There is little doubt that the Hulk is one of the most well-known comic book characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, Bruce Banner has been a huge part of pop culture since he was first introduced in the legendary TV show in the 1980s. In addition to that, the Hulk has appeared in two major Marvel films before joining the Avengers in the MCU. But has Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson just confirmed that Banner is actually a mutant?
In the comic books as well as the films and TV shows, Bruce Banner is a scientist who is accidentally exposed to gamma rays. The accident leads to him being transformed into the Hulk whenever he is stressed or angry. But is it possible that the MCU version of Banner is actually a mutant like the X-Men? That's what Scarlett Johansson has somehow revealed in a new interview.
Scarlett Johansson recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about the evolution of Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the past 10 years. Not surprisingly, the Avengers: Endgame star pointed out that one of the defining moments of the MCU happened in the first Avengers film where Natasha Romanoff joined the rest of the heroes in the middle of the Battle of New York. In this particular sequence, Black Widow, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and the Hulk gathered into a circle in the middle of the city in preparation of more fights against the Chitauri. It's an iconic scene that confirmed that the MCU is here to change cinematic history.
But what did Scarlett Johansson truly think of the scene? Interestingly, she admitted that "none of us knew if this movie was going to work" because "it seemed crazy" at the time. The Black Widow star then continued by counting off the main players in the film and gave them some surprising descriptions.
"There's a Nordic God, there's the Tony Stark character, the billionaire playboy, and then there's a mutant scientist who's got an anger management problem," Johansson said. Not surprisingly, people honed in on how she described Bruce Banner as a mutant instead of just a regular guy who was exposed to gamma rays by accident.
It's unclear why Scarlett Johansson referred to Bruce Banner as a mutant but it may have a lot to do with the actress being confused with how he actually got his powers. For now, fans can rest assured that the Hulk is not actually a mutant but a result of Banner's exposure to gamma rays.
Black Widow was initially set to premiere on May 1. However, Disney and Marvel Studios have decided to postpone the release due to the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).
This article is republished from Business Times.