“Spider-Man: No Way Home” ended on a depressing note, where Peter had Dr. Strange make the entire world forget that he ever existed. With “Brand New Day” set to release a little less than a year from now, fans are eagerly waiting to see how Peter will cope with this new reality. However, while everyone in Peter’s personal life don’t remember him anymore, there’s an associate who just might: The Incredible Hulk.

Now, this might seem impossible at first glance. After all, the two never officially met on screen. Even if they interacted off screen, neither of them played a significant enough role in the other’s life to be memorable. In spite of that, there’s a very high chance that Hulk could’ve been immune to Strange’s spell, because the (almost) exact same thing happened before in the comics.

Context: The Aftermath of the Superhero Civil War

Let’s wind the clock back to about 20 years ago, where all the superheroes had a massive conflict over their views on the Superhuman Registration Act. Wanting to show loyalty to Iron Man and to the Superhuman Registration Act, Spider-Man revealed his identity to the world. However, as expected, this would be anything but a smooth ride. 

Later down the line, Spidey would switch to Captain America’s side, most likely forfeiting any protections that Iron Man would’ve given. Further, in spite of Peter’s own precautions in getting his family out of New York City, Kingpin’s quest for revenge leads to Aunt May getting shot. With May barely hanging on, Peter tries everything he can think of (and I mean everything) to save her life but nothing works. Finally, with no other option left, Mary Jane makes Peter accept a deal from Mephisto: sacrifice their marriage in exchange for May’s life. 

In spite of saving May, this would further add onto Peter’s fears regarding his loved ones’ safety. Therefore, much like “No Way Home,” Peter would go to Dr. Strange for help. But unlike his cinematic counterpart, Strange’s spell would work with no multiversal consequences, and everyone would forget that Peter Parker was ever Spider-Man. 

The Hulk Remembers

However, as mentioned previously, this would prove to not be the case. In the 2018-2021 line of comics known as “Immortal Hulk,” we would see an iconic moment in the 2020 issue that fans still passionately talk about to this day. In this story, an encounter with Loki resulted in the Hulk being transferred from Bruce Banner to Spider-Man. From there, Banner would spend the issue helping Spider-Man control his new powers, at least until they can find a way to undo the process. Eventually, this would indeed happen and Banner would reabsorb the Hulk back into himself. 

Now, this is where we get one of the most interesting and heartwarming moments in Marvel comics. As Peter places a hand on Banner as he reabsorbs the Hulk, Banner transforms and we get the following exchange (sourced from https://www.cbr.com/immortal-hulk-spider-man-secret-identity/): 

“What are you doing, Peter?”

“Just, ah, giving you a hug, big man. Wait…did you just call me Peter?!”

“You made everyone forget who you are. Banner forgot. But I don’t forget.”

“Great. Glad a rampaging monster knows my identity. No offense.”

“None taken.”

Now, think about this for a second. Everyone doesn’t remember who Spidey is. It may not be the same as everyone forgetting Peter as a whole, but in the superhero life that he leads, he must’ve felt so alone. He can’t ever reveal his identity to anyone, even fellow heroes, if he wanted to prevent another “One More Day” from happening. Therefore, even though Peter seemingly brushed it off with sarcasm, it’s gotta fill him with a mix of emotions and thoughts. Someone remembers. Someone can relate to him. Someone can be that friend he needs in the dark time he’s facing. 

Why Does the Hulk Remember? And Why Does This Matter?

While it isn’t fully explained why the Hulk remembers Peter Parker under the mask, there are a few theories that could satisfyingly answer this question. First of all, one fact that most people (including myself) seem to forget is that Banner has many more Hulk personalities than just the green rage monster. I mean, we’ve got Savage Hulk, Immortal Hulk, World Breaker Hulk, Joe Fixit, and Professor Hulk! Banner could change into any of those Hulks at any moment, and it’s not always clear which one we’ll get until it’s either explained or shown in the panel. Anyway, with so many personalities in one body, it’s almost like having many individual people combined into one person. Therefore, with the Hulk being an entirely separate identity, it’s possible that the Hulk was overall immune to Dr. Strange’s spell. Plus, since the Hulk is only in the physical world when he transforms, he could’ve been out of range because he’d be stuffed way down underneath Banner’s human form. Another theory, and this is a wild one, but maybe it could be the Hulk’s connections to The One Below All. After all, we’re just finding out about the Hulk being TOBA’s avatar and also his resurrections through the Green Door, so who knows what other privileges or side effects come with it. It could’ve made him to Strange’s spell for all we know. Personally though, I say it’s thanks to Banner’s many different personalities that allowed him to remember Peter as Spider-Man. 

But the question remains: why does any of this matter in the grand scheme of things in the MCU? Especially when the movies don’t 100% follow the stories and lore of comic books half of the time? Well, I believe that’s because the principle is still the same. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is still a completely separate identity from Banner. Plus, with rumors that Savage Hulk will be returning for “Brand New Day,” this further adds onto the previously established theory on Banner’s multiple personalities giving immunity to the spell. Having said that, there’s still the issue that Banner and Parker never officially met in the movies, so they might not even remember each other. However, it’s likely that, during the five years since Thanos snapped his fingers, Tony might’ve kept in touch with Banner and talked highly of Peter. What’s even more likely is that Peter and Bruce, being scientists and friends of Tony, might have met during his funeral and interacted for a while. It may not be enough to establish a deep connection, Bruce’s compassion for others might’ve driven him to keep Peter in his memories, thus keeping Peter in Professor Hulk’s memories. While it’s unknown whether or not Banner was transformed during Strange’s spell, or even which form the spell effected, the comics offer a glimpse of hope that Tom Holland’s Spidey won’t be alone in this film.

I really hope to see this happen in “Brand New Day,” because after all the horrible crap Peter’s been through lately, he could definitely use a friend. At least some kind of connection to the old life he had, where someone actually remembers him.