I’m Glad The MCU Cut The Hulk’s Saddest Scene From His Debut
The Incredible Hulk almost had a very different opening scene, and I believe it was the right call to switch it out for something a little more safe. Back when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) first began in 2008, Iron Man landed as the very first release, but releasing The Incredible Hulk that same year, starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, helped to establish a connected world early on. However, linking these projects meant they needed to have some elements in common.
Today, the MCU is a monumental machine that pushes out numerous new releases each year, but at that point in its history, the MCU was fragile and new. So, when taking a look at what was initially meant to be the opening scene of the movie, I don't think that The Incredible Hulk could or would have felt as connected, or as strong an entry, which could have had potentially devastating results. Fortunately, the scene was cut, and replaced with a scene of Bruce Banner working in a factory before a drop of his blood infects the products being packaged.
The Incredible Hulk Opening On Bruce Banner's Saddest Scene Would've Been A Hard Opening
The Tone Of The MCU Was Still Forming At This Early Stage
Initially, The Incredible Hulk featured a scene where Bruce Banner went into a cold deserted forest that was covered in snow. Upon arriving at his destination, Bruce climbs as high as he can on the hill, before pulling out a gun and attempting to end his own life, presumably because of the stress of having a Goliath alter ego that can shatter entire buildings. But, before anything permanent happens, the big green guy breaks out of his mind cage, and the Earth shakes and crumbles under the Hulk.
While this is an emphatic and emotional scene, it's also incredibly charged, and the story has not done anything to deserve a weighty moment like this before building any rapport. Of course, the act is sad, but it's made infinitely more meaningful when the audience gets to know the characters better and witnesses them grow and change. Not to mention this would have been a really odd tone for an MCU movie at the time, as the franchise was just finding its feet, but it wasn't quite so dark.
Cutting The Incredible Hulk's Initial Opening Scene Seems To Have Been The Right Move
The Replacement Opener Was A Much Better Choice
By removing this scene, it loses a beat where the Hulk is teased early on, but it also simply lets the movie get into the events that play out.Bruce had been without a Hulk incident for some time when he first appeared in The Incredible Hulk, so presumably, time elapsed in between, which would have added to the overall confusion and longing to know what happened in that missing gap. The first scenes establish the character as responsible, anxious, and someone who is attempting to exercise being radically calm.
Is Smart Hulk better than the rage-filled Hulk in the MCU?
When Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner appeared as Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, I was excited. I thought it was a fresh idea for the MCU, and it sure led to some interesting moments in the films and, more importantly, in She-Hulk. Given how Jennifer Walters' character has more control over her Hulk form, seeing her learn from a more humanized version of the Hulk made sense and was effective. That said, Hulk was pretty clearly at his best in the franchise when his rage was let loose. As such, I hope Doctor Doom's arrival leads to that Berserker Hulk again.
If this was shifted to become the second scene, that is a wild contrast to a scene where the character attempts to commit suicide. Ultimately, axing the initial scene made the entire flow of the movie much smoother, and it helped to keep the tone more similar to what came before and since. In this way, the movie saved itself from being a potential disaster that could have laid waste to the MCU, and to the character of Bruce Banner as a hero.
The Avengers Reference To The Incredible Hulk's Opening Scene Is A Fair Compromise
It Ultimately Made The MCU Even More Connected
And while the scene did not play out in theaters, the unreleased deleted scene remains a part of the character's canon. This is confirmed in The Avengers, a movie that came out four years after The Incredible Hulk, and recast Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. Despite the overt changes in the story, and questions about how much The Incredible Hulk was actively a part of the MCU, especially considering it was made under Universal's company, there is a nod to this deleted scene when Bruce is talking about one of the darkest days in his life.
This worked well as a way to connect the movie to the wider MCU.
Bruce has been struggling ever since the gamma radiation turned him into a giant green monster, and after losing so much, he made an attempt on his life. However, Hulk will not let Bruce go, and so he is always there, ready to step in and stop Bruce from getting badly injured or killed. This worked well as a way to connect the movie to the wider MCU, still carry the weight of such an intense moment forward, and make all of this feel like it belonged in the MCU, instead of putting it at the top of The Incredible Hulk.
Hulk
- Created by
- Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
- First Film
- The Incredible Hulk Returns
- Latest Film
- Avengers: Endgame
- First TV Show
- The Incredible Hulk
- Latest TV Show
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
- Cast
- Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Mark Ruffalo
