Due to how the Infinity Stones work in the MCU, Smart Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) must have seen someone in the Soul World during Avengers: Endgame. What’s known about the MCU’s take on the concept is a sign that Hulk had a special, off-screen experience in the movie. However, the movie offered no clue about whether or not this actually happened or who he might have seen.
Introduced in Marvel Comics, Soul World was a beautiful, pocket dimension that existed within the Soul Stone. It originally served as a form of heaven for Adam Warlock and his friends when their souls were sucked into the Stones. His exploration of the Soul World revealed that the enemies he trapped in the Stone made new lives for themselves in this strange dimension. Occasionally, Marvel characters like Warlock have been forced to escape the Soul World. As many expected, the MCU introduction of the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War was accompanied by a big-screen interpretation of the Soul World. Interestingly, Marvel made big changes to what it actually is and how characters can access it.
Rather than serve as a mystical prison for trapped souls, the Soul World functions as a mysterious plane that people can enter by putting together the Infinity Gauntlet and accessing the full power of the six Infinity Stones. Based on what the MCU has revealed about the Soul World and what’s been said about the concept, it stands to reason that Smart Hulk paid a brief visit to the Soul World when he revived half of the universe in Avengers: Endgame. Here’s why he most likely had an experience there, who he would have encountered, and why.
Infinity War Established That Every Character Sees Someone In The Soul World
Avengers: Infinity War’s use of Soul World revealed that everyone who uses the Infinity Gauntlet gets to go there. When Thanos executed the infamous snap and erased half of everyone in the universe, his consciousness was sent to the Soul World, where he came face-to-face with Gamora, who appeared to him as a child. During their short exchange, Gamora asked Thanos about the cost of his mission, to which the Mad Titan itted to it costing him “everything”.
As for why Thanos saw Gamora, this has been attributed by some to the fact that her life was sacrificed to the Soul Stone on Vormir. In other words, it’s been presumed that the Soul World allows the wearer of the Infinity Gauntlet to meet the person who they sacrificed to the Soul Stone. However, deleted scene in Avengers: Endgame suggests that Marvel has a much different explanation for how it works. In the scene, Tony Stark had an emotional meeting with the grown-up version of his daughter, Morgan Stark. This implies that the Soul World show the people who had an impact of some kind on their personal journeys. This explanation fits with Thanos seeing Gamora in Infinity War and Iron Man seeing Morgan in Endgame’s deleted scene.
Hulk's MCU Backstory Ignores His Biggest Loss
Like the situations with Thanos and Iron Man, it makes sense that Bruce Banner’s Soul World experience would have intersected with his past, which has been largely overlooked by Marvel’s Avengers movies. Aside from General Ross, the movies haven’t touched on the people in Banner’s life in The Incredible Hulk and beforehand. In both the classic comics and the MCU, Banner had an ill-fated romance with General Ross’ daughter, Betty Ross. The Incredible Hulk established that though he truly loved Betty, he had to give up on having a relationship with her as a result of his transformations into the Hulk. Because he was forced to go on the run, Betty tried to move on and eventually became romantically involved with Dr. Leonard Samson. To this day, Betty remains Banner’s biggest loss in the MCU.
An Avengers Easter Egg Reveals Banner's Tragedy
While the movies don’t talk about Betty or her impact on Banner, an Easter egg in the first Avengers film acknowledged the tragic element of Banner’s backstory. When speaking to Natasha, Banner said he couldn’t have everything he wanted while rocking a baby crib. This was taken as a reference to a reveal from The Incredible Hulk, where it was explained that he couldn’t become intimate with Liv Tyler's Betty Ross without transforming into the Hulk. As a consequence of this, Banner is incapable of starting a family of his own with Betty. The moment with Natasha in The Avengers acts as a reminder of the emotional pain that Banner still endures and his lost life as a family man.
Hulk Should Have Seen Betty Ross In The Soulworld
According to Infinity War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, a scene where Banner spoke to the Hulk himself in Soul World was considered but ultimately scrapped and never shot. That’s for the best, considering that a Hulk-Banner meeting in Soul World wouldn’t have made much sense, nor would it have held much emotional significance for his character. Infinity War’s interpretation of the Soul World and Bruce Banner’s MCU backstory provides reasons for why Smart Hulk should have seen Betty Ross instead. An alternative would be Natasha, since she, like Gamora, had her life sacrificed to the Soul Stone. But as noted above, Marvel’s plans to have Tony meet Morgan hint that the person people see in the Soul World doesn’t necessarily have to be linked to those who died over the Soul Stone.
Since the MCU abandoned its Hulk-Black Widow romance after Avengers: Age of Ultron, Betty (with whom Banner shared a much deeper relationship) would make a lot more sense to be the person he saw in the Soul World. Plus, it would be consistent with how Soul World has already been used and how it incorporates the great, personal loss experienced by the Infinity Gauntlet wielder. Thanos saw Gamora, the person he killed to get what he wanted, and Tony saw his daughter, who’ll he never get to see grow up on of his sacrifice. Similarly, Banner should have seen Betty Ross, who is the perfect representation of the life he could have had.
What really happened in Hulk’s missing Soul World moment may never be revealed, but it’s interesting to note that even if Banner never can get back what he lost, the snap in Avengers: Endgame secretly revived the person he loved, since Betty is among the confirmed snap victims. An acknowledgment of this or a reflection of what really occurred in Soul World may never happen, but a scene of this nature would be on the table if She-Hulk brings back Betty and reunites her with Banner.
