Right off the bat I'm gonna admit, I had never seen The Incredible Hulk before this. I know right, but after watching the Eric Bana version I kinda lost all interest in the Hulk. Then Mark Ruffalo came into the picture and my faith was restored so I figured I may as well give Edward Norton a shot.
The Incredible Hulk tends to take the backseat when it comes to comparing it to other Marvel movies, and when I say backseat I mean stuck way behind in the distance that you can barely see it in the mirror. I suppose it doesn't help that it come out just two months after Iron Man which is arguably one of the biggest fan favourites in the MCU. It also has the lowest rating out of all the MCU movies on Rotten Tomatoes. It does however rank higher than other Marvel movies such as the 2003 Hulk movie with Eric Bana, both Fantastic Four features, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and spider-Man 3. So although it is considered to be the worst in the MCU, it's still better than other studios bad movies.
Although The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man were released just 2 months apart the both compliment each other yet are complete opposites. The Hulk is a hero who is biologically enhanced yet Iron Man is technologically enhanced. Tony confidently embraces his skills whereas Bruce Banner originally rejects his power and tries to cure himself. Iron Man is accepted by the public and praised opposing the Hulk who is feared by the public.
The movie itself does get a lot of things right, Edward Norton undoubtedly makes a better Hulk than Eric Bana (still doesn't beat Mark Ruffalo though). The movie provides a good origin for The Hulk and Banner's character before The Avengers. In the beginning of the movie, Banner is scared of the Hulk and tries to distance himself by getting rid of it. He then realizes throughout the course of the movie that there is more to the Hulk than violence such as saving Betty when she was in danger. By the end Bruce acknowledges the Hulk as a part of him and learning to control his heartbeat for releasing the Hulk on que.
I think the plot of the movie works really well, we get to see an origin story in the opening credit montage instead of making the entire movie about Banner's accident. This means the audience didn't have to watch a rehash of Eric Bana's 2003 version.
The Incredible Hulk certainly isn't the best in the MCU however it is better than other comic book movies that have been released in recent years. And it didn't stop Marvel from creating more movies for the MCU.
Easter Eggs
#1 Super Soldier Serum
Although most people would consider the Captain America movie to feature the original super soldier serum, it was featured in The Incredible Hulk first, causing speculation of a Captain America movie. General Ross injects Emil Blonsky with a serum that the U.S. government developed during WWII in order to give him the advanced physical powers required to battle the Hulk. Only hardcore comic book fans would have noticed that the blue liquid is the same formula that gave Captain America his powers in the 2011 feature film.
#2 Frozen Captain America
Another Captain America easter egg is that Captain America himself can be seen frozen in the ice in the arctic. The only issue is that the arctic scene was cut from the theatrical version however it can be seen in deleted scenes.
#3 The Leader
Congrats if you were one of the fans to notice something horrible was about to go down when Bruce Banner talks with Dr Samuel Sterns about a cure for the Hulk. In the comics, Sterns is a green villain with an elongated head named The Leader. While you never get to see the Leader is his final form in the movie, he is however a Doctor storing samples of the Hulk's blood. After he is attacked in his lab and infected with Banner's blood, his head begins to grow and turn green with a menacing grin across his face. Although it was brief and no explanation, comic book fans knew what the filmmakers were hinting towards.
#4 Avengers Recruitment
In the ending of the Incredible Hulk, we see Gernal Ross getting drunk at a bar when a suited man walks through the door. The man is revealed to be Tony Stark, in regards to Ross's "unusual problem", Stark says, "What if I told you we were putting a team together?" Ross responds, "Who's 'we'?" Of course now we know that the team he is referring to is The Avengers but this scene is one of the few pieces of concrete evidence that actually connects The Incredible Hulk to the MCU.
#5 Stan Lee Cameo
Stan's cameo in The Incredible Hulk is a fan favourite as it is important to the plot. In the film he is the unfortunate man who drinks soda that contains Bruce Banners blood. Although it doesn't end too well for Stan, it does give General Ross reason to track down Banner and begin the story.
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