She-Hulk reminds us that Bruce Banner and Tony Stark were friends, actually
Among the many big revelations in the first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law comes the reveal that while Bruce Banner was chilling in Mexico post-Blip in order to find himself and unite his two warring halves, he and Tony Stark built an outdoor bar together. To commemorate that time together, their initials are carved into the wood. It’s a small detail in a larger conversation, but it’s a little nod to a friendship that was once a huge part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom — and got a bit lost along the way.
Once upon a time, MCU fans dreamed of a world where the Avengers hung out and liked each other. Novel, right? But back in 2012, right on the heels of the first Avengers movie, the idea of all of Earth’s mightiest heroes coming together and living in a tower like chill roommates was incredibly popular. The gang played video games together. Clint lived in the vents, for some reason. Thor was obsessed with Pop-Tarts. It was a simpler time.
One of the big hallmarks of this era was “Science Bros” — what fans called the relationship between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Sometimes this was romantic (though that would usually be dubbed “Science Boyfriends” or “Science Husbands”). But sometimes, it was just the platonic relationship between the two smartest Avengers as they geeked out over tech or bantered over science experiments. The friendship kicked off in the first Avengers movie, when the two bonded over the more technical aspects of foiling Loki’s villainous plan — and solidified when Tony didn’t tiptoe around Bruce, who still couldn’t control his Hulk side at that point. It was one of the clearest friendships in this early Avengers era (besides Clint and Natasha, my beloveds <3), and the entire framing of
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