9. The Incredible Hulk, 2008.
Directed by Louis Leterrier.
Starring Edward Norton (Bruce Banner/The Hulk), Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky/The Abomination), William Hurt (General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross) and Tim Blake Nelson (Samuel Sterns).
If you were looking to put money on which of Marvel’s first two movies would have been the bigger success, then The Incredible Hulk would have been the obvious choice. The Green Goliath was easily the most recognisable of all the characters at Marvel’s disposal, but despite the Hulk’s popularity, the film failed to SMASH! the box office, pulling in just $263.4 million worldwide – less than half that of fellow Avenger Iron Man, and the lowest of all ten of Marvel Studios’ movies to date.
For Marvel Studios, The Incredible Hulk is pretty much the forgotten film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve subsequently recast Bruce Banner and revamped The Hulk, while the likes of Betty Ross, Thunderbolt Ross and Samuel Sterns – now seemingly The Leader – have never been seen again. And it’s proved forgettable for our writers too, with the film only narrowly edging out Iron Man 2 to claim ninth place.
Read our review of The Incredible Hulk here.