11/11/2008 - The Incredible Hulk: Alternate Opening (With Captain America)

Being the Incredible Hulk fan that I am, it's no surprise that I got the Blu-Ray on the release day, and I was not disappointed. Over 40 minutes of deleted scenes? That's like a whole new movie right there. There were rumors of the many cuts Marvel made to the movie to make it more fast-paced, and that these cut scenes were largely the creative contribution made by star Edward Norton. All I can say is I can see why Norton was reportedly displeased with the editing decisions made because most of these cut scenes were gold. I especially liked the stuff with Doc Samson... those scenes could have come from Peter David himself (my favorite Incredible Hulk comic writer).

If you had paid attention to all the trailers, you see that there was supposed to be a scene in the arctic. However, in the theatrical release, no such scene was shown. Everybody who read the novelization of the movie can attest that this was supposed to be the opening of the movie, where Bruce Banner goes to the desolate arctic to kill himself, only to be stopped by the Hulk. Now, I can understand why studio execs would be nervous by a scene where the main character tries to commit suicide, and looking at the movie as a whole, I find it would have been difficult to fit it in. As it stands, the theatrical opening works better.

However, with all the production that went into it, such a scene would not be lost forever and they included it on the DVD and Blu-Ray. What else is fascinating about this alternate opening is that there was a rumor of a cameo of Captain America, another Marvel superhero who would be the leader of the Avengers. For those who don't know the story about Captain America, you just need to know that he was a soldier in World War II who was given superhuman ability with a "Super Soldier" serum and was thought to have perished at the end of the war. In reality, he was frozen in the icy waters but still alive in a state of suspended animation.

The Incredible Hulk already had the cameo of Iron Man's Tony Stark in the movie, a reference to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Super Soldier serum that created Captain America. In this alternate opening, though, you'll actually see the frozen body of Captain America himself... if you look carefully. It's a "blink and you miss it" moment, but it really brings everything together in preparation for that Avengers movie.