2008’s The Incredible Hulk has been largely forgotten in the grand scale of things, presumably because it features Edward Norton rather than Mark Ruffalo in the lead role (well, that and it’s not a particularly good movie). However, minor elements from it have been popping up ever since. Most prominent is William Hurt’s General “Thunderbolt” Ross, but the film also featured our first look at a form of the super-soldier serum and a tease at how Bruce Banner would become able to summon the Hulk at will in The Avengers.
But now, eagle-eyed fans have spotted another element nestled away in Thor: Ragnarok that directly references The Incredible Hulk. Reddit user u/Zeophore saw a mysterious scar on the Hulk’s left pec and given that the hero is pretty much invincible, he hasn’t had many opportunities to pick up scars. However, in the climactic fight against the Abomination in The Incredible Hulk, he’s injured by one of the character’s “elbow protrusions.”
This punctures his chest in the precise place we later see the scar. In addition, going back through previous Hulk appearances in Avengers movies, it appears that they may also feature this scar if you squint a bit. Just check out the second still in the gallery above and let me know what you think.
Framestore was the VFX team responsible for Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, and this was their first time working with the character. As such, they built an entirely new model and animation rig for the movie, and clearly someone took their job seriously when adding fine detail to the textures. It just goes to show that there are people behind the scenes who really care about the little details, and that care shines through in the finished product.
