Marvel Finally Unveils Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Long-Lost Hulk Post-Credits Scene in Endgame Encore

Marvel Studios has finally answered one of the most glaring loose ends left dangling at the tail end of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, doing so through a two-month-delayed theatrical re-release of Avengers: Endgame Encore. The extended cut, which mirrors its original release with the exception of four brand-new post-credits scenes, officially connects the events of the 2019 film to Marvel’s next ensemble blockbuster, Avengers: Doomsday. At the center of the newest stinger is Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo, whose mysterious disappearance after a Hulk rampage has now been given a startling new explanation.

When Brand New Day concluded, Banner was last seen being carted off on a stretcher after transforming into the Hulk and rampaging through the Department of Damage Control headquarters. His whereabouts and overall status were left entirely to the audience’s imagination, leading most viewers to assume he was locked away for causing widespread panic across New York City and potentially injuring several witnesses. Now, a freshly released scene suggests that Banner has not only survived but has engineered his own high-security prison — and may have been abducted moments later by an ominous figure.

A Prison of His Own Design

The new post-credits scene opens with Banner inside a secure facility that appears to be of his own construction. He pans the camera around a solid stone ceiling, emphasizing its structural integrity and subterranean nature, before declaring with positive zeal that “Hulk isn’t getting out of here, and no one else is getting in.” He adds that he has “been experimenting with a new gamma suppression serum,” a development that could carry meaningful weight in future Marvel films.

Before Banner can finish his thoughts or reveal his findings, he is suddenly confronted by an ominous green glow that gives way to a man offscreen. When Banner asks who the person is, he has little time to process the curt reply, “I’m here to collect you,” before he is whisked away, leaving behind nothing but a few glowing emerald runes in his wake. The scene strongly implies that Doctor Doom, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., has kidnapped the Hulk as part of his master plan, which is set to be revealed in Doomsday.

“Hulk isn’t getting out of here, and no one else is getting in.”

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner

The revelation has already made waves online, with several fans sarcastically comparing the scene to the type of teaser you’d see ahead of a theme park ride. Others are stating the obvious: this content should have been tacked onto the end of Brand New Day in the first place. It is odd that Marvel chose to pair a Hulk post-credit scene with a film released seven years ago. Structurally, the stinger makes little sense at the conclusion of Endgame, and it almost feels as though Disney executives strategically placed it there simply to get audiences back in theaters.

Laying the Groundwork for Doomsday

Despite the awkward placement, Endgame Encore is already packed with new connective tissue for the upcoming Doomsday. The extended ending brings Loki to the doorstep of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter mid-dance, while the other stingers include a TVA sequence dealing with the collapsing multiverse and a new version of Endgame‘s iconic hammering gag that reveals Doctor Doom’s mask instead of Iron Man’s.

The Banner scene is easily the oddest of the bunch because it is not really about Endgame at all. Even more puzzling, neither the Hulk nor Peter Parker are expected to appear in Doomsday, yet the new post-credits scene seems to suggest otherwise — unless it pertains to something happening in Avengers: Secret Wars, which equally makes little sense given that the film is still over a year away from release.

There is no public confirmation that Marvel simply moved the scene from one movie to another, but the placement certainly makes it seem possible, if not probable. Attaching the Banner and Doom scene to Brand New Day would have given that film a much cleaner resolution for one of its most important cameos, while naturally bridging Banner’s story into Doomsday. Instead, Marvel waited two months and attached it to a theatrical re-release of Endgame that exists primarily to get audiences thinking about the Avengers once again.

Looking Ahead

Endgame Encore was explicitly designed as a bridge to Avengers: Doomsday, with Marvel advertising its new footage — all but a mere five minutes’ worth — as a reason to return to theaters. It is easy to understand why a scene featuring Doctor Doom abducting the Hulk would be more valuable here than sitting quietly at the end of a movie audiences already saw months ago. Then again, perhaps the team behind Doomsday only thought of this Banner tag after seeing Brand New Day, and then raced to throw together a post-credits stinger that could help explain why the Hulk will be absent from the upcoming film.

Whatever the reason, the result is undeniably strange. Brand New Day left audiences wondering what happened to Banner in its closing moments, leaving open a rather interesting thread that could have been easily closed with a well-placed stinger. Marvel apparently decided it was better for audiences to buy another ticket to Avengers: Endgame to find out what happened to the Hulk, instead.