WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 3, "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?," now streaming on Disney+.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a very controversial love triangle that never really got resolved. Bruce Banner -- once Mark Ruffalo came in for Edward Norton -- didn't really reconnect with Betty Ross, instead moving on and falling for Natasha (aka Black Widow). That romance also fizzled quickly after Hulk abandoned Earth at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, leaving fans wondering why there wasn't proper closure to Bruce's story with these women in an arc that had major potential.
He clearly still had some some affinity for both, but sadly, when he returned home for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, he rode it out solo. Well, What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes? takes a more direct approach by resolving things, but it does so via sheer horror.
In this universe, admittedly, things are vastly different as Nat hasn't gotten a chance to recruit Bruce. Instead, set in the Iron Man 2 and Thor timeline, Nat realizes someone's killing the names on Nick Fury's Avengers Initiative list. She even has to escape S.H.I.E.L.D.'s incarceration after being framed for killing Tony Stark, which leads to Widow ending up at Betty's Culver University, thus making Norton's movie canon. Betty reluctantly helps Nat dissect her injection device, figuring out it was sabotaged, ergo why Stark was killed and not sedated.
However, Nat notices Betty's in a hurry to get rid of her. She also spots a pizza hat and jacket on the table, which pays homage to The Incredible Hulk's scene when Bruce disguised himself on campus to see Betty. Nat calls him out as she can tell he's hiding in the closet. He emerges, awkwardly, with Nat briefing him on what's going on and that more importantly, he's a target. It's a totally different dynamic with Bruce still clearly in love with Betty and vice versa, while Nat plays babysitter to them both. She wants him to leave with her but Bruce just can't abandon Betty again.
Events go awry when General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross shows up and his squad starts firing on Bruce, turning him into the Hulk. The kicker is that some unseen force affects the Hulk, and the Green Goliath swells up like something out of a David Cronenberg horror. It's a ghastly sight with the Jade Giant helpless and petrified, which culminates with him blowing up in front everyone.
The death shifts the perspective from wondering who Bruce would have chosen if these three ever came together in the mainstream MCU to feeling horrified for them as they witness the gory, unforgettable sight. Even the general's sickened by this merciless act, stunning fans as all the other kills weren't as graphic as this. It'd later be revealed that Yellowjacket/Hank Pym, angered that his daughter Hope died working with S.H.I.E.L.D., is the one who spills Hulk's green blood and guts in front of the two women who were poised to change Bruce's life forever.
New episodes of What If...? stream Wednesdays on Disney+.
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