Just when you thought Maharashtra local body polls couldn’t get any more entertaining, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has entered the picture. Aided by artificial intelligence, Iron Man is contesting from the BJP, Captain America is representing the MNS, and Thor has thrown in his lot with the NMC—which faction, we’re not yet certain.
In this week’s viral spiral, creators of AI MCU Reels turned to the goldmine that is Maharashtra politics. And many of these videos focused on the BMC elections. In one reel, BJP candidate Tony Stark—geared up head to toe in his red-and-gold armour—promised that he would distribute PS5s loaded with GTA 6 among the ‘bros’ and Dyson Airwraps among the girls. In another, Congress candidate Thanos, dressed in a white kurta and a tricolour scarf, ranted about being denied entry for his rally. And Captain America, dressed in red and blue stars and stripes, is inexplicably the poster boy for the MNS.
The characterisation is curious, to say the least. Hulk, who is more brawn than brains, is shown in multiple videos to be a Shiv Sena candidate. Thanos, the biggest villain in the MCU’s Infinity Saga, is always in the Congress. And billionaire technocrat Iron Man is with the BJP—he talks in Hindi, while everyone else uses Marathi.
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Vada pav unites
Brands and politicians alike are catching up. Independent candidate Manisha Masal posted a reel where Hulk urged everyone to vote for her by hitting the guitar button. Masal’s actual symbol is a violin, something the commenters were only too happy to point out. Whether it’s an AI error or human brilliance, who is to say?
On Monday, the Instagram account of fast food chain Graduate Vadapav posted a video where all heroes, setting aside their political enmity, come together over plates of vada pav.
“I won’t destroy the world just for the sake of this vadapav,” says Thanos in the video. And Iron Man echoes his famous line from Avengers: Endgame: “I love you 3,000, Graduate Vadapav.”
Is the MCU-BMC AI ecosystem satire? Is it a campaigning tool? It’s actually a secret third thing: Whatever the click-starved meme machine happened to belch out on that fine morning.
The death of Hulk
It was Hulk who prepared the ground. ‘Hulku’ videos have been around since October 2025, where poor Hulk, dirt-covered and dressed in rags, would overcome his struggles and join the Army or save his village from some catastrophe.
But the videos went viral only in December, with storylines of Hulk’s stepmother refusing to serve him ghee on his roti or buy an expensive jacket for him. She called him a “duplicate son”, and everyone overused the word “re”.
This is how the dialogue went: “Mai re, mujhe bhookh lagi hai re, mujhe roti de de re (Hey mother, hey I’m hungry, hey give me food).”
With reels this absurd, how could the brainrotted Gen Z stay away?
If you’re wondering how this is legal, it’s not. And Marvel seems to have taken note. On Wednesday, the handle ‘hulkumarathi’ posted an AI image showing a dead Hulk surrounded by mourners.
“Hulku Bhai was killed tonight on Google AI by the ruthless Marvel Janta Party and their Copyright IP team,” read the caption.
Apparently, Google AI isn’t allowing users to generate videos using the Hulk prompt anymore. Cinderella Hulk storylines were fine and dandy, but the BMC elections are where the MCU draws the line. Even Marvel is scared of the chaos that will unfold after the results are out.
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(Edited by Theres Sudeep)