Hulk could’ve tipped the balance in ‘Civil War,’ but he won’t because he’s not in it

Having the Hulk on your team -- any team -- can be a good thing. Sadly, actor Mark Ruffalo recently made it clear that the rage monster would not be participating in Marvel’s upcoming film “Captain America: Civil War.” Thus there will be no side in this great comic divide who can boast that they have a Hulk.

“I thought that I would be in the film, but in the end, evidently [the powers that be] believe that [to] reveal what happened to Hulk [in the last “Avengers’ movies] is something [that’s] too big, and Marvel wants to use this information later,” said Ruffalo in an interview with Italian website badtaste.it. Though Ruffalo is in Venice to promote his film “Spotlight” -- about the Boston Globe’s investigation of the molestation scandals that recently rocked the Catholic Church -- he took time out to answer some Hulk questions.

“My character had been inserted in the script, but then it was taken away. Who knows, maybe Hulk will never return. However, they want to keep the revelation of what happened a secret, because it is something really big.”

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The statement is rendered through the magic of Google translate, but in any language it seems to pave the way for Ruffalo to star in a possible Hulk spinoff sooner or later. Or at least play a central role in some far-off Avengers sequel.

“Civil War’s” premise, pitting Iron Man against Captain America in a fight over idealism and government oversight of the superhero community, might not have been the right venue for the Hulk anyway, seeing as how the character didn’t have much of a role in the comic book version of the event.

But, alas, Marvel seems to have bigger plans in store for the character. When last we saw him in “Avenger: Age of Ultron,” he was flying away in a jet to who knows where.

Hulk would’ve been a help for whichever side he joined, especially Captain America’s. It seems there’s already debate about the lopsided nature of the teams -- at least through the characters that we already know of. Early indications are that Iron Man’s side seems to include tech-savvy warrior Black Panther, gun-toting powerhouse War Machine, Infinity Gem-fueled Vision and super spy Black Widow, while Cap has sharp-shooting Hawkeye, flying Falcon and strong but unstable Winter Soldier -- with a possible nod to Ant-Man.

Chris Evans coyly addressed the matchup, confident that his side was not as outgunned as it may seem. Everyone will find out when the film is released May 6, 2016.

Follow me on Twitter: @Storiz

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