SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY Fans Debate Whether Hulk Remembered Peter Parker Even If Bruce Banner Forgot Him
Spider-Man: No Way Home left Marvel fans with one of the MCU's biggest unanswered questions. After Doctor Strange cast the spell that erased Peter Parker from everyone's memory, fans started wondering about the loopholes. Could anyone have been immune? Were there exceptions?
Now, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day fueling fresh conversations about Peter's future, fans have turned their attention to an unexpected character. The latest theory making the rounds asks a fun question: What if Hulk remembered Peter... even though Bruce Banner didn't?
The conversation took off after a Reddit thread asked whether Hulk might have slipped through the cracks of Strange's spell.
The idea centers on the fact that Bruce Banner was in his human form when the spell was cast. Since Bruce and Hulk have shared memories throughout the MCU, the original poster questioned whether both personalities would automatically lose those memories, or if Hulk could somehow hold onto them.
From there, the debate split into a couple of different camps.
One of the more popular theories argues that it all comes down to which version of Hulk you're talking about. Since Professor Hulk, or Smart Hulk, is essentially Bruce Banner and Hulk merged into a single consciousness, many fans think it makes perfect sense that the spell would erase Peter Parker from both of their memories at the same time.
Things get more interesting when fans bring the classic Savage Hulk into the conversation.
Some believe that because Savage Hulk operates more like a separate identity than Professor Hulk, there's a chance he could've been affected differently.
That doesn't necessarily mean he'd clearly remember Peter, though. One fan summed it up by saying, "Memory magic’s tricky business," suggesting Savage Hulk might only retain an emotional connection or vague instinct instead of actual memories.
Comic book readers were also quick to point out that Marvel has explored a similar idea before. In the comics, Hulk once claimed he still remembered Peter Parker after Bruce Banner had forgotten him.
Of course, plenty of fans were just as quick to pump the brakes on that comparison, noting that the MCU has taken Hulk's story in a completely different direction, especially after introducing Professor Hulk in Avengers: Endgame.
Others feel the answer is actually much simpler.
Because Bruce and Hulk are now effectively the same person in the MCU, many fans believe there's no reason the spell would affect one personality differently than the other. Professor Hulk isn't portrayed as two competing minds anymore, making the memory wipe seem like a clean sweep across both identities.
There's also another practical reason this theory may not hold up. Hulk barely knew Peter Parker in the MCU to begin with.
During Thor: Ragnarok, Hulk was stranded on Sakaar while Peter was beginning his superhero career alongside Tony Stark. By the time Bruce and Hulk became Professor Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, Peter had never really built a relationship with Hulk as a separate personality.
Most of Peter's interactions were with Bruce Banner after the merge, making it difficult to imagine Savage Hulk having much to remember in the first place.
Even so, it's exactly the kind of Marvel rabbit hole fans love exploring. Doctor Strange's spell intentionally left plenty of room for speculation, and questions like this keep the conversation alive years after No Way Home hit theaters.
Whether Hulk somehow held onto a lingering emotional memory of Peter or forgot him along with everyone else, it's one of those MCU mysteries that's fun to pick apart.
Unless Marvel Studios eventually decides to address it, fans will probably keep debating whether the strongest Avenger was also the one who almost remembered the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.