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At the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War we see a lot of people lying dead or injured after

the battle with Thanos.

Followed shortly by the appearance of

Hulk who fights Thanos.

What was

Hulk

doing while all those people were fighting and dying?

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  • 3
    Pure guesswork, but he's probably making his way back from having been blown into space or ending up on one of the bits of the ship that got separated from the main body.
    – Valorum
    Aug 15, 2018 at 18:36
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    Just a speculation based on the events: Infinity War and Ragnarok have a time gap. I suppose that Hulk turned back to Banner (because, frankly, you can't have a beast walk around inside a space-ship). And as wee see in Ragnarok, he did have problems turning back into the Hulk (before he attacked Fenris). So, Hulk wasn't involved in the beginning because (maybe) Banner had problems "hulking" out; and once he did, Loki surprises with his words "We have a Hulk" and we see him fight Thanos.
    – Shreedhar
    Aug 15, 2018 at 18:40
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    It seemed to me that previously most of the fighting was being done between the two SHIPS as in thanos firing at the asgardians which obviously hulk would've struggled to help with
    – Ummdustry
    Aug 15, 2018 at 21:38
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    @Shreedhar Banner's hulking out issues in the big fight were probably caused by the Hulk having his own ass handed to him at the start of the movie...
    – HorusKol
    Aug 15, 2018 at 22:44
  • @HorusKol yeah that’s there. But he had some issues earlier too. Remember when he jumps of the ship to fight fenris? He doesn’t transform like he used to. He almost broke every bone in his body when he fell on the bifrost bridge.
    – Shreedhar
    Aug 16, 2018 at 11:07

1 Answer 1

3

Hulk has his own issues to deal with, namely fighting for people who don't appreciate him

Throughout the movie, Banner tries desperately to bring Hulk out, but the green guy refuses. But it’s not because the transformation mechanism isn’t working. “If the Hulk were to say why,” Joe Russo explained, “it’s that Banner only wants Hulk for fighting. He’s had enough of saving Banner’s ass.”

“People have interpreted as the Hulk’s scared,” Joe Russo mused, referring to how Thanos soundly defeated him in one-on-one combat in the film’s opening. “But it’s really reflective of his journey from Ragnarok, that these two characters are constantly in conflict with each other over control.” It has more to do with the internal conflict between Banner and Hulk than any bruised egos.

This started out in Thor: Ragnarok when Bruce jumped out of the ship, expecting Hulk to appear by the time he landed on the Bifrost Bridge. And he didn't - Bruce just fell flat on his face, and it took effort for Hulk to appear. He probably appeared at the start of Inifinty war because he had no other choice about it, especially after Heimdall was killed and Thor placed into mortal danger. And, as stated in comments, Hulk can't do much about ship-to-ship fighting.

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    The question appears to be asking about the events prior to the opening scene not during the whole movie.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Aug 16, 2018 at 9:19
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    “he had no other choice about it, especially after Heimdall was killed” — I believe Heimdall was killed after the Hulk appeared, given that it was Heimdall who sent Hulk to earth. Aug 16, 2018 at 10:24
  • Well ok. Heimdall was mortally wounded at the time... Sending Hulk away was his last act.
    – user71418
    Aug 16, 2018 at 10:28
  • Thanks - this makes the most sense in the context of the movies. I could see how Hulk would be evolving as a child does, becoming more aware of context.
    – ChrisH
    Aug 16, 2018 at 17:11
  • And FWIW, just like a child who has had their first experience of pain, Hulk's reluctance to 'come out' later in Infinity War could be related to his first-time experience of getting beaten up.
    – ChrisH
    Aug 16, 2018 at 17:13

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