A grey-bearded Bruce Banner shows up in a mid-credit tape confessing he's locked himself inside a military base, and the transformation that follows sounds nothing like the Hulk fans know.
Mark Ruffalo is missing from every cast photo and trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. Turns out he wasn't missing at all. He was hiding in plain sight in the re-release.
Avengers: Endgame Encore, the extended cut currently playing in theatres, carries a new mid-credit scene that Koimoi reported has quietly confirmed Ruffalo's return to the MCU's next big ensemble. In it, Bruce Banner records a video message. He says he's locked himself inside a military base, that the Hulk won't be getting out this time, and that nobody's getting in either.
Here's the detail everyone's chewing on. This Banner has a beard, and it's grey, not the black we're used to. It's the first time the character's been shown looking like this. Moments after the recording plays, the screen glitches, there's a blast, a green light fills the room, and the scene reveals Doctor Doom has taken Banner captive.
The fight itself isn't shown, only heard. And what's heard is Banner turning into something. Given the beard and the setup, Koimoi's read is that this isn't the Hulk we know transforming. It's Maestro.
For the uninitiated, Maestro is a future, thoroughly unpleasant version of the Hulk from an alternate Earth, one where Banner's human side keeps full control of the monster instead of the other way round. He's smart, he's ruthless, and in the comics he ends up ruling over a chunk of Battleworld during the Secret Wars storyline, complete with a trophy room stacked with the gear of every hero and villain who couldn't stop him.
None of this is confirmed by Marvel. It's speculation built off one scene, and it should be treated that way until Doomsday's marketing actually says the word Maestro out loud. But the pieces line up. Doom is already assembling allies for December's film, following the earlier reveals of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool joining the roster. Comic-Con footage from earlier this year also showed three masked witch figures on Doom's side, widely guessed to be some combination of Scarlet Witch, Sylvie and Clea.
A rage monster who answers to Doom instead of fighting him would fit that alliance neatly. It would also explain why Marvel kept Ruffalo out of every trailer and poster so far, saving the reveal for a bonus scene tucked into a re-release most casual fans wouldn't think to catch in theatres.
Avengers: Doomsday is still a few months out, and the studio hasn't said a word about Maestro, Banner's beard, or what exactly happens inside that military base. Whether Ruffalo shows up as a villain, a captive turned weapon, or something stranger, is the question the film now has to answer itself.
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