The Hulk is a nearly unstoppable rage machine with almost limitless strength, as well as superhuman stamina and durability. So it's really kind of overkill to give him a weapon and armor, but it nevertheless makes him look extremely cool. That's why fans of the Incredible Hulk were excited to see the character taking a page out of the Planet Hulk storyline for Thor: Ragnarok. As a gladiator on the planet Sakaar in the film, Hulk donned some cool-looking armor that made the character look even more imposing than usual. But as always, there was plenty of concept art before they came up with the final look for Hulk's armor. Take a look below to see how Hulk's armor could have looked in Thor: Ragnarok:
The most obvious difference here is that the Hulk is missing the Spartan-esque helmet that he dons in the film. He also has a darker, brownish warpaint instead of the white, and he has just an axe instead of an axe and a hammer. This armor also seems to have more color to it with a reddish cloth or leather (where does space leather come from?) seen throughout the design. Hulk is also wearing shorts here rather than the gladiatorial skirt he has in the film. I guess he found the freedom of movement provided by the skirt much more conducive to successful and exciting combat. As Marvel Studios concept artist Anthony Francisco notes in his Instagram post, the blue steel shoulder armor that he designed did end up in the final design for the character in the film. That's the most visually striking part of the ensemble, so it's cool that element was retained.
Overall, while this design is still awesome, it doesn't look quite as heavy duty as the one that made it into Ragnarok. Here Hulk looks more like a normal gladiator on Sakaar, while the armor he wears in the film looks a bit more showy as befitting a beloved and undefeated champion of the arena. Had we gotten a full Planet Hulk movie, I could have seen the character going through multiple iterations of armor as he climbed the ranks on his way to becoming a combatant worthy of a place among the Grand Champions on the Grandmaster's tower palace.
As to whether or not we'll get to see the Hulk rocking armor again, who knows. The big green guy and his alter ego Bruce Banner are going through some stuff as we saw in Avengers: Infinity War, so they're going to need to work out. Given the way his last fight with Thanos went, Hulk could probably use some armor this time around. Also, some sort of stretchy pants might not hurt either, Bruce Banner must spend an absurd amount on clothes, and money issues are a strain on any relationship.
We'll next see Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Bruce Banner when Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3, 2019. Keep an eye on our guide for all the latest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
