But what does it do for Bruce Banner?įor Banner, ridding himself of the Hulk is purely a matter of logistics, and so his decision to leap toward heroism feels equally so. In a film where General Ross were the protagonist, it would be a perfect thematic fit. It's in seeing this power wielded intentionally and unchecked, rather than by chance and instinct, that the Hulk is reflected back to Ross as a far lesser threat. But Blonsky is always, always in control, unlike Banner's fears of what he may become if he loses himself. The Abomination is the power that William Hurt's General Thunderbolt Ross hopes to weaponize, on display at its most unhinged. Where Banner has only ever wanted to rid himself of power, Blonsky wants to accumulate it.Īnd yet, while the Abomination still fits the overall fabric of the story at hand, he isn't so much a foil to the Hulk (Banner has never coveted power) as he is a foil to the military, and how both they and the world at large see the Hulk's destructive power. Thematically, he's almost entirely disconnected from The Hulk despite being born of the same DNA. While Hulk versus Abomination is the second in a long line of Marvel heroes fighting mirror versions of themselves, the villain here represents an interesting narrative quandary. There's nothing tethering him to this narrative, and nothing stopping him from seeing himself as potentially heroic either, at least not in any way that's dramatized. But what isn't clear is any sort of concrete direction for the hero, who spends most of the film running away. What he wants, why he wants it, and what he represents in the broader political world are crystal clear – he is the ugly outcome of the US Military's unchecked pursuit of power. The military acts in conjunction with S.H.I.E.L.D., a group of heroes in the first film and a vital puzzle piece in 2011's Thor (where they also seize technology that would grant them greater access to its hero), but perhaps most pertinent is the film's oft-forgotten connection to Captain America: The First Avenger, and how both films deal with power and those who seek it.īut in an inversion of what many perceive as the "Marvel problem," wherein the MCU's villains aren't given nearly enough to do as their heroes, Blonsky's narrative is well-articulated. In effect, while this film impacts no other individual character, it forms a bridge between installments, elaborating on the state of the world and what challenges its heroes will have to face when dealing with their newfound abilities.
#The incredible hulk 2011 series
And where Marvel's first entry is about Tony Stark becoming Iron Man, its second is about Banner trying to un-become the Hulk, before the series switches back to another installment about Stark holding on to his creations. Where Stark can simply take off his suit, Banner can't get the Hulk out from inside him no matter how hard he tries. Where the first Iron Man film was mechanical, with its protagonist engineering his way to a new heroic path, The Incredible Hulk is its biological equivalent, and a more unwitting one at that. One would have to imagine this thematic remixing was far from unintentional. The shadowy government villains have stepped into the shoes of the hero, with this film's protagonist embodying their lust for power itself. Forgettable or not, the road to Infinity War would be incomplete without it.Ī mere six weeks out, the Marvel script has been flipped. While the film has crossover references a-plenty, it's set apart from the rest of the MCU by its distinct tone, one that feel less "superhero movie" and more "classic monster picture," though the way it marries said tone to the now familiar Marvel sensibility helped build the platform from which The Avengers would be launched. However, it's an integral part of what the folks at Marvel were attempting to do in their early days, the then-unprecedented shared universe concept that now seems to be on every studio's mind. Striking it from canon seems to have few long-term narrative repercussions, and the recasting of Edward Norton's Bruce Banner in future films primes it all the more for being swept under the rug. It's easy to dismiss The Incredible Hulk when revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Welcome to Road to Infinity War, a new series where we revisit the first 18 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and ask "How did we get here?" In this edition: revisiting the oft-maligned and underrated The Incredible Hulk.