Easter Egg Hunt: The Incredible Hulk (2008), Part Three

Part One can be read here.

Part Two can be read here.

WENDIGO

Wendigo is a mythical monster that dwells in the vast forests of Canada. He is a common enemy of Alpha Flight and Wolverine, but also of The Incredible Hulk.

This one is a little more of a shot in the dark than the others. While General Ross is briefing his soldiers regarding the Hulk situation, he explains that Banner is possibly responsible for the deaths of two Canadian hunters. To me, this seemed incredibly similar to the events of The Incredible Hulk #180 and #181. In this issue, the first appearance of Wolverine, our heroes battle against a strange mythical force known as Wendigo that is capable of possessing an individual, transforming said individual into a monster, and forcing that individual to hunt and kill others.

Will we see Wendigo in future Marvel movies? Probably not. Was it the intention of Edward Norton to give a shout-out to Wendigo in The Incredible Hulk? I wouldn't doubt it.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

There was an extra scene shot for The Incredible Hulk in which Banner/Hulk went to Antartica instead of South America in order to hide out. As he walks through the frozen wastelands, part of the glacier breaks away to reveal the frozen body of Captain America beneath it. While the scene is included in the special features of the DVD and Blu Ray version of the film, it was cut from the original. Whether or not it is considered canon is up in the air, but for our purposes I am assuming that this is not actually how the story is going to be told in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But Captain America pokes his head out a couple of times in The Incredible Hulk. Ross and Blonsky discuss a World War II "Bio-Tech Force Enhancement" program devoted to creating a "Super Soldier." This is certainly a reference to the creation of Captain America. When Blonsky is modified to battle the Hulk the serum that he is given is blue, patriot blue. After Blonsky is injected, he outruns an entire squadron of troops from front to back and engages in hand-to-hand combat with the Hulk. And when everything goes wrong, Tony Stark tells Ross that the "Super Soldier program was put on ice for a reason."

The really big hint, however, is a little bit more subtle. As Ross approaches the canister with the serum that he is going to administer to Blonsky in it, we see that it is part of the Weapons Plus program and developed by Dr. Reinstein. It also has the Vita-Ray logo on it. Weapons Plus is Marvel's super soldier program, stemming from Weapon I (Captain America) to Weapon X (Wolverine) and further. Dr. Reinstein is another name for Dr. Erskine, the head of Project: Rebirth. Erskine was the scientist who successfully created Captain America. As for vita ray, bursts of "vita-rays" were administered to activate the super soldier serum in Steve Rogers' blood and turn him into Captain America. Put this all together and you've got one heck of a Captain America hint.

This concludes my exploration of Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter eggs in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk. I'll see you next time with Easter Egg Hunt: Iron Man 2 (2010).