Comic book enthusiasts now know how the Incredible Hulk was born, but do we have to see a new original story just because it was never made in the Marvel cinematic universe? At least some enthusiasts think so.
For a studio that has been so successful stratospheric, Marvel has struggled to get the right Hulk. A tangle of rights issues has contributed to the fact that there isn’t a Hulk solo movie at the moment, but if you make one, do you value the whole story? History suggests that the answer may not be.
The original Hulk story has been told several times in the media, however, the unusual thread is that a Dr. Banner receives too much gamma radiation, causing disorders when he gets angry. In the comics, Bruce Banner saves the life of a teenager who entered the control site but, in doing so, is hit by the explosion.
CBS’s Incredible Hulk with Bill Bixthrough has made the origin more rooted in non-public trauma. Dr. Banner, named David in the series, is obsessed with his inability to save his wife after a car accident. Unknowingly, a dangerously high dose of gamma radiation is provided to take advantage of the hidden reserves of force that occur in an emergency, and you get much more than you expected.
The 2003 film directed through Universal with Eric Bana and directed through Ang Lee was found somehow in the midst of those two versions. Once again, Banner takes an overdose of gamma radiation to verify and save the life of a lab assistant. However, Banner also faces repressed trauma that makes his anger disorders even more tragic and potentially dangerous.
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When Marvel made their 2008 Hulk film, they didn’t think irrationally that the audience already knew the origin in one way or another, so they didn’t bother to describe it at all. This resulted in less exposure and more action, but not necessarily a better movie.
In the maximum MCU film ratings, The Incredible Hulk falls or near the back of the stack.
At Reddit, a fan argued that the MCU does a redesign and comes with the original story. “Not the gamma bomb. I need the full setup since Bruce was a kid and saw his father murder violently his own mother creating the Hulk in his head. I wish the MCU hearing knew why Bruce is so angry.
This suggestion ignores the fact that the origin of the “abusive parent” came from a film not directed through Marvel Studios, and they would not need to copy this concept into their own film, as long as they made one.
In a scenario similar to the Spider-Man/Sony deal, Marvel can put the Hulk in a movie, but they can’t make him the leader without giving Universal the right to reject it first.
In fact, Spider-Man gives a lesson that an original story is not the most productive idea.
After Sony made three very successful Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi, the studio unfortunately restarted the series with a new Spider-Man in Andrew Garfield and a new director, Marc Webb. Although Peter Parker’s story bitten through the radioactive spider is well known, Sony decided to re-establish it, leading some viewers to think that the film was a pale imitation of the 2002 film.
Fans also complained when Batman vs Superman gave us a new edition of the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents, and some recently set their eyes blank when he announced that the new Batman film starring Robert Pattinson would “explore the trauma of Bruce Wayne.” Still?
It is revealing that when the MCU brought Spider-Man into the fold, it absolutely got rid of the original story. If Marvel Studios manages to make a new Hulk film, they would do well to stick to that example, for fear of being accused of screwing with the Hulk.