Did Hulk fail the Ancient One?

It hadn't occurred to me that her timeline was pruned in Loki's first episode. But because they failed to keep the Tesseract, Cap returning the time stone and scepter wouldn't be of any use to her world. Right? So her fears were realized and Hulk failed to fulfill his promise. (Because he had to use the stairs *and* because all of the stones were not returned to her timeline – didn’t it end up in a TVA drawer?) Or am I missing something?

Commentaires

CFL_lightbulb2026-01-19 09:09

I assume when they pruned Loki they set that right as well.

qcthunder2026-01-19 15:27

So the TVA returned the space stone (via Loki) and then Steve returned the time stone and mind stones that they successfully took from 2012 New York?

Silly_Rabbitt2026-01-19 21:04

More like that branch never happened after being reset and they took that Loki variant out of the timeline. There was nothing to return at that point

NotAlwaysGifs2026-01-21 18:37

That’s not how time travel works in the MCU. That’s the whole point of why going back in time and just killing Thanos won’t work.

Mecha_Butterfree2026-01-24 06:42

Did you not watch Loki? The TVA can prune timelines they don't want out of existence. We literally see this happen numerous times on screen. The TVA pruned the Timeline where Loki stole the stone and escaped so that timeline doesn't exist anymore and thus there is no need to return the tesseract.

BackgroundUse56972026-01-19 17:59

It did hulk dirty at every turn then made him smart hulk!

XMenJedi82026-01-20 21:01

Even calling him smart hulk is too charitable, really they made him buff Banner. I wish we got to see Hulk's actual personality too and Banner + the Savage Hulk persona working in tandem.

BladeOfWoah2026-01-19 09:34

Presumably the TVA just returned the Tesseract to that universe. The extra infinity stones in the TVA are probably just remnants of entire universes getting pruned.

Sylar_Lives2026-01-19 10:04

This is my thinking. The pruning only affected the branch that started with Loki escaping, as that was the one “unsanctioned” consequence of the time heist, as every other impact would have been cancelled out by Steve returning the stones to their proper homes.

JesterMarcus2026-01-19 10:22

To be fair, that universe's Cap knowing about Bucky and Hydra thinking he's one of them isn't being fixed by a stone being there.

ny15912026-01-19 10:56

Inconsequential.

JesterMarcus2026-01-19 12:00

Not really, even changes that "small" would be enough to create a branch.

ishkariot2026-01-19 13:15

Unless they're not, who are you to decide

JesterMarcus2026-01-19 17:05

The Laws of Physics and common sense. If you do something that causes that timeline to be different than the one you came from, you're causing a branch. It could be as noticeable as removing Thanos and his army from the universe, or as "inconsequential" as telling someone information they wouldn't normally have. Both have ripples of effect going forward. Cap and Hydra will now act differently and make different choices based on the information they have. The whole Winter Soldier ordeal will play out differently in ways we can only imagine.

ishkariot2026-01-23 07:41

"Laws of physics and common sense", my brother you're talking about comic book multiverse branches. The only logic that applies is whichever the writer, editorial or Feige chooses.

If they decide that branch is not a threat to HWR, TVA, Loki or whomever is in charge, then that's it.

swagonflyyyy2026-01-19 14:44

HWR orchestrated the branch itself, which was loki taking the Tesseract, not the Avengers doing time travel.

JesterMarcus2026-01-19 17:12

Sure, but I'm talking generally. The Ancient One made it sound like only taking the stones creates a branch and people just run with it, ignoring everything else we learn in Loki. Everything you do while time traveling (at least the way its done in Endgame) is causing the branch you already created just by being there, to get bigger.

Yes, Loki was actually supposed to take the tesseract, because HWR secretly needed it to happen for his play to play out, but the TVA don't know that. That we agree on.

Sylar_Lives2026-01-19 11:39

That’s still unrelated to Bruce and his promise to the Ancient One. Any lasting damage done to that timeline was the fault of the group that went after the Tesseract.

JesterMarcus2026-01-19 12:02

No, its not unrelated. Those kinds of actions cause the timeline to branch as well. You can return the stone all you want, the branch already occured.

Sylar_Lives2026-01-19 12:51

Yea, but the branch was not a result of Banner taking the Time Stone.

JesterMarcus2026-01-19 17:15

It was the result of them just being there most likely. Their very presence causes changes. And their subsequent actions, including taking the Time Stone, cause the branch to get bigger and bigger.

qcthunder2026-01-19 15:30

I think it's related because their goal was to take three stones from 2012 New York. Yes, Banner was only talking directly to The Ancient One about the time stone, but what she described about the timeliness was true about all three stones, not just the time stone. And he said they'd put them back exactly when they took them.

Eastern_Hornet_64322026-01-20 03:42

This is it. There are an infinite number of realities where the time heist happens exactly as Bruce describes it to the Ancient One, and exactly one where Loki steals the Tesseract and that reality gets pruned. So in by far the vast majority of realities where Bruce makes that promise, he keeps it. However, in that ONE reality where the time heist goes a little bit awry, that reality (including that Ancient One) gets pruned.

StarlightZigzagoon2026-01-19 09:54

The branch where Loki took the tesseract got pruned, so i guess Hulk failed a subset of the universes generated after making the promise to the ancient one.

Sylar_Lives2026-01-19 10:08

I disagree. They were two separate events that caused two separate branches. The difference being one branch would be immediately reversed by Steve returning the Time Stone, while the second was an accident that Steve would have no impact on due to his Space Stone being from the 70s. Loki’s branch was the only one that couldn’t be undone by returning the stones.

StarlightZigzagoon2026-01-19 10:14

I think we're saying the same thing as i agree with everything you've said.

I guess i was focusing on how the Hulk indirectly broke his promise for the pruned timeline because the problem wasn't that he took the stones, but that their attempt to take the stones caused a branch to be pruned.

ny15912026-01-19 10:55

It would not be the same branch as the one they took the time stone from, so he fulfilled his promise to the ancient just as he said he would.

Sylar_Lives2026-01-19 11:36

Exactly. Banner had no involvement with the events that led to the Loki variant branching off so he kept his word in the end. Regardless, when you consider what that Loki would ultimately accomplish, I’d argue that even if Banner had been culpable, the result was far more beneficial for the universe as a whole than it was harmful.

Schedonnardus2026-01-19 14:27

Both instances would have an ancient one that spoke with banner, it's just that the branch happens after the speech. So an ancient one still got pruned and is thinking that banner is full of shit.

Wet_fing3r2026-01-19 14:36

Am I missing out something? If that universe was pruned then how did Cap put the time stone back?

Schedonnardus2026-01-19 14:56

I think person above me is arguing that there are two timeline. One where the Avengers get the tesseract, and one where Loki gets it. I'm saying if that were true, there would still be an ancient one that hot pruned.

Wet_fing3r2026-01-19 14:59

The Avengers got the Tesseract from the old timeline where Tony met his dad. They originally planned to take the Tesseract and Time Stone from the same universe, but Loki took it. They still took the Time Stone from that timeline, which is the same timeline where Loki escaped and the TVA pruned that timeline. So, won't the Ancient One be pruned as well?

Schedonnardus2026-01-19 15:07

I understand all that. The person above claims that the ancient one that banner talked to was not pruned bc banner talked to her before Loki took the tesseract. I am saying that if that was the case, and Loki caused another branch somehow, that there would still be an ancient one that gets pruned.

Wet_fing3r2026-01-19 15:11

Correct. I dont remember the sequence tho

Sylar_Lives2026-01-19 09:59

Wouldn’t it be two branch timelines? Banner taking the stone and Loki escaping with the Tesseract would be two separate events. Steve bringing back the Time Stone would cancel out the first one, but not the second.

Wooden-Radish-90082026-01-19 16:35

Correct

jtfjtf2026-01-19 10:11

They had a limited understanding of what was actually going on behind the scenes.

marioxb2026-01-19 10:32

The 2014 time was also screwed up by Thanos, Gamora etc leaving their time peroid!

Sere12026-01-19 16:02

Yup, the 2014 timeline is *fucked* if you play that one out logically. No Gamora, Thanos or Nebula after they go to the future to never return means that nothing is to stop Ronan from getting the freshly returned Power Stone. Quill is KOed by Rhodey during the Time Heist, so either he's still out and arrested when Ronan's men come for the stone or he's killed by them. Either way Ronan gets the Power Stone. With Quill not collecting the Orb, he doesn't go to Xandar and neither does Gamora, so Rocket and Groot don't meet them and they don't get arrested to meet Drax. The Guardians of the Galaxy don't form, Ronan has the Power Stone and Thanos is gone. That means Xandar gets destroyed with no "A-hole" warning. At this point in time Thor is busy dealing with the messes in the Nine Realms and Loki is pretending to be Odin, so no help from the Asgardians is coming (it also didn't in the original timeline). Some further speculation suggests that with Xandar destroyed, Ronan might come after Earth next since they previously survived his judgement when Carol destroyed his ships years ago, he might try and correct that. 2014's Avengers are too busy hunting down Hydra bases to recover the Scepter and might not be able to deploy in time to stop Ronan, and unless they learn about the Mind Stone inside the Scepter they might not be able to stop the Power Stone-using Ronan in time.

Gamora and Thanos being removed from the timeline when they did in 2014 kills Xandar and possibly Earth.

BladeOfWoah2026-01-19 16:23

Well Steve would have met Quill when he is returning the power stone most likely. Maybe he splashes some water on his face. It is also possible they were all briefed on what the power stone would be used for, so maybe Steve helps prepare Quill for dealing with Ronan.

We don't really know what Steve did when he went back in time, besides marrying Peggy and staying in the past. It's possible we will see his time jump in Doomsday later this year.

ItWasInTheScript2026-01-19 10:48

it's probably best not to consider things the screenwriters didnt

qcthunder2026-01-19 15:22

True. And I hadn't until late last night for some reason.

Affectionate-Day83072026-01-19 11:16

The tesseract never left that timeline, just moved across the globe?? Cap returned the time stone as that was the only one that left.

Sere12026-01-19 15:51

Technically yes, right up until the TVA confiscated it and pruned the branch. That would remove the duplicate and return the timeline to where it was meant to be: i.e. with Thor going to Asgard. The Tesseract taken by Loki and winding up in the TVA's evidence was essentially copied and replaced when the timeline was reset so it never left the proper timeline.

alenpetak112026-01-19 11:34

You missed important thing, timeline was not pruned. Only those poor Mongolias villagers and their village is pruned. It was shown at episode 2 on TVA document.

That timeline now live without Loki and those villagers.

the_old_coday1822026-01-19 11:47

Strange knew what he was doing. He wouldn’t even bother asking to borrow another timeline’s time stone because TAO would always say no. The only reason she‘d give it away would be if her universe was also at risk (because the whole multiverse is going to collapse). That Strange would even ask her, she knew the stakes. Banner thought he was just asking her a favor to save his own timeline, but the real message was

“The whole multiverse is going to die so we need to borrow your time stone to save it. This is the only way. FYI, I haven’t told Hulk.

Signed, 616 Strange”.

lolitsmax2026-01-19 18:05

The best analysis yet. It's easily this, and it's the only one that doesn't require a "oh yes this also happened but of screen" explanation. Another layer is that doing so may still end up bad for her universe, but that's not Dr. Strange's job to worry about.

the_old_coday1822026-01-19 18:18

Thank you. It kind of hit me during TAO’s scene in End Game, on my latest rewatch.

Her choice to give the stone to Banner actually makes more sense this way too.

I wrote a whole post about it last month but didn’t put it on Reddit lol. Maybe I will.

bakhesh2026-01-19 11:57

It would have been a lot easier to convince the Ancient one to give up the stone if Cap returned it to her timeline five minutes earlier. Banner could just have said "I need to borrow it, but don't worry, I can give it you back first"

(I mean, I know why it didn't happen in the movie, as it would mean the good guys would definitely win, so would have removed any tension from the end of the movie, but in-universe it would have made a lot more sense)

Wet_fing3r2026-01-19 14:37

How did Cap return the time stone if that timeline was pruned by the TVA??

Sere12026-01-19 15:54

That split happened after Hulk got the Time Stone, when Loki grabbed the Tesseract and ported out. The branch that got pruned began when Loki opened the portal and the restored timeline would have Thor take it to Asgard instead. Cap would have to pop back in and give the Time Stone back after Hulk got it but before Loki escaped.

OblivionArts2026-01-19 16:11

The tva says "everything that happened was meant to happen except you grabbing the tesseract" meaning cap did return the stones and only that Loki was pruned, with the tva presumably returning the tesseract in the case afterwards

Wooden-Radish-90082026-01-19 16:16

There's two different branches. One caused by Loki escaping (that is pruned) and one created when Scott and Bruce leave and take the stones to 2023 (this is where Steve takes the stones back to, kind of.)

Buhos_En_Pantelones2026-01-19 16:45

Also did Bruce just straight up lie to her? Keep in mind, at that time he was fully aware that they only had X amount of Pym Particles.

I suppose you could make the argument that he's a super smart guy and figured once they snapped everyone back, Hank Pym could make them new particles. But, he seemed to be kinda grasping at anything to convince the Ancient One to give up the time stone.

So was his whole "Yeah, we'll put the stones back, I promise" straight up bullshit? I mean it did work out in the end, but he had no way of knowing that.

aquias272026-01-19 18:27

He probably assumed that once they brought everyone back to life they would be able to get more Pym particles from Hank Pym.

Buhos_En_Pantelones2026-01-19 18:38

Yes, that was the entirety of my second paragraph haha

; )

Mindfulness1172026-01-19 17:02

Hot take but the inclusion of the TVA really invalidates the stakes of the infinity saga.

GoodDawgAug2026-01-19 17:54

Interesting. Onde time travel is introduced, all logic seems to go out the window other than what the writer says is logical. It’s all absurd to me and nothing is explained well.

Harrycrapper2026-01-19 18:09

My understanding is that the TVA was misled in terms of what they were actually doing. The various timelines where things did not proceed as they did in the MCU timeline existed for far to long given the timing between when the TV discover nexus events and fixes them. Loki was a girl(Sylvie) for like 5 years or more before they came and pruned that timeline. Which means there's a bunch of timelines out there that are quite different, they're all just carefully contained and policed to ensure that events proceed in a way that doesn't produce another Kang in addition to He Who Remains. Any time a deviation occurs in one of those timelines that starts it down the path to another Kang, the TVA comes in, sends whoever caused it to the void, and plants a reset charge fixing it.

BuddhistChrist2026-01-19 23:09

She couldn’t go toe to toe with Hulk so the bitch cheated.

Pleasant_Night_6522026-01-19 23:30

I guess so but I wouldn't say that Hulk failed her. What happened with the Tesseract was out of his control. But yeah I guess her timeline got pruned. I mean, Sylvie said it herself : how many lives did the TVA took with their obssession of control ? Plus, Hulk had no way to know about them, just like the Ancien One. They only thought that without the Infinity Stones this world would be in danger, and since the Tesseract was still there I guess that by returning the Time Stone he fulfilled his promise

By the way, sorry for my english I'm french

horc002026-01-20 02:40

Technically it wasn't *this* Hulk's fault.

There are 2 things that caused the branching of the timelines. #1 is Tony losing the stone resulting in Loki escaping. #2 is Steve fighting Steve.

CaptHayfever2026-01-20 09:46

Hulk kept his promise of sending her Time Stone back to the exact moment he took it from. Everything else wasn't part of his promise.

a_phantom_limb2026-01-20 11:04

Yes, every universe that the TVA had pruned under the rule of He Who Remains *was destroyed* and their remnants banished to the Void.

However… because Loki brought an end to the TVA's pruning throughout all of time - past, present, future - all of those universes also *still exist*.

**"Time travel!"**

mykiisme2026-01-20 17:11

no, Rogers did

Better-Snow-71912026-01-20 23:25

If he had, Doctor Strange wouldn't have ever had the stone.

SpecialistProud49852026-01-21 21:27

When they prune a universe they create a copy of the variant. The copy goes on to fulfill the sacred timelines willed events and Loki will eventually die in Infinity War. But Thor and everyone else thinks he's dead when in reality it was his "clone" kinda and the "real" Loki is holding the multiverse together