11 Avengers: Endgame Moments That Will Mean Something In MCU Phase 4

6. Professor Hulk As The Avengers' Mentor

Endgame largely serves as a fond farewell for the original six Avengers while ushering in a new era of heroes to take up the mantle - Iron Man and Black Widow are dead, Cap (Chris Evans) retired to another timeline, Thor took off to space and Hawkeye seemed primed to focus on his resurrected family.

But the status of The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is a little more ambiguous, as he doesn't have any family to speak of, nor does it feel as though he's passed his peak or quite earned the retirement that other Avengers have.

Rather, Endgame elevates the character to his highest level yet, by reconciling the Banner and Hulk personas into the perfect collision of brains and brawn that is Professor Hulk.

As such, it'd certainly make sense for Banner to become a mentor to the newer Avengers, as it's especially easy to imagine the fun dynamic he'd have with Spider-Man.

With Endgame making it clear that the smashing doesn't come quite so naturally to the Hulk anymore, he can transition into an armourer/gadget-smith role for the new mainline Avengers, but still get occasionally involved in the action when the time calls for it.

This isn't to ignore Nick Fury's de facto status as the Godfather of The Avengers, but between Jackson's age and the character's rather limited role in more recent MCU shenanigans, it feels like the right time for Professor Hulk to preside over the group.

Above all else, the character's just too damn awesome to use in only a single movie.