10 Most Overrated Performances In MCU History (So Far)

Hailed by many as an invaluable players in the Avengers saga, Bruce Banner/Hulk is one of the most recognisable Marvel heroes ever created.

The character was introduced in the second MCU film back in 2008, with Mark Ruffalo taking up the mantle for 2012's Avengers. Although he has now appeared in eight films, rarely have his performances been convincing or memorable.

To be clear: Mark Ruffalo can act; this just isn't it.

Ruffalo's Banner is a bland everyman, never quite fitting the timid boffin role, nor the monster with the aching heart. He is strongest in Thor: Ragnarok, where the big green guy's personality is brought to life for longer in mo-cap, and Chris Hemsworth's comedic lead gives Ruffalo's straight man some purpose. But, equally, he is weakest in its successor, Infinity War, when the Hulk crutch is gone and Ruffalo is reduced to a silly little head cheerleading the team from within a giant battle suit.

The fact that he hasn't had his own solo Hulk film is something of a double-edged sword, insomuch as it hasn't allowed Ruffalo to take centre stage, but also that it perhaps displays the studio's lack of confidence in his ability to do so.

The latest development is the most promising yet, however, as Endgame's Professor Hulk offered a new take on the character that managed to skirt the awkward, angsty part Ruffalo had been gently murdering throughout the preceding films. But it is surely a sad indictment that his performance is best when he's computer-generated.