In addition to blowing geek minds the world over, the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War has resulted in the arrival of a brand new slate of questions and fan theories surrounding Marvel's biggest film to date.

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Are those Peter Parker's Spider-Senses that we see tingling? What is that giant, circular device threatening doom in the sky? And who is it that Tony Stark seems to be mourning? One thing that we do know for certain about the upcoming fight against Thanos, however, is that it involves the triumphant return of the Hulkbuster Armor -- but that's probably not Iron Man at the controls.

The Hunted Becomes The Hunter

As seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, our favorite genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist first used the Mark XLIV Armor to (somewhat) stop a brainwashed Hulk from devastating all of Johannesburg. The battle ended with Bruce Banner being on the wrong end of a Hulkbuster haymaker, but fast forwarding to the current point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe sets forth a very different conflict for Banner and his angry alter ego. During the events of Thor: Ragnarok, audiences see a Banner who is freshly removed from being in full-blown rage mode for multiple years, causing the scientist to fear that another transformations could make his Hulk status permanent. Banner elects to accept the risk, though, in order to help his fellow Avenger Thor save his people. The duo succeed at rescuing the day (with a little assistance from Valkyrie and Loki), and the film actually ends with Banner still in Hulk form.

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Thanks to the Infinity War trailer, fans now know that Banner does in fact find a way back to his normal stature -- potentially thanks to a reunion with Black Widow and her lullaby? Now that he's back, it would make perfect sense that the scientist wouldn't want to tempt fate twice. But when Thanos arrives, promising destruction the likes of which the MCU has yet to see, the Avengers will need all hands on deck, regardless of any unconventional means it is manufactured.

Bruce Banner in Avengers: Infinity War

Further building this theory, Banner can also be seen at the :26 mark of the trailer standing next to a detached Hulkbuster arm that is being possibly repaired or remapped to contain Banner should he Hulk out while inside it. There's also the way that we see the Hulkbuster land at the 1:29 mark that could most definitely seen as Hulk-esque by eagle-eyed viewers.

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Plus, the sequence would actually play out as an homage to Marvel Comics canon, since the very same misdirect occurred in Avengers Assemble #6. Written by Brian Michael Bendis in 2012, the issue presented who was presumably believed to be Tony Stark in one of his signature armor sets -- up until the point when the Hulk's transformation exploded the suit as a surprise attack.

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No Longer the Co-Pilot

While there is plenty of evidence that supports the theory of Banner piloting the Mark XLIV and not Tony Stark, there are other notable possibilities as well. One other individual within the latter that seems primed for Hulkbusting is actually Paul Bettany's Vision, Tony Stark's quick-witted A.I. who was last heard in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when remnants of him were placed into the body that would later be known as the Vision.

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As seen in the new trailer, the A.I. turned Synthezoid looks to play a very important role in the film, albeit in a potentially powered down capacity. Viewers see the character being pinned down and stripped of the Mind Stone that originally granted him cognizance, and he next appears more humanoid during a scene with Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. But while the Vision might no longer possess the abilities that his Infinity Stone granted him, he can still help out in other ways in his original identity as Jarvis. Should the character still recall his prior functions when he reverts back from his new persona, Jarvis would obviously be no stranger to Stark tech, and as said previously, the arrival of Thanos means the Avengers will need as much help as humanly possibly, be them artificially intelligent or otherwise.

Rocket of Mass Destruction

The next entry in this list doesn't contain nearly as much evidence, logic, or connective tissue as previous listings might, but this theory makes up for all of the above via pure awesomeness. Could Rocket the Raccoon be piloting the Hulkbuster, and that's why we see the Armor seemingly land on all fours?

The space-faring mercenary/bounty hunter might not have any prior experience with Stark tech, but he obviously has a knack for weapons of mass destruction and would clearly jump at the opportunity to control the Mark XLIV. The only question is whether the furred tinkerer will wait to ask for permission, or simply hijack the Hulkbuster.

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This obviously is a pint-sized possibility compared to the others mentioned above, but never the less, it's safe to say that we're all ecstatic to finally find out once the film smashes its way into theaters next summer.

Of course, these are just a few of Avengers: Infinity War's massive character catalog that could be piloting the Hulkbuster, so who are some of your favorite possibilities that didn't make the list? Let us know in the comments!


Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Benedict Wong, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland and Anthony Mackie. The film opens May 4, 2018.