20 Biggest Wasted Opportunities In The MCU

4. The Hulk's Character Arc

The problem with Bruce Banner and the Hulk (initially played by Edward Norton before Mark Ruffalo took the reins) isn't where they ended up, but how they got there. 

Introduced in 2008's action-heavy dud The Incredible Hulk before being given a more prominent, compelling role in The Avengers, Banner has served throughout his MCU life as second fiddle to the bigger personalities around him - Stark, Thor, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) - leaving his own development sidelined and rushed.

Whenever Banner or Hulk turn up, the development has already happened. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, he's formed a bond with Natasha Romanov (off-screen); in Thor: Ragnarok, Banner and Hulk have become a famed gladiator on a distant planet (off-screen); between Infinity War and Endgame, Banner and Hulk have found harmony (off-screen); and in She-Hulk, he's had a child (off-screen).

Banner and Hulk's development is all frustratingly tell-don't-show, which, given the depth of their internal conflict and violently juxtaposed personalities, feels like a bit of a cop-out. Banner should be so much more well-developed; right now, he's basically an afterthought.