With Spider-Man: Brand New Day now playing in theaters and already generating a hurricane of memes, one particular image has cut through the noise in an unexpected way.
A viral post on X comparing "How Disney Treated Hulk" to "How Sony Treated Hulk" racked up 19 million views within hours of going live on August 4. The split-image format placed a buttoned-up, city-walking Smart Hulk on one side, labeled "Disney," against a snarling, torn-clothes Savage Hulk on the other, tagged "Sony."
Fans loved it. Thousands of replies and reposts cheered the return of a rawer, more primal version of the character. Comments praised Sony for giving Hulk and Bruce Banner a stronger showcase compared to Disney's version, which some dismissed as a secondary figure. Reaction videos followed on YouTube and TikTok within days, with one titled "Disney vs Sony: Who Treated Hulk Better?" landing in trending feeds.
There's just one problem. The premise is wrong.
It's not "Sony vs Disney" with the Hulk. Marvel Studios, owned by Disney, produces every Sony-distributed MCU movie. The character would not be in Brand New Day without Marvel's involvement. Sony had zero rights over the Hulk. The studio's deal covers Spider-Man theatrical distribution and a share of revenue, but creative control lives at Marvel Studios under Kevin Feige. Hulk rights were recently reacquired from Universal Studios, not Sony.
Marvel Studios is the one ending the Smart Hulk era and allowing the character to return to his savage roots to fight Tom Holland's Spider-Man. An early look at The Art of Spider-Man: Brand New Day confirmed that the redesigned Hulk's limited resemblance to Mark Ruffalo was entirely by design, as the studio sought a more "monstrous" look. That creative choice belongs to Feige's team, not to Sony's executives.
Still, the meme's appeal makes a certain kind of sense. Savage Hulk is the version of the character at his angriest and most mindless, and audiences have really only seen Ruffalo's Banner as Smart Hulk in the MCU, making this shift feel genuinely jarring. Smart Hulk closely resembled Ruffalo infused with gamma greenness ever since he debuted in Avengers: Endgame. Seeing a hulking, monstrous figure tear through New York feels like a different franchise entirely.
That tonal whiplash is what the meme captures, even if its labels are inaccurate. Some users on Threads openly questioned whether the whole framing was engagement farming, asking if people actually believed this was a real Sony versus Disney Hulk situation. Others didn't care. The joke landed regardless.
Layron DeJarnette, the Emmy-nominated artist who has designed characters for Disney's The Proud Family and worked at Marvel Animation on Avengers: Black Panther's Quest, was among those who weighed in online, clarifying that both versions of Hulk are Marvel Studios productions. His point echoed the broader correction circulating among more detail-oriented fans.
Brand New Day is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021. The cast includes Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, Michael Mando as Scorpion, and Marvin Jones III as Tombstone. Rumored plot details suggest the Hulk serves as a secondary antagonist for Holland's Peter Parker.
Ruffalo's Hulk is also expected to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, according to scooper Daniel Richtman. So whether fans want to credit Disney, Sony, or the phase of the moon, more Savage Hulk appears to be coming. The meme might be factually messy, but the excitement behind it is real.
Marvel just has to hope audiences channel that energy into ticket sales rather than corporate attribution debates.
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