The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Directed by Louis Leterrier, written by Zak Penn
Outside of the character of Black Widow, it is possible that Hulk is the Marvel character that causes the most frustration among fans when adapted for the big screen. First appearing in The Incredible Hulk #1 comic book in 1962, he has remained an immensely popular character, but has consistently stumbled in solo film outings. This makes the choices involved in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk all the more questionable.
There was previously a non-MCU film version of the Hulk’s story in 2003, by Ang Lee, which presented an origin story. This meant that the only major female character included was Betty Ross – the main love interest of Bruce Banner/Hulk – and the narrative revolved around Hulk being pursued by her father, General “Thunderbolt” Ross. Marvel made The Incredible Hulk in 2008, after Iron Man, bringing the rage monster into the MCU – but opted to make it another film about General Ross pursuing him. This meant that, once again, female involvement was reduced to one character.
Had the scope been widened, a great number of other women could have been included from the comic book source material. For example, Banner helps heal his cousin, Jennifer Walters, with a blood transfusion – which turns her into She-Hulk. He also has a daughter, Lyra, who is the product of the actions of female warrior-hero Thundra using Hulk’s cells to reproduce. The latter of these characters are part of the time-travelling, dimension-jumping storylines of Hulk, which would arguably be far more interesting to see onscreen than the single-white-female re-hashing of his origin story.
