Despite its poor reception, The Incredible Hulk has aged surprisingly well seventeen years after the MCU movie’s 2008 release. Phase 1 laid the foundations for a thriving MCU with the introduction of all six original members of the Avengers, but few of Marvel Studios’ early MCU movies were a mᴀssive success. Iron Man 2 wasn’t nearly as well-received as Iron Man, for example, and The Incredible Hulk underperformed at the box office. Likewise, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were seen as serviceable first installments in each of their protagonists’ flourishing MCU journey, compared to some of their much more popular sequels.
All doubts about the MCU’s potential were cleared when The Avengers ᴀssembled Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the big screen for the first time. The Avengers broke box office records and set the stage for the MCU’s Phase 2, which delivered critical and commercial hits like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Guardians of the Galaxy. Due to Universal’s ownership of Hulk’s movie distribution rights, Marvel Studios shifted focus away from Hulk’s solo stories and integrated the hero into other characters’ тιтles, and instead gave other heroes their own solo movies and trilogies.
The Incredible Hulk Saw Some Divided Reception Upon Its First Release
The Incredible Hulk Wasn’t As Groundbreaking As Iron Man
Hulk is a difficult character to adapt in solo live-action movies due to the Gamma monster’s destructive nature. Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk delved deep into the psychological aspects of Bruce Banner and the Hulk’s duality, which didn’t suit the superhero genre’s usual spectacle expectations. Five years later, Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk put more focus on action, but it fell short of making the Hulk a leading solo franchise figure. Unlike Iron Man, which launched the MCU with a well-defined lead and a clear stylistic vision, The Incredible Hulk struggled to establish a consistent visual and narrative idenтιтy.
One of The Incredible Hulk’s most widely cited flaws lies in its inconsistent pacing and lack of emotional depth, as it rushes through key character moments and misses the opportunity to dive into Bruce Banner’s internal struggle with the Hulk. Bruce Banner’s recast and Hulk’s redesign in The Avengers further distanced The Incredible Hulk from the franchise and emphasized its different tone and style. Ruffalo brought a more lighthearted and comedic energy to Bruce Banner, which contrasted with Norton’s more somber performance.
13 Years Later, The Incredible Hulk Looks Stronger For The Lack Of Central Hulk Stories
The Incredible Hulk Is Still The MCU’s Best Exploration Of Hulk’s Mythos
After The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Studios chose not to move forward with new Hulk solo movies, and instead turned Hulk into a recurring secondary hero. Movies like Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame have contributed important developments to Hulk’s MCU story, such as the Jade Giant’s time as a Sakaarian champion (inspired by Planet Hulk) and Banner’s embrace of his dual idenтιтy as Smart Hulk. However, these changes have often occurred off-screen or through exposition, with limited time dedicated to Banner’s inner conflict.
The MCU’s increased reliance on humor has diluted Hulk’s dramatic potential and reduced the emotional weight of his storyline even further
Without solo films to explore his character arc in depth, Hulk’s MCU journey has felt fragmented, which has accidentally led The Incredible Hulk to stand out as the only MCU film to truly center on Hulk’s emotional core. Much like Steve Rogers’s core conflict is being a “man out of time” and Peter Parker’s is being a regular young man with superhero responsibilities, Bruce Banner’s isolation, guilt, persecution, and desperation for a cure are at the heart of Hulk’s story. Yet, The Incredible Hulk is still the only MCU movie to center around those aspects.
The Incredible Hulk Is A Reminder About How Different The Character’s On-Screen Story Could Have Been
The Incredible Hulk Could Have Been The First Chapter Of A Long MCU Sub-Franchise
Despite the similarly lukewarm reception to their first MCU movies, Captain America and Thor evolved into two of the most complex and popular characters in the whole MCU, all thanks to sequels like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: Ragnarok, which kept the spotlight on the тιтular heroes while pushing the MCU’s overarching storylines forward. Had Marvel given Hulk a second chance after The Incredible Hulk, Hulk’s second, third, and possibly fourth solo movies could have been deep explorations of Bruce Banner and Hulk’s intricate conflict. Naturally, Hulk would now be acknowledged as an MCU figure with a legacy on par with Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.
How exactly Marvel would have built Hulk’s MCU trilogy is unknown, as those unmade Hulk sequels would have led to huge changes in other movies. For instance, Thor: Ragnarok probably wouldn’t have adapted Planet Hulk, which would instead be a Hulk movie of its own. Bruce Banner’s development of the Smart Hulk persona could have also been the main subject of a Hulk sequel’s plot, and villains such as Red Hulk and the Leader could have been the main antagonists of The Incredible Hulk trilogy’s second or third installments.
