History Film / TheIncredibleHulk

The story takes place five years after the tragic accident which created the Hulk, glimpses of which are seen in the opening credits. Bruce Banner (Creator/EdwardNorton) has [[DiscontinuityNod taken refuge in Brazil]] as a worker at a bottling plant, where he keeps a low profile and works on controlling his anger in his spare time. When Bruce accidentally spills blood into one of the bottles, [[Creator/StanLee a man]] falls ill from Gamma poisoning by drinking it, which is the clue General Ross (Creator/WilliamHurt) uses to track Banner down. Along for the ride is Emil Blonsky (Creator/TimRoth), who is destined to become one of the Hulk's deadliest foes: the Abomination.

As noted above, the Hulk next appears in ''The Avengers'', released in 2012. After a cameo in TheStinger of ''Film/IronMan3'' in 2013, his next proper appearance would be in 2015's ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', followed by 2017's ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' in 2018, and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' in 2019. It would not be until 2019 until it was announced that a spin-off, ''She-Hulk'', was announced for Creator/DisneyPlus; given that Universal only has the movie rights, [[LoopholeAbuse the platform seems to be how Disney will sidestep those issues in order to better integrate these characters into the setting]].

* {{Tuckerization}}: The military base, "Fort Johnson", is named after Kenneth Johnson; the writer, director, and producer of ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk''.

* BigBad: Thunderbolt Ross, the general trying to capture Banner.

* ConfusedBystanderInterview: There's an interview that doubles as a MythologyGag: the two college students interviewed about the Hulk's appearance at Culver University are Jack [=McGee=] (Banner's InspectorJavert from [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk the TV series]]) and Jim Wilson (one of Hulk's {{Kid Sidekick}}s from the comics). [=McGee=] is even described as a reporter...for the ''student'' newspaper.

* SuperReflexes: The Hulk slaps [=RPGs=] out of the air. Blonsky is faster as a super soldier, an even after his transformation into the Abomination he catches an RPG as an OffhandBackhand.
* SuperSpeed: Blonsky casually outpaces several soldiers while running and the Hulk too. Hulk and Abomination can keep up with Humvees.
* SuperStrength: Duh, its a Hulk movie.
* SwallowTheKey: Having dropped his computer the last time he was chased, so the second time it happens Bruce swallows an important data stick. Amazingly, it still worked after he... retrieved it.

* UpgradeVsPrototypeFight: There's a form of this with Hulk versus the Abomination. The former is the meek scientist Bruce Banner with an inferior version of the Captain America formula. The latter is the veteran marine Emile Blonsky with a more advanced version of the formula ''and'' the Hulk's blood. Consequently the Abomination is larger and stronger, not to mention Blonsky's in complete control despite being crazy. The Hulk has the advantage of getting stronger with rage and greater skill which wins him the fight when Blonsky turns on Betty and Ross.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: In the beginning, Blonsky seems like an overly gung-ho soldier but a relatively decent guy who's loyal to his work and his men, but after doses of failed super-soldier serum and exposure to gamma radiation he slowly goes more and more power mad, until he goes completely destructively insane in the end. A deleted scene emphasizes the potential for mental instability as a byproduct of the serum. Prior to the injection, Ross outright threatens to remove Blonsky from active duty if he takes a step out of line.

* XDaysSince: Used at least twice, at [[BookEnds both the start and the end of the film]], measuring how many days had passed since the Hulk caused major trouble.

** The trailer also had a variation on the phrase which was pretty good.

* PsychoSerum: This is a Zigzag. [[spoiler:The two injections Blonsky takes during the movie are SuperSerum that make him more able and driven but also less stable and more obsessed with a rematch with the Hulk. When this first PsychoSerum combines with Bruce Banner's own gamma-enhanced blood samples, it finally crosses him over into The Abomination and causes him to lose whatever remnants of morality he had left (he's willing to kill General Ross for no viable reason other than [[AxCrazy enslavement to madness]]).]]

* PsychoSerum: This is a Zigzag. [[spoiler:The two injections Blonsky takes during the movie are SuperSerum that turn him into a better soldier. However, these simply make him more able and driven rather than powerful AND crazy. His PsychoSerum turns out to be Bruce Banner's own gamma-enhanced blood samples, which finally cross him over into The Abomination and cause him to lose direction and morality (he's willing to kill General Ross for no viable reason other than [[AxCrazy enslavement to madness]]).]]

* MsFanservice: Martina, as detailed in Fanservice above. She's also probably considered this in-universe, being harassed by some guys before Bruce interrupts them. Betty too somewhat.

** One of the students who witnesses the fight at the university is named Jack [=McGee=], a reference to the investigative reporter from the TV series.

* MilitariesAreUseless: As they try to curb his rampage on downtown Los Angeles, the Abomination / Blonsky is disappointed that they're not much of a challenge to him, and is thrilled to see Hulk charge at him knowing it'll be more "fun".

* GuileHero: In this film Bruce Banner is far craftier than other iterations, using disguises, stealth, and at one point swallowing a thumb drive before transforming, then regurgitating it later when out of danger. The Hulk even gets in on the action, as this version makes far greater use of [[ImprovisedWeapon improvised weapons]] to match stronger opponents than any other.

* ConfusedBystanderInterview: There's an interview that doubles as a MythologyGag: the two college students interviewed about the Hulk's appearance at Culver University are Jack [=McGee=] (Banner's InspectorJavert from [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk the TV series]]) and Jim Wilson (one of Hulk's {{Kid Sidekick}}s from the comics). [=McGee=] even mentions hoping to become a reporter some day.

!!''The Incredible Hulk'' provides examples of:

->[speaking bad Portuguese] ''"Don't make me... hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry."''\\
[in English] ''"Wait, that's not right."''
-->-- '''Dr. Robert Bruce Banner / [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]]'''

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/incredible_hulk_5.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine Our only hope is something...]] [[TitleDrop incredible.]]'']]

*** The university is the Culver University obviously a shout out to the Culver Institute in the live action series that starred Bill Bixby

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: At one point, legendary UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickson_Gracie Rickson Gracie]] shows up and is credited as... ''Aikido'' instructor.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: At one point, legendary UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter [[Rickson Gracie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickson_Gracie]] shows up and is credited as... ''Aikido'' instructor.

As noted above, the Hulk next appears in ''The Avengers'', released in 2012. After a cameo in TheStinger of ''Film/IronMan3'' in 2013, his next proper appearance would be in 2015's ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', followed by 2017's ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' in 2018, and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' in 2019. It would not be until 2019 until it was announced that a spin-off, ''She-Hulk'', was announced for Creator/DisneyPlus; given that Universal only has the movie rights, [[LoopholeAbuse the platform seems to be how Disney will sidestep those issues in order to better integrate these characters into the setting]]. However, there's not word as to whether or not a standalone ''Hulk'' spin-off series could also be on the cards.

* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: More like "Kicked Across The Field Into A Tree", but what else can you expect as a regular-sized person going up against The Hulk?

[[ScrewedByTheLawyers Thanks to legal issues with Universal]], the film has not gotten a sequel. Even worse, when the Hulk next appeared in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' alongside Film/IronMan, Film/{{Thor}} and [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain America]], he was [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] with Creator/MarkRuffalo, and very few references were made to any of the events in this film[[note]]such as an allusion to an alternate version of the opening where the Hulk keeps Bruce from killing himself, along with a quip said by Banner himself about he "broke Harlem" the last time he was in New York[[/note]]. The movie's role in the setting was finally reinforced when Hurt reprised his role as General Ross in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. Ten years later, the logo for the film was openly included in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jNvJU52LvU promotional spot]] that listed all the movies preceding ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', though it didn't have footage from this film -- footage from ''The Avengers'' and ''Captain America: Civil War'' was used for Banner and Ross, respectively. In a later May 2019 AMA, [[WordOfGod Kevin Feige]] [[https://old.reddit.com/r/marvelstudios/comments/bp084n/hi_reddit_im_kevin_feige_amaa/enncmsh/ confirmed the student eating pizza in this film is the same person as the debate coach in]] ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', so in any case, Marvel execs aren't shy about acknowledging its canonicity.