Avengers: Endgame Theory Explains How Bruce Banner Becomes Professor Hulk

Avengers: Infinity War left Bruce Banner and his big green alter ego with some major issues to work through, and in the wake of a promotional image released earlier this month, a lot of fans are currently predicting that Avengers: Endgame will see the character’s two sides merge to form the Professor Hulk persona from the comics.

But even if we assume that the speculation has it right, the question still remains of just how Bruce and Hulk could end up combining like this. Enter a new theory from Reddit user StripplefitzParty, who suggests that Banner could resolve his internal conflict with the help of the Ancient One.

Though Tilda Swinton’s character passed away in 2016’s Doctor Strange, the evidence has certainly been mounting that Stephen Strange’s mentor will make an appearance in the Infinity War sequel. In fact, one of the earliest indications we got that this might be the case was back in 2017, when Mark Ruffalo said that he’d just recently worked with Swinton, suggesting that the pair could end up sharing the screen.

Another popular prediction that seems more plausible each passing week is that Endgame will see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes travel back in time to the Battle of New York from 2012’s The Avengers. With that in mind, the new theory suggests that Bruce may end up visiting the Sanctum Santorum in 2012 New York, having learned of its location in Infinity War, where he’s eventually put in touch with the Ancient One. From here, the speculation goes that the Ancient One may help Hulk and Bruce to bind their two spiritual forms together and function as one.

Granted, it’s still just a theory for the time being, but it’s an intriguing idea nonetheless, and we’ll find out if there’s any truth to it when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.