Is Hulk Truly Afraid Of Thanos? Avengers: Infinity War Directors Chime In

After conquering Sakaar and beating Loki (and Thor!) to a pulp, the Incredible Hulk has undoubtedly earned his title as the Strongest Avenger – much to the chagrin of Marvel’s God of Thunder.

However that may be, the arrival of Thanos was enough to leave Hulk cowering within Bruce Banner, as Josh Brolin’s Mad Titan was capable of taking down the ‘big guy’ within the opening minutes of Avengers: Infinity War. This, coupled with the fact that the Hulk remained hidden throughout the remainder of the movie, led many to conclude that, for the first time in his MCU life, everyone’s favorite Jade Giant was actually afraid of his opponent.

The Hulk was no longer able to rip and tear into any battlefield; instead, he refused to emerge, leaving Tony Stark a little embarrassed in front of Doctor Strange and Wong. But it seems there’s more to it than that, as Joe and Anthony Russo explain on the Infinity War director’s commentary (h/t Screen Rant).

This was an interesting journey we went on with Banner, trying to decide how we move him forward in the Marvel Universe. What makes him unique as a character is that there is a host body that is being fought over by two distinct personalities who hate each other. And both want control of the host body. So we thought an interesting direction to take him in is what if Banner, who typically uses the Hulk to solve crisis situations, what if the Hulk were no longer interested in solving those problems for Banner? So that the relationship is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. That’s what’s going on here.

Marvel’s super-sized blockbuster is now available to buy digitally, opening up a treasure trove of tidbits and other MCU-related content – the extended Avengers: Infinity War blooper reel is almost worth the price of admission alone.

And the Hulk? It seems the once-ironclad bond between Banner and Marvel’s Jade Giant has seen better days. Hey, all relationships experience their rough patches from time to time, as the Russo Brothers explained:

People have speculated whether there was some fear on the Hulk’s part about having to face Thanos again. But I think ultimately what it is, is that he’s tired of playing hero to Bruce Banner.

For those holding out for Avengers: Infinity War to hit Blu-ray and DVD, you’ll be pleased to hear that Marvel has scheduled the movie’s physical launch for August 14th – two weeks and counting!