season on Disney+.
The plot hole became apparent in Spider-Man: Brand New Day when Bruce Banner surprisingly returned in human form instead of as Smart Hulk, wearing an inhibitor wristband that kept him human as he took on the role of a professor at Empire State University. The issue with this is that She-Hulk established that Banner only needed the inhibitor to hold his human form long enough for his arm to heal, temporarily suppressing Smart Hulk for a specific goal.
In Episode 1, his arm is fully healed after a discovery he made concerning his cousin's blood, and he maintains his Smart Hulk form throughout the rest of the show. So why is he human again in Brand New Day? To fully grasp the gravity of this turnaround, let's rewind to how Bruce got here.
Since his MCU introduction in The Incredible Hulk, Bruce spent years trying to suppress the angry Jade Giant within him and finally reached a reconciliation in Avengers: Endgame. In that film, Bruce revealed that he spent 18 months in a lab finding a way to merge his mind with Hulk's body, resulting in the smiling, cardigan-wearing Smart Hulk.
During the Time Heist, when the heroes retrieved the six Infinity Stones and needed someone powerful enough to wield them, Bruce volunteered since he was perfectly suited for it. Smart Hulk had Bruce's smarts to know what to do and Hulk's gamma-powered body to withstand the force of the Stones. After pulling off the snap, though, Bruce's arm was wrecked.
He then returned in the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' post-credits scene in human form, his arm in a sling and a small device on his left wrist. Fans were left clueless about how he was human again until She-Hulk explained that the device was an inhibitor letting him return to his human self. During his road trip with Walters, Banner revealed that his arm couldn't heal in Smart Hulk form, since his human physiology handled the injury better, so he built the inhibitor to suppress the gamma transformation.
On that same trip, the pair get into an accident, and Banner's blood dripped into Jennifer's open wound, transforming her into She-Hulk. Banner later finds a way to heal his arm with Jennifer's blood, and voilà, he no longer needs the device.
She-Hulk's Plot Hole Surfaces in Brand New Day
These events make Bruce's human return in Brand New Day confusing, since he no longer needs the inhibitor and should have appeared as Smart Hulk, making the movie contradict the Disney+ series. While lecturing at Empire State, Bruce is approached by Peter, who has questions about mutating DNA as he goes through his own personal struggles.
While discussing the topic, Bruce tells Peter that if he ever sees him without the inhibitor, he needs to run. This was probably just Bruce cracking a joke, but removing the device brings out Smart Hulk, who isn't violent, so why would Peter need to run? The film also doesn't properly explain why Bruce is wearing the inhibitor to stay human, as if She-Hulk didn't already eliminate the need for it.
This gets even more confusing when Jean Grey takes over Banner's mind and removes the device. He immediately transforms into Smart Hulk, confirming that Smart Hulk is indeed still his base form. It is only after Jean breaks something in Banner's mind that the Savage Hulk gets unleashed. This begs the question of why the inhibitor is needed at all. Perhaps Bruce decided to stay human because of his teaching job at the university, feeling that appearing human would be more appropriate.
However, this isn't the strongest argument either, given that he's a known Avenger and the students are comfortable enough to ask him questions about his battles. Teaching as Smart Hulk wouldn't have bothered them. Since the movie never resolved this contradiction, it now counts as a plot hole. Perhaps this will be resolved in Bruce's next appearance.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
