Synopsis for
The Incredible Hulk (2008)

In the beginning, we are treated to a flashback sequence explaining the origins and the history of the Hulk - a creature brought to life by an explosion of Gamma radiation, now wanted by the United States government, and it has been missing ever since the accident which created it. There have been no reported sightings of the Hulk in at least five months.

In Brazil, Bruce Banner (Ed Norton) is shown relaxing. A counter on the screen informs us that Banner has lived "Without Incident" (not having any manifestation of his Hulk abilities) for 158 days. We learn that Bruce has been training with a local guru to learn special anger-management techniques. He wears a special gauge on his wrist that helps monitor his pulse (and by extension his transformations).

Bruce works as a freelancer for a local soft drink bottling plant. One day, while helping to repair some of the equipment, Bruce cuts his hand. He frantically tries to clean up the blood stain without anyone noticing. But Bruce fails to see a small trace of his blood enter on of the drink bottles prepared for shipment to the United States. Later, on the way out of the factory, Bruce has an argument with two of the locals who are harassing a female employee. He tries to intimidate the other workers, but Bruce's incompetence with the Portuguese language create problems- he ends up saying "Dont make me hungry; you wouldn't like me when I'm hungry" (mistaking the words for "hungry" and "angry.")

Back at his tiny flat, Bruce receives an exotic flower sample in the mail. He intends to use it as a possible ingredient in a cure for the Hulk problem. He uses a computer to communicate online with his friend, known only by the screen name "Mr. Blue." (Bruce himself uses the name "Mr. Green" on the computer). The test with the flower fails. Mr. Blue asks to meet Bruce in person to learn more about his gamma poisoning. Bruce is agaisnt that idea, but he does send Mr. Blue a blood sample for further study.

At the Pentagon in Washington DC, General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) is going over some reports when he learns about a case of gamma sickness. An elderly man (Stan Lee; the creator of the Hulk comic book) drank a bottle of exotic juice (the same bottle with Bruce's blood drop) and became very sick. Ross, knowing that this is the best lead he has about the missing Hulk, sets out to find all possible information about the drink and where it came from.

Ross meets with his old friend General Joe Greller (Peter Mensah), who has assembled a qualified if somewhat inexperienced team to accompany Ross. The team will be led by one Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who has come to train alongside American soldiers per an agreement with the British Royal Marines. Blonsky is especially interested; he hopes that the target is a "fighter."

Bruce receives another message from Mr. Blue; the latest blood tests have shown very promising results. Mr. Blue is now confident that he can cure Bruce's condition if he obtains the necessary data regarding the subject. Bruce does not have the information available since it is all still back at the compound where the gamma accident first occurred.

Just then, Bruce's pet dog starts barking, having sensed the approaching soldiers. Bruce flees out the window and manages to evade immediate capture. Blonsky spots him and they begin a chase through the small town. Noticing that his pulse is highly accelerated, Bruce stops in a desperate attempt to regain control of himself. But as he starts running again he crashes into the three rival workers from the soda factory that he unwittingly insulted earlier. They also begin to chase Bruce.

Winding up back in the factory, Bruce is found first by the workers. They assault him for his earlier confrontation. Bruce begs them to stop, stating that something bad will happen if they make him mad. The group just laughs at his statement and begin beating him. Bruce collapses, his pulse racing. The monitor snaps off his wrist as Bruce's eyes glow green; the transformation has begun.

The soldiers watch as a mysterious muscled figure defeats the workers and then begins to demolish part of the factory. Only Blonsky is able to see the Creature up close, and he is awestruck by the sight of it. In the resulting chaos and confusion, several soldiers are injured or killed as the creature known as Hulk escapes.

Later on, Blonsky and Ross search Bruce's apartment, finding a computer and an article about a female scientist. Blonsky wants to know about the thing that apparently helped Banner, only to be contradicted as Ross points out that the mysterious creature WAS Banner.

Bruce wakes up by a waterfall some time later (1 "Day Without Incident") and finds that he is now in Guatemala. After scrounging some food and clothes, he begins making his way north.

Back at the military base, Blonsky is still curious about the Hulk creature, wanting to fight it again with a qualified team. Ross brings Blonsky up to speed with information regarding the origins of the Hulk- During World War 2, the US Army began extensive in programs of bio-tech force enhancement (the creation of "Super-Soldiers.") Ross wanted to re-open the project, and Banner's work was part of it. The usage of gamma was supposed to be an experiment toward radiation resistance. Bruce was so confident in his findings that he tested the procedure on himself, thus creating the Hulk.

Ross is curious about Blonsky's interest in this project; Blonsky is pushing 40 and more than qualified for a higher-ranking position. Blonsky explains that he has no interest in "Getting out of the trenches," he just wants to keep fighting. Blonsky states that his fondest desire is to have a body half his current age combined with the experiences from his entire combat life. Ross states that such a thing might indeed be possible.

Bruce has made his way to Culver University, where the Hulk was born. He is now going on 17 Days Without Incident. Bruce tries to stay incognito on campus, but he seeks the advice (and company) of Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross (Liv Tyler), his former girlfriend and confidant. But Bruce sees Betty with another man, Dr. Samson (Ty Burrell) and assumes that she has forgotten what they had and moved on with her life.

That evening, Bruce meets with his old friend & mentor Stanley (Paul Soles) who offers Bruce a bed and a job at his pizza place. Knowing that he cannot obtain regular access to the school's science facilities, Bruce uses a pizza to bribe the security guard (Lou Ferigno) into letting him use the building.

Once Bruce gains access to the computers, he finds that all of the data from the gamma experiment is gone. Mr. Blue, communicating with Bruce again, states that he cannot help without knowing all there is to know about Bruce's level of gamma exposure.

That night, Bruce prepares to leave when Betty & her boyfriend stop by Stanley's restaurant. Though Banner attempts to leave quietly, Betty spots him and demands to know the truth from Stanley, who confesses that Bruce was staying there. Betty finds Bruce strolling on a bridge and they have an emotional reunion.

Betty takes Bruce back to her home, where she shows him a flash drive containing the gamma experiment details (smuggled out from the lab before General Ross' people confiscated it). Betty wants to find a peaceful resolution and suggests that Bruce simply surrender to the military so they can talk things out. Bruce explains that the military people like General Ross want to dissect the Hulk so they can understand and recreate it for use as a weapon. Banner has been on the run all this time because he doesn't want this terrible power in the wrong hands.

Meanwhile, Blonsky has agreed to be a test subject for Ross' "Super-Soldier Serum," in the hopes of being able to take on the Hulk.

Next day, Bruce & Betty are walking along campus when Bruce spots military people moving in. He runs and instructs Betty to hide. Evading pursuit for a few seconds, Bruce swallows the flash drive in an attempt to keep from losing it. The military people corner Banner in an overpass and flood him with tear gas.

Betty reaches General Ross' command post, begging for an end to this pursuit. (Through this conversation, it is revealed that the General is Betty's father).

Trapped with no way out, Bruce's pulse accelerates rapidly. The Hulk bursts out from the overpass, eager to fight the soldiers. They open fire but bullets merely bounce off Hulk's thick hide. Blonsky is able to challenge the Hulk, moving with superior speed & reflexes as a result of the serum. Blonsky leads Hulk into a trap; the soldiers are able to pin Hulk down using two high-powered sonic cannons. Betty cries out for the Hulk, and upon seeing her in pain the Hulk's rage (and by extension his powers) increase. Hulk destroys the sonic cannons and kicks Blonsky into a tree.

Betty approaches the Hulk, and he appears to be friendly towards her. A nearby helicopter begins firing at Hulk even though Betty is in range of the guns. Hulk throws some debris to take down the chopper and uses his own body to protect Betty from the crash. At that point, Hulk flees with the injured Betty.

General Ross' team takes all the remaining materials from Betty's house while the General thanks Dr. Samson for alerting them to Banner's arrival. But Samson no longer wants to help; he saw that the Hulk tried to protect Betty while Ross' forces almost killed her. The General insists that safety is his primary concern, but Samson doesn't believe him.

Hulk brings Betty to a cave to wait out the night & resulting storms. Betty is able to speak calmly to the Hulk and he does not attack her. Next morning Bruce has returned to normal and they set off together.

General Ross visits Blonsky in the hospital, learning that most of Blonsky's bones were shattered by the Hulk's attack. Blonsky is not expected to survive, and if he does pull through it is not expected that he will ever walk again.

Knowing that his own forces will not be enough to find and contain Banner, General Ross teams up with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Logistics Enforcement Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) to monitor any & all activity regarding Banner or his daughter.

Having gathered what supplies they could find, Bruce & Betty are heading to New York to finally meet the mysterious "Mr. Blue," whose real name is Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). S.H.I.E.L.D. intercepts the email Bruce sent to Sterns and prepares another team. At the same time, General Ross finds out that Blonsky has made a miraculous recovery and is "ready for Round Three." Blonsky receives another dose of the Super-Soldier Serum.

On the way to New York, Betty asks if Bruce can remember anything about his experiences as the Hulk. Bruce states that flashes of what happens are occasionally clear. Betty suggests that Bruce could in fact gain control of the Hulk state if he desired, but Bruce does not want such a thing to happen.

Next day, Betty introduces herself and Bruce to Samuel Sterns. Sterns is perplexed until Bruce refers to him as "Mr. Blue." Sterns is thrilled to finally meet his mysterious friend.

Sterns goes into detail about his proposed cure- it will be very difficult to get the dosage right, too much will kill Bruce and too little will leave them all vulnerable to the Hulk. Furthermore, Sterns doesn't know if his proposed antidote will be a permanent effect or just surpress a single "Hulk" outbreak. Regardless, Bruce still wants to try.

Blonsky is preparing to head back into battle, but does not notice the strange portrusions now growing out of his spine...

That night, the three of them begin the procedure. Bruce starts to transform and the counter-chemical is force fed into his body. Slowly, the Hulk weakens and turns back into Bruce! Sterns is awestruck by what he has seen Bruce do, but still cannot be sure whether the cure is permanent or tailored just to this specific Incident. He mentions that previous research would indicate the latter, and Bruce is suddenly startled by Stern's mention of other "test subjects."

Sterns shows off an entire laboratory devoted to the blood samples he obtained from Bruce. Sterns thinks that this type of gamma usage could be of tremendous benefit to humanity, and is dumbfounded when Bruce begs him to destroy the samples. Bruce states again that the government will take everything there and try to make it into a weapon. At that moment, Bruce is shot by a tranquilizer dart from a sniper. Blonsky storms the room and challenges Banner, but Bruce fails to transform.

As Bruce is wheeled out into custody, General Ross expresses his frustration at the turn of events, vowing to keep Banner locked up for the rest of his life if the Hulk is truly gone. Betty is furious at the General's actions.

When Sterns explains to the military that he could theoretically create others like the Hulk, Blonsky holds him at gunpoint and demands to undergo the process. Recognizing that Blonsky has already received some type of enhancement, Sterns warns him that using the procedure on someone with an already altered condition could be "an Abomination." Blonsky insists on it, desperate to have the kind of power that Hulk had. Sterns complies with the request and infuses Blonsky with the Hulk-based chemicals. Blonsky mutates into a hideous creature and destroys the lab. A tiny bit of Hulk blood drips into Stern's open head wound, causing his cranium to swell.

The remaining military forces are ambushed by the hideous Blonsky (hereafter referred to as "Abomination"), and request backup from General Ross. Ross is dumbfounded when they report a Hulk-like creature in the streets and goes to investigate with his chopper (also carrying Bruce & Betty). The soldier's helmet-cameras capture the Abomination on film until he destroys their vehicle.

Ross orders all remaining military forces to attack, but Bruce knows that there is only one force that can match Abomination. Banner decides to jump from the moving chopper, hoping to unleash the Hulk and direct its power against Abomination. Betty argues that Bruce can't even be sure he will transform. Bruce kisses Betty goodbye and jumps. As he falls, he closes his eyes... and opens them again to find that nothing has happened. Bruce curses as he smashes into the ground.

The impact creates a massive crater, much bigger than a normal person Bruce's size would have made. Suddenly, a giant hand bursts from the rubble and Hulk stands ready for battle!

Abomination and Hulk square off in a massive fight, tearing apart half the streets in the process. Ross orders the chopper to fire on Abomination and give support to the Hulk. Abomination jumps at the chopper and (despite Hulk's best efforts) forces Ross & his team to crash-land on a rooftop.

Sparks from the chopper's motor set fire to the damaged craft. Seeing that Betty is in danger, Hulk jumps before the wreck and claps his hands together-creating a powerful shockwave that extinguishes the flames. Unfortunately this leaves Hulk vulnerable for another attack from Abomination, which badly wounds him.

Abomination picks up some chains from the building and prepares to kill General Ross. With his strength returning, the Hulk stands up and delivers the immortal line "Hulk....SMASH!" as he traps Abomination in a makeshift fissure. Hulk is about to strangle the Abomination when Betty pleads with him to stop. Hulk, recognizing the woman he loves, obeys.

A spotlight from another chopper sets its sight on Hulk, and the creature goes on the run again.

Some time later, Betty stands out on the shores of Liberty Island and fondly recalls her time with Bruce.

Bruce, meanwhile, has gone into hiding once more. Now he has set up a tiny home in British Columbia and again practices the anger-control techniques learned before. He is at 31 Days Without Incident when suddenly, deliberately, his eyes glow green and the counter rolls back to zero.

Elsewhere, General Ross is drinking in a military bar morose over his failure. He is confronted by a unique young man- Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who has come to talk about General Ross' unusual problem. Stark informs the General that "we are putting a team together."