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• Captain America 4's creative team have explained why Bruce Banner/The Hulk doesn't appear in the movie
• Julius Onah and Nate Moore didn't want him to step on Sam Wilson's toes in the latter's first movie outing
• Discussions were held about including The Hulk during the early stages of development, though

Captain America: Brave New World's producer and director have defended the decision not to include Bruce Banner/The Hulk in Marvel's latest movie.

Speaking to TechRadar ahead of the film's release, Nate Moore and Julius Onah revealed that they discussed a possible role for the lean, mean, green machine in the Marvel Phase 5 project. However, they, alongside the rest of the movie's creative team, decided to leave him out over fears that his appearance would overshadow Sam Wilson's first big-screen outing as the titular hero.

I bet Sam would've appreciated some Hulk-sized help to deal with Red Hulk... (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Ever since Brave New World's first trailer was released last July, Marvel fans have questioned why Anthony Mackie's Wilson has been dropped into the middle of what's essentially a sequel to 2008's The Incredible Hulk movie.

For starters, it introduces Red Hulk, Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross' gamma-irradiated alter-ego and one of The Hulk's most notorious foes. Then, there's the inclusion of other individuals from The Incredible Hulk, such as Betty Ross and Samuel Sterns, as well as clear references to Banner and his own superpowered alias dotted throughout Brave New World. In the eyes of many, then, Captain America 4 is The Incredible Hulk 2 in all but name.

So, why did Marvel opt to pit Wilson against Ross/Red Hulk in this Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) flick? Because his potential inclusion, whether that would've been in a cameo capacity, or a big or small supporting role, would've impacted the Wilson-focused plot, as well as his character evolution, that Onah, Moore, and company were trying to tell.

Sam Wilson's vibranium- and nanotech-infused super-suit didn't stand a chance against Red Hulk (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

"This is a story about Captain America," Onah replied when I asked him about The Hulk's absence. "It's about Sam's journey and really cementing him as our new Captain America.

"There's also that history that he has with Ross, which has emotional and antagonistic elements. But, there's also this empathy between them that becomes central to where the movie lands thematically. So, the focus was always on telling the best adventure, the best story, and an emotional journey for Sam Wilson in this really fun, exciting ride."

As I insinuated earlier, though, The Hulk was part of internal discussions about who to include on Captain America 4's cast roster. Indeed, Moore revealed that early conversations revolved whether he should be part of the fourth Captain America movie or not. Ultimately, the movie's chief creatives collectively agree not to incorporate Banner or his other persona into the story.

It's about Sam's journey and really cementing him as our new Captain America

Julius Onah, Captain America 4 director

"It would have detracted from the story, to be honest," Moore told me in a separate interview. "It was a conversation we had early on during the script phase, but we wanted this to feel like a Captain America movie. I love Mark Ruffalo [who plays Banner/The Hulk), and I think his Hulk is the best one that's ever been. But, this is really about Sam and Thaddeus Ross having to deal with something that is almost between them. And it didn't seem like it needed the big green guy."

Disappointing as that is, Moore left me with a tease-laden morsel that suggests we won't have long to wait to see Banner/The Hulk again. "That doesn't mean you're not going see the big green guy coming up pretty soon," he said with a smile. So, that's The Hulk confirmed to show up in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars, right?

If you're reading this, you must have watched Cap 2.0's first film at your local theater. What did you think of it? Do you subsequently agree with my review of Captain America: Brave New World? And would you like to have seen The Hulk in this flick? Let me know in the comments!

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• Asus NUC 15 Pro supports up to four 4K displays via HDMI 2.1 and Thunderbolt 4
• Powered by Intel vPro and featuring fTPM 2.0
• There's also Wi-Fi 7 speeds up to 46 Gbps and support for up to 16 simultaneous streaming devices

Asus has introduced the NUC 15 Pro, a new mini PC designed to handle demanding tasks such as AI model training and data visualization.

It is powered by an Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor, with integrated Intel Arc graphics, while supporting up to 96GB of DDR5 6400 MHz RAM.

The NUC 15 Pro supports up to four 4K displays through two HDMI 2.1 ports and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. It also features Intel Wi-Fi Proximity Sensing, which detects a user’s presence and automatically wakes or locks the device for added convenience and security.

Seamless connectivity and intelligent power management

For connectivity, there's Intel Wi-Fi 7; delivering speeds of up to 46 Gbps for rapid file transfers and support for up to 16 simultaneous streaming devices.

Additionally, it comes with Bluetooth 5.4, for data transfer speeds of up to 50 Mbps and peripheral connections.

The 15 Pro also incorporates Power Sync, enabling seamless power management for connected Asus monitors via the HDMI CEC interface.

Despite the compact 0.48-liter chassis, it features a spring-loaded hinge-lever mechanism for tool-free RAM and storage upgrades.

It also comes with Intel vPro and fTPM 2.0 technology, providing enterprise-grade hardware-based encryption and secure remote management capabilities.

Via TechPowerUp

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• AMD RX 9070 GPUs are rumored to hit shelves on March 6
• Another rumor suggests 9070 XT could need a 900W power supply
• That’s for a top-end overclocked version of the 9070 XT, though, and there are numerous caveats to consider here

AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 graphics cards will get a full launch event on February 28, which has been confirmed by Team Red, and now chatter on the rumor mill is indicating these GPUs will be available to buy on March 6.

That purported on-sale date comes courtesy of VideoCardz’s sources, an assertion also backed up by Chinese tech site Benchlife. Even though these two rumors align, we should still take this with a great deal of caution.

That said, AMD has told us that its RX 9070 models will go on sale in early March, which I take to mean the first week, and March 6 fits that picture. Still, we’ll need confirmation officially, and presumably that’ll come at the mentioned press event for RDNA 4 GPUs in late February.

At the same time, more speculation is floating around regarding the power consumption of the RX 9070 XT, suggesting that one third-party variant has a big ask in terms of your PC’s power supply.

Tom’s Hardware noticed a post on X from Tomasz Gawroński showing a purportedly leaked image of the PowerColor RX 9070 XT Red Devil, with the packaging apparently indicating that you’ll need a 900W PSU to have this graphics card in your gaming PC.

There will be 9070 XT cards available at launch that will require lower minimum power supply wattages as will there be plenty with 8 pin power connectors for worry-free upgrading.February 14, 2025

This has raised plenty of eyebrows, as it’s 100W more than the current recommendation for the RX 7900 XTX flagship, though even the poster admitted that they weren’t sure if the image is faked.

Interestingly, Frank Azor, who is head of consumer and gaming marketing at AMD, actually replied to Gawroński, observing that there will be other RX 9070 XT models that’ll “require lower minimum power supply wattages as will there be plenty with 8 pin power connectors for worry-free upgrading.”

Note that Azor didn’t confirm that the image was real, though the AMD executive didn’t call it a fake, either (but of course, he doesn’t work for PowerColor).

(Image credit: AMD / TechPowerup) Analysis: Ready for the AMD vs Nvidia mid-range GPU shootout?

The launch date of March 6 for the RX 9070 models, if it turns out to be correct, is certainly an interesting choice – mainly because Nvidia only just announced March 5 is when the RTX 5070 arrives on shelves. So, as we theorized earlier this week, this is looking very much like a mid-range head-to-head between the RX 9070 and RTX 5070 in the first week of March.

As for the PSU requirement, I wouldn’t panic about the potential scenario of RX 9070 models somehow requiring vast reservoirs of power. Some of the beefiest models may, but we must remember, the Red Devil board mentioned in the leak is a top-end graphics card, and as Azor observed, other models will require less wattage. Indeed, the rumor is that the reference 9070 XT from AMD will ask for a 750W PSU, with the RX 9070 vanilla needing 650W, far more modest requirements (add seasoning with that still).

It's also worth noting that 900W is an odd specification here, given that there aren’t any PSUs delivering that exact figure, as far as I’m aware. There are 850W models and then we jump to 1000W, so why PowerColor is (theoretically) placing the requirement just above 850W, in a non-existent PSU bracket (as it were), I’m not sure. This could perhaps be another suggestion that the image is faked.

That said, I don’t doubt that a heavily overclocked RX 9070 XT model will drink a lot more juice than a standard board. It clearly will, and so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the top dogs of the RDNA 4 graphics card world are considerably more demanding on the PC’s power supply. These GPUs will also cost a lot more than the entry-level 9070 XT products, too, and how competitive AMD’s graphics cards will be in pricing terms is the other key question we’re dying to have answered.

We’ll have those answers soon enough, thankfully. Roll on the end of February.

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• Deutsche Telekom’s NeoCircuit Router pushes for sustainability in consumer electronics
• Project looks to turn old smartphones into routers
• NeoCircuit Router aims for 70% reuse

Deutsche Telekom is exploring a new way to reduce electronic waste by repurposing components from old smartphones to build routers.

Reports from Hardwareluxx (originally in German), claim Deutsche Telekom has developed the NeoCircuit Router, a prototype device that primarily consists of reused parts, , in collaboration with an industrial consortium.

The NeoCircuit router prototype integrates processors, memory chips, and physical connectors from old smartphones, aiming for a circularity rate of around 70%.

Turning old smartphones into routers

Dr. Henning Never, project manager at Deutsche Telekom, believes the NeoCircuit goes beyond typical e-waste recycling, while Bertrand Pascual from Sagemcom believes that repurposing smartphone processors for other applications not only conserves resources but also makes financial sense.

Deutsche Telekom has set an ambitious goal of achieving near-complete circularity for its technologies and consumer devices by 2030. If adopted widely, this approach could reduce production costs by at least 20% compared to manufacturing new components.

This isn't the only Initiative aligns with broader industry efforts from brands like Framework and Fairphone, which promote modular designs to enhance longevity, repairability, and reuse.

The project faces challenges, as many modern devices use glued components and proprietary processors, making extraction and reuse difficult. Nevertheless, the NeoCircuit Router is set to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona on March 3.

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