Issue #2: Sandy's Reflections on The Incredible Hulk (2008)

As someone who spends time writing about Lois Lane, Pepper Potts, and Jane Foster’s incarnations of the leading ladies of comic book characters on film, immediately I latched onto Liv Tyler’s version of Betty Ross while doing our scholarly viewing (as I am sure you suspected I would). The center of the film is their love story, built from the opening backstory of Bruce Banner’s accident in the montage opening sequence. So why, then, is she absent through the rest of the MCU? In 2018, the Russo brothers explain what happened to Betty—she died in the snap. At the time, many predicted she would return in Avengers 4, aka Endgame (Bacon, https://screenrant.com/infinity-war-aunt-may-betty-ross-lady-sif-fate/). However, we now know that she didn’t. Poor Bruce was left without Betty or the misguided Whedon twist of would-they-or-won’t-they love interest of Nat, otherwise known as doomed heroine the Black Widow. Barring Liv Tyler as an actress not wanting to reprise the role—I mean, they recast everyone else? Why not recast Betty if that was the case?—what happened to Betty? 

In The Incredible Hulk, Banner and Ross' romance was structured more poignantly than I had remembered. And I readily admit that this was the one film I had not been excited to re-watch. I’m not sure why, but I had seen parts once or twice on television, but I can’t remember seeing it fully at the theater. Perhaps I did, but it was so not-memorable that I can’t pinpoint if I did or didn’t. Again, I wonder why.

At the time, I don’t know if I even knew there was an end-credit scene, now a must for the MCU. Even Endgame had the touching sound of Tony Stark hammering his helmet as a tribute, though it didn’t have a specific scene as the movie was the marker for the end of the phase. Many on Quora have remarked that one reason why Betty isn’t present in the MCU later is that she “was a calming factor” to Banner, and that would interfere with the whole idea of the Hulk’s rage. Others pinpoint that it would interfere with the Black Widow-Bruce Banner pairing, and others just say she was not needed (https://www.quora.com/Why-dont-we-see-Betty-Ross-in-the-MCU-anymore-after-Liv-Tyler-s-performance).

What I think the series loses here is something interesting outside of The Incredible Hulk. Natasha Romanoff is not a love interest; she is an Avenger in her own right. By pairing Bruce and Natasha instead of Bruce and Betty, it limits her viability outside of being just there for Bruce to pine over or, as in Age of Ultron, to have dramatic angst over a relationship that won’t work (that is worthy of a soap opera in itself). Side note: Let’s hope that is corrected in the postponed Black Widow.

In short, Betty had a large role in this film, and she is prevalent in most every incarnation of the Hulk in some way, much like Pepper Potts or Jane Foster. It may change shape depending on the comic’s thread or a different “universe.” But there was nothing wrong with Liv Tyler’s Betty—and I still can’t figure out why I forgot about this movie. She has agency, and she makes her own choices about her life outside of the love interest facet. In some ways, she even saves both Bruce and the Hulk, taking control when she needs to help them survive the night or find shelter. In addition, there is a real punch to the last act, as she confronts her father and worries over Bruce potentially sacrificing himself in New York. That major action scene is referenced later in the first Avengers. So despite a few nods here and there, sadly, we lost out on a normal, non-super powered character who could have added layers to the subsequent storylines—and added emotional value to Bruce Banner who, himself, sometimes appears as a one-note sidekick there to help the other Avengers or move the story forward.

According to Hood’s 2019 article for ScreenRant, Liv Tyler’s Betty might show up in the Disney+ long-anticipated series She-Hulk (https://screenrant.com/she-hulk-betty-ross-liv-tyler-return-rumor/). I think that would be a great return for a forgotten character who had promise. Do I need to start a hashtag #BringBackBetty? Maybe! Anyone want to join me? Let’s start a trend. I mean, hey, it worked for Zack Snyder’s Justice League!

Issue #2: Alex's Reflections on The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) begins this movie hiding in Brazil in a factory that produces soda. He is secretly researching a way in which to reverse his condition. His desire to never be found is, within the storyline, logical as the United States military is looking to collect him in order to finish experimenting on his body. However, the hiding feels more profound when placed within the larger construct of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even before this movie was relegated to the proverbial “bench” of superhero films, The Incredible Hulk wants to hide.

Much of the public rhetoric around this film is saturated with neglect and disdain; it is the Marvel film that never lived up to its expected stature. Bruce Banner embodies the reserved and cautious nature of the film by always attempting to remain inconspicuous. Throughout the film Dr. Banner is wearing a hooded sweater over his face to hide, pulling a baseball cap down over his head to hide, turning sideways behind trees to hide, and sending cryptic encoded messages over the internet to hide. The plot of the film necessitates Dr. Banner’s actions because he is being hunted, but the constant hiding serves more to reinforce what The Incredible Hulk is truly remembered as: a film that is hidden and forgotten.

The events from this story are rarely referenced in later Marvel films, and this is counter intuitive to what audiences expect from Marvel. Like their comic book counterparts, the Marvel films are known for their connectedness and cross-referencing. That interconnectedness is what creates a “universe” in superhero literature, and aside from a subtle reference of the film’s final fight sequence in the Netflix series Daredevil, this film (and its events) have been largely forgotten. General Ross (William Hurt), the driven yet conflicted military leader, serves as the film’s attempt to find a purpose. Yes, General Ross commits evil acts. Yes, General Ross alienates his daughter, Elizabeth Ross (Liv Tyler). Yes, he tries to capture the Incredible Hulk numerous times by using extreme military force. But he is also the only impetus for bringing the big green monster into the Marvel Universe’s public consciousness. Within the film General Ross is looking to complete military experiments on Bruce Banner, but one cannot help but invite General Ross into the film because he is the only character who pulls the Incredible Hulk from hiding.

The actor playing the character of Bruce Banner was eventually replaced by Mark Ruffalo, and the details behind that switch are still a bit nebulous. Even Liv Tyler’s Elizabeth Ross never returned. Only William Hurt, as General Ross, returned to later Marvel films. During the middle action sequence where General Ross’ forces try to capture the Hulk, the military leader says what the audience has been thinking for nearly an hour. While Bruce Banner is transforming into the Hulk, Ross says about his daughter, “Now she’ll see” in reference to what the Hulk looks like. For almost half of the movie, Bruce Banner hides with the Hulk being suppressed. General Ross does not want the Hulk hidden or forgotten.

Issue #2: Gian's Reflections on The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Proceeding chronologically, we watched 2008’s Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler (just in case you have forgotten).

There’s an important scene toward the end of the film between the soldier now chasing the Hulk and a rogue doctor who tried to find a cure.

Emil Blonsky: “I want more. You've seen what he becomes, right?”

Samuel Sterns: “I have. And it's beautiful.”

Sterns then gives Blonsky (played well by Tim Roth) a serum that turns him into the Abomination, which leads to the climatic battle of the film.

This, I think, is the ongoing issue with the Hulk. Bruce Banners spends all his time searching for a cure. He does not want to be the Hulk. But viewers and readers of the comic all think it would be pretty cool to be the Hulk. Come on, admit it. You have wondered how it would feel to have all that power, right? To get huge and muscled and be able to smash things and leap for miles. I know I have.

At one point, on the run and driving at night, Betty Ross and Bruce have the following exchange:

Betty: What is it like? When it happens, what do you experience?

Bruce: “Remember those experiments we volunteered for at Harvard? Those induced hallucination? It's a lot like that, just a thousand times amplified. It's like someone poured a litre of acid into my brain.”

Betty: “Do you remember anything?”

Bruce: “Just fragments. Images. There's too much noise. I can never derive anything out of it.”

Betty: “But then it's still YOU inside of it.”

Bruce: “No. No, it's not.”

Betty: “I don't know. In the cave, I really felt like it knew me. Maybe your mind is in there, it's just overcharged and can't process what's happening.”

Bruce: “I don't want to control it. I want to get rid of it.”

This motif has been at the center of our understanding of the Hulk from the very beginning. But it’s hard for us to feel sympathy for Banner because in some ways we don’t understand him. Banner doesn’t want to control the Hulk, but I think most of us think we could. Or at least we would want to try. Control the Hulk, and you get the power.

That’s certainly what Blonsky wants to do. But of course, Blonsky is evil and a bit crazy. So we don’t want that, either. And, to quote one of my teenage sons after viewing Avengers: Endgame: “I don’t want smart Hulk. Who wants smart Hulk? Smart Hulk is dumb. The Hulk is supposed to smash stuff.”

As a kid my son loved the Hulk and would wear a green Hulk t-shirt a lot. When you are little, it’s easy to understand the attraction of the Hulk’s power. There are times in life when we need to be stronger than we are. This was what the T.V. show The Incredible Hulk got right. David (Apparently, the director changed his name so it wouldn’t seem like a comic book show???) Banner hadn’t been able to save his wife when other people were able to perform miraculous feats of strength in times of trouble. He believed gamma rays were the key, and became the Hulk after exposing himself to them. In the T.V. show, Banner (played so wonderfully by Bill Bixby, R.I.P.) was able to become the Hulk (played equally well by Lou Ferrigno who gets a nice cameo as a security guard in the film) in key moments so he could use his power to save people. Banner still was on the run and trying to find a cure.

In the film, the Hulk does save Betty. That instinct makes sense. But we don’t get many other moments of the Hulk using his power to save people. In this film, Banner mostly has no control over the Hulk. And he seems mostly to fight the Abomination because, well, the Abomination sucks and who wouldn’t beat him down?

So, while The Incredible Hulk is better in a second viewing than any of us remembered, it still feels like not quite the movie we wanted. Mark Ruffalo remains the consensus best version of the Hulk, and he does shine in the later films (setting aside smart Hulk).

The Hulk is the strongest one there is. And so, he could be the greatest superhero of them all. But the monster in the Hulk always keeps that out of reach. Perhaps that’s why the perfect Hulk film has always felt just out of reach. We have high hopes and we get close, but then we are disappointed. Blonsky and Sterns get it right, I think. We want the beauty and the power of the Hulk. And we are still waiting for the film that captures all of that.

Issue #1: Let the Marvelous Journey Begin! by Gian

On Thursday, May 14, 2020, we began the Marvel Movie Saga all over again: 23 films in 23 weeks. Like everyone else, we are housebound by the coronavirus pandemic. Bored, cut off from our friends, from conferences, and from comicons, we decided we would re-watch, together, every Marvel film in order from the beginning. We chose to view canon only, so we wouldn't have to suffer through Ang Lee’s Hulk again, thankfully; just the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And, because we are Comics Studies Scholars, we also decided we would write about the experience.

There are 3 of us taking this marvelous journey: Sandy Eckard, Professor of English and Writing Studio Director at East Stroudsburg University, Alex Romagnoli, Assistant Professor of English Education at Monmouth University, and Gian Pagnucci, Chair of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The 3 of us have published a number of academic volumes on comic books and superheroes, and, more importantly, we are fans. We love the Marvel characters. And we enjoy working together. So, we decided to battle the coronavirus pandemic the main way academics can, by talking and writing...and watching movies!

We began our journey on Thursday, May 14. We started at the beginning with the original Iron Man film from 2008. Of course, we had a few problems getting rolling.

“Are we ever going to watch this movie?” Alex groaned.

“We’re getting there,” Gian said.

“It’s already 7:38. We were supposed to start watching at 7.”

“We’re almost there,” said Sandy.

First, we had to get our zoom meeting going and our computers connected. Then we had to figure out how to get us all together in a google doc so we could take notes as we watched the film and talked. Then we had to sync up our movies. With millions of us at home trying to watch things together while socially distancing, why isn’t there an app that launches movies at the same time for people?

3-2-1 go. And we were finally off. Sandy had her Iron Man popcorn bucket. Gian had on his Iron Man shirt that pulses with battery power, though sadly not a Stark made mini arc reactor. Alex had already started and was several minutes ahead of Sandy and Gian because we were having problems getting Sandy’s access to the google doc.

“I refuse to get yet another account and password,” said Sandy. So, after multiple emails she then could finally view the doc through her ESU email address. But it took a few more emails to get her editing access too. Then we finally caught up with Alex and started watching.

* * *

“Part of the journey is the end.” We watch now knowing the whole story. And it shapes our viewing. But Iron Man was, and remains, a joy to see. You know, instantly, that you are at the start of something new, a superhero film like nothing that had come before. Robert Downey, Jr., revels in his bad boy status as Tony Stark. Alex and Gian debated whether he was the first bad boy superhero. Alex pointed out that Dark Manand Robocop and The Crow and Judge Dredd all preceded Iron Man. And of course, there is The Dark Knight. But Batman is really only Batman. Bruce Wayne barely exists in the films, an afterthought for Batman’s all-consuming drive for vengeance. Iron Man is all Tony Stark. His personality is so big the suit can’t contain it, no matter how cool the armor looks. And that gleaming red and gold armor does look so very, very cool.

What wasn’t clear 12 years ago, though, was that Tony was to be the hero of a grand story of redemption. Uber wealthy arms manufacturer Tony Stark begins the film with the world at his feet. He has money, fame, and beautiful women. He has everything. Then after demoing a new Jericho missile to the U.S. military in Afghanistan, he gets captured by terrorists. He almost dies, but a native doctor and fellow captive named Yinsen, saves his life. Yinsen gives Stark a little hope, and together they begin building the first Iron Man suit, the Mark 1 version of the armor. Along the way, they become friends. One evening, Yinsen tells Stark he wants to escape in order to see his wife and children again. He asks Tony if he has any family, and Tony just shrugs a no. “So you’re a man who has everything, and nothing,” says Yinsen. Tony and Yinsen succeed in building the suit, but Yinsen is killed before the armor comes online. Yinsen’s dying words to Tony are, “Don’t waste your life, Stark.”

This statement becomes not only the driving force of the first Marvel film, but of the entire saga. As a huge Captain America fan, Gian wanted the saga to be about Steve Rogers. But Cap is inherently good. He always does the right thing. That’s just who he is.

But not Tony. Tony says himself, “I have this whole list of character flaws.” He can’t possibly be a superhero. And yet he is. Or, at least, he has to learn to become one. And we know he will. Because we know, now, how the journey ends. One of the reasons Avengers: Endgame is such a marvelous finale is that directors Joe and Anthony Russo clearly watched all the other films in preparation. And then they tied it all together. Not just nostalgic re-treading, which the Star Wars finale falls prey too, but making the story come full circle.

The Marvel Movie Saga is the story of Tony Stark. “I am Iron Man.” When Tony says those words, he begins a journey that took viewers across 23 films and decade. But it was one big story. What Stan Lee figured out in the dawn of comics, as Alex and Gian have written about in Enter the Superheroes, is that every Marvel story should be linked to every other Marvel story. It was one big universe.

And it worked. And now, restarting the series, it works again.

“Here comes Pepper!!!” Sandy squeals in delight. “You can already see how much she loves him.”

“I have to admit the suit still looks cool,” says Alex.

“Him turning the screw on the repulsor ray gauntlet while he’s watching his weapons being used on T.V. to kill innocent people. That’s when he really becomes Iron Man,” says Gian. “When he starts blasting stuff.”

Near the end of the film, Pepper says she can’t work for Tony if he’s going to be Iron Man. She doesn’t want to watch him get himself killed.

Tony replies, “I shouldn’t be alive. Unless it was for a reason…I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it’s right.”

“Ok,” says Alex as the movie ends. “That was fun, but I need to get to bed.”

“Wait! Wait!” cries Gian. “We have to watch the end credits scene.”

“Was there only one for this movie?” asks Sandy.

“Yep,” says Alex, “they had only just figured that out.”

“I am Iron Man,” Tony hears as he enters his darkened house. There, in all his glory, stands S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, perfectly played by the brilliant Samuel Jackson. Then he says, “You think you’re the only superhero in the world, Mr. Stark? You’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it.”

And there it was. The real beginning.

22 films to go.

Issue #1: Alex's Reflections on Iron Man (2008)

The specter of Iron Man exists within a larger superhero construct that has become denser with each passing year. Breaking from related films and television series, Iron Man is the grizzled veteran who cares nothing for its superhero predecessors and smirks at its successors. It breaks rules which exist only because an unspoken rule book was once created in a time so removed from the present that its origins are nebulous. Superheroes don’t curse. Superheroes don’t make mistakes out of hubris. Superheroes don’t scoff at the public. Iron Man does. It is easy to credit the unique character traits to the writers/artists who created Iron Man, namely Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby. Even easier is to credit David Michelinie, Bob Layton, John Romita Jr., and the entire creative team behind the Iron Man story “Demon in a Bottle” where Tony Stark battles alcoholism.  And perhaps most applicable is Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s Ultimates which reimagined Iron Man for the early 21^st century. All the men and women who contributed to Iron Man over its publication history deserve credit, but Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr.

Redemption is a main theme in Iron Man, and one that sustains the narrative through its story arcs. The redemption of Tony Stark feels as much about the billionaire tycoon as it does about the actor who portrays him. Downey’s personal history is rife with struggles and failures which, unfortunately, were made public given his fame. Iron Man was his own personal chance at redemption, and the film excels through this parallel. The grit of the film, which was mentioned earlier, feels less like a determined artistic direction and more like an acceptance of circumstances. Iron Man exists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is less “Marvel” and more “Jack Ryan.” The personal stakes within the film feel more profound and dire because Iron Man was the beginning of a new aesthetic and personality in superhero literature. I have watched countless superhero films where the fate of the world hung in the balance, and I did not feel any anxiety or place any emotional investment in the outcome. In many superhero films, the world is either literally (or figuratively) going to come to an end unless the hero does “x,” but the emotional resonance remains flat. With Iron Man, a quiet conversation between Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane creates layers of emotions through dialogue.

The hero remains confident throughout the film, but the audience knows he is always on the edge of a proverbial cliff. To satiate my passion for baseball in this piece, Iron Man is the veteran pitcher who is one pitch away from either winning the game or blowing the lead. One quote which stuck with me after watching the film was when Ho Yinsen, the fellow captive who helps Tony Stark build his prototype suit out of scraps while being held in a cave, tells Tony Stark, “Don’t waste your life,” as he is dying from an injury. Those are strong words for any person to live by, but they are more profound given the people involved in the production of the film. 

Issue #1: Sandy’s Reflections on Iron Man (2008)

What do we gain from starting an online “together but separate” project? I think my first thought is that we are really lucky that we are at this moment in time. We can stream movies—a world of movies like the MCU—at the touch of a button. We can “see” each other and chat while we watch a movie together. We also have the advantage of years of “re-watches” to inform how we watch and what we look for. Originally, I thought I would spend the time saying my favorite lines along with the characters “I would like a vodka martini, please. Very dry. With olives. A lot of olives. Like three olives.” But, instead, I think the idea of watching together for scholarship—and connection—made me notice other facets.

I noticed another one of my favorite quotes, but this time in a different way: “If you douse me again, and I’m not on fire, I’m donating you to a city college.” I never thought about why Tony talks to his robots. I mean, I thought he was just a super smart guy who made them because he could; he had Jarvis talk to him because he could simply make a smart virtual assistant. But, really, there’s more to it: he created them for companionship. He was alone, even as a kid. He didn’t connect to his parents and felt his father thought he was a failure. Maybe the only people he has in his life are the virtual Jarvis AI, his robot, and, of course, Pepper. In a way, we are all disconnected because of the corona virus right now, much like Tony. He took what he had and made it work. He was isolated but he made his own family, his own network when he needed it. Maybe I noticed it because we could all be a little more like Tony right now: invent ways to make our situation better.