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).

Easter Egg Hunt: Iron Man (2008), Part Two

Part One can be viewed here.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Steve Rogers was a scrawny kid who was bothered by the rise of the Third Reich. When his size kept him from enlisting in the American war effort, he volunteered for a program called Operation: Rebirth in which he was transformed into the super-soldier Captain America. In most of the stories, Captain America is frozen in ice near the end of World War II. The world believes that he is dead until someone discovers his frozen body and brings him back to life in modern times.

The biggest reference to Captain America in Iron Man - the biggest reference to further Marvel films - is shown when Pepper catches Tony Stark removing the damaged Iron Man armor. In the background one can see a modernized version of Captain America's shield. It is still under construction, so we can assume that this is some sort of government contract that Tony has been working on. This may be the biggest reference, but it is certainly not the only reference.

You may have noticed that Tony's father Howard Stark was referenced quite often in Iron Man. His mention in this story doesn't necessarily point to anything beyond Tony's own back story, but it is worth noting that he is often mentioned in reference to World War II. When Howard Stark is featured in a montage regarding Tony's origin at the Apogee Award for Design & Engineering Excellence, he is described as a "legendary weapons developer" and shown in front of a diagram of a World War II era warplane. Tony tells the reporter that his father was a hero because of his work on the Manhattan project and defeating the Nazis, and this is confirmed by the treacherous Obadiah Stane, who talks about Howard's work on the atomic bomb while removing Tony's life support.

Howard is also memorialized by a World War II era propeller Tony keeps by the television in his laboratory, and the Howard Stark Memorial Parkway that is visible from the highway where Iron Man battled Ironmonger. Like I mentioned above, referencing Howard Stark during a film surrounding Tony Stark is not entirely weird, but when Tony Stark is contracted to build Captain America's shield it seems very likely that Howard Stark was the one who originally got the contract. Thus, when we learn more about Howard Stark it seems wise to ask, "Who exactly is Howard Stark and what is his relationship with Captain America?"

WAR MACHINE

Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes is the best friend of Tony Stark/Iron Man. In the comic books, he uses one of Tony's armor suits and becomes the hero known as War Machine. The mere presence of Terrence Howard as James Rhodes in Iron Man is, in itself, a hint that we are likely to see War Machine in future installations of the Iron Man movie franchise.

Of course, to say that James Rhodes' appearance in Iron Man assures the existence of War Machine in future Iron Man films is similar to saying that Thaddeus Ross's appearance in The Incredible Hulk assures the existence of Red Hulk in future Hulk films. In other words, the one does not guarantee the other. However, when James Rhodes espies a silver armored suit as he exits Tony Stark's house, shows obvious temptation to don the armor, and then proclaims, "Next time, baby," it seems pretty clear that there is a War Machine story coming soon.

Let's not forget that War Machine was also important enough to be featured in the end credits animation. I seem to remember an animated armor suit with a shoulder-mounted gatling gun appearing while the Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" played.

Part Three can be viewed here.