Here’s how the Hulk’s “These are confusing times” line in Avengers: Endgame spawned its very own meme. The release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019 was a true pop cultural milestone. As the conclusion of the MCU’s epic, 23-film strong Infinity Saga, the movie was a must-see for any self-professed Marvel fan. And see it they did, with Avengers: Endgame raking in a record-breaking $2.79 billion worldwide and even knocking James Cameron’s Avatar off the top spot as the highest-grossing film of all time.
Despite rave reviews from fans and critics alike, there was one aspect of Avengers: Endgame that a lot of people didn’t agree with - Bruce Banner and the Hulk’s amalgamation into Professor Hulk. As this new version was essentially Bruce Banner in Hulk’s body, minus any of Hulk’s personality, it proved a controversial move within the MCU fandom. Hulk refusing to fight Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity War was something fans hoped Avengers: Endgame would address, so seeing the Green Goliath effectively erased by the creation of Professor Hulk was a big disappointment to many of Hulk’s fans.
But love or hate him, he did generate a lot of hilarious Professor Hulk memes. One meme, in particular, arose from a scene early on in Avengers: Endgame in which Professor Hulk is seen for the first time when he, Scott Lang, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers meet in a diner. After Scott expresses confusion over his new hybrid form Bruce Banner replies, “These are confusing times”, later adding “It’s crazy. I’m wearing shirts now.”
Professor Hulk’s line “These are confusing times” was deemed meme-worthy by the internet community and in the weeks following the release of Avengers: Endgame, memes parodying the phrase started cropping up on Reddit and other online platforms. Unlike some more cryptic memes, the “These are confusing times” meme does literally mean what it says on the tin – expressing that something confusing is occurring.
One of the funniest and earliest examples of the meme was a reference to Avengers: Endgame itself. Posted by Redditor u/Sheev-Palpatine to the subreddit /r/thanosdidnothingwrong, the meme was accompanied by the caption “When you see more Endgame memes about Hulk than Thanos.” Hulk’s “These are confusing times” line works well outside of the MCU too, such as when Redditor u/General-Bobo posted a version to r/memes in response to a CNN TV news banner reading “President’s spokesman says he can’t speak for the president.” In Professor Hulk’s words, confusing times indeed.
Next: The Origin Of The Spider-Man Pointing Meme
