Since 2008, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown various films featuring a huge library of characters from various walks of life. As a result, with each new addition, movies that were once on top may drop in the rankings while others become outliers for various reasons. One example of this was The Incredible Hulk, which, at the time, was released under Universal Pictures for rights reasons. As a result, the film never got the attention future movies would and largely fell into limbo, with its events only being loosely mentioned rather than impacting larger narratives.
Since then, The Incredible Hulk has found renewed relevance thanks to She-Hulk: Attorney At Law directly referencing the film and even bringing back the Abomination. Meanwhile, Captain America: New World Order is set to bring back Samuel Sterns as The Leader following his transformation in The Incredible Hulk. These new additions have also sparked a unique chance to see how the film has since changed the MCU, with one theory having Sterns’ cure for Bruce being the main reason the Smart Hulk was created.
Bruce Banner’s Triggers Evolved Over Time
In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner had a unique trigger that tied less to his emotions and more to a physiological standpoint. For example, rather than anger explicitly triggering an episode, Bruce’s stress levels and raised heart rate were the real triggers. Being that anger is often tied to these reactions, it made it easy to believe it was the sole cause. That said, this particular aspect of Bruce’s life hindered him from feeling the full range of his emotions and forced him to maintain a heightened degree of control over himself. Over time, however, as Bruce Banner began to understand more of himself, his triggers evolved.
