Hulk

"I can't control it... But maybe I could guide it, aim it in the right direction."

Hulk is the form taken by Bruce Banner; whenever he is stressed, enraged or seriously injured. This is due to exposure to gamma radiation during an experiment attempting to find a way of making humans immune to gamma radiation. Bruce experiences flashbacks of when he was in his Hulk form.

When Bruce is upset, angered, injured or in danger, he transforms into one of the most powerful beings on Earth, 9 feet tall, green-skinned super powerful man-beast known as the Hulk. As the Hulk, Bruce possesses an nearly unlimited degree of strength, speed, durability and regenerative capabilities that increases whenever he is even angrier, hence the old saying "the madder he gets, the stronger the Hulk becomes".

Biography

The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files

At Kirby's, a bar, Bruce Banner was getting a drink. Nick Fury came in anonymously to the bar to speak with him to try and have the Hulk be used by S.H.I.E.L.D. as a force for good. Agents Johnson and Peterson were with Fury to make Banner angry. It succeeded, but Fury realized, the Hulk can't be tamed yet.

In a meeting at S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury said they needed to deal with Thunderbolt Ross at the moment.

The Incredible Hulk

"That was Banner. It was Banner."

―Thaddeus Ross^[src]

A series of flashback shots show the gamma radiation accident that transformed scientist Bruce Banner into the Hulk, and hospitalized his lover Betty Ross. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, and Betty's father, General Thaddeus Ross, Banner goes on the run for five years. He settles in Brazil, working in a soft drink bottling factory while attempting to find a cure for his condition with the help of an Internet friend, "Mr. Blue". He also studies martial arts and meditative breathing techniques with a Brazilian Jujitsu expert to help control his emotions, and has not suffered a transformation for five months.

After Banner suffers a cut, and his blood drips into a soda bottle eventually drank by an ill-fated consumer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ross discovers Banner's location, and sends a team to capture him, led by Russian-born British special operations expert Emil Blonsky. Following a ferocious battle in the soft drink bottling plant where he transforms into the Hulk, Banner escapes Blonsky, and ends up in Guatemala. He travels to the United States, where he sees that a now-recovered Betty is working at Culver University and is dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson. He also sees his old friend Stanley, a pizzeria owner, who gives him a job as a delivery boy. Banner uses this job to sneak past a security guard to continue his research. After Betty visits the pizzeria and sees Bruce, she later reunites with him.

Blonsky reports to Ross that Banner evaded them in Brazil because of the appearance of a large green monster. Ross explains that the monster is Banner, and that he was created accidentally during an experiment in radiation-resistance that was inspired by World War II era military bio-force enhancement research (or "Super-Soldiers", as Blonsky puts it). Blonsky, seeking both revenge and power, volunteers as a test subject in order to capture Banner. He receives a small dose of the mothballed original Vita Ray serum, created by Dr. Reinstein for Weapon Plus. He leads an assault on Banner at Culver University, during which Betty is knocked unconscious. Despite Blonsky's increased strength, speed and agility, the Hulk crushes most of the bones in Blonsky's body. The Hulk saves Betty from an explosion and escapes with her to the Smoky Mountain National Forest.

Banner and Betty then travel to Empire State University in New York City, where they meet "Mr. Blue", Samuel Sterns. Accompanying Sterns to his lab, Banner and Betty learn that Sterns has developed a possible antidote that may cure Banner's condition or merely reverse each individual transformation while an overdose could kill him. Despite the risks, Banner agrees to test Sterns' antidote and is restrained before being shocked into transforming with electricity before being reverted to normal with an injection of the serum. Exhilarated by the success of the antidote, Sterns reveals that he has synthesized Banner's blood sample into a large supply with the intention of using it to enhance the human condition to the next evolutionary level. Appalled by what Sterns had done and fearful of the Hulk's power falling into the wrong hands, Banner attempts to convince Sterns to destroy the blood supply but is shot by a tranquillizer from one of General Ross' snipers.

As both Banner and Betty are taken into custody, Blonsky, whose super-soldier treatment has healed all his injuries but is desperate for more power, demands Sterns subject him to a dose of the Banner's gamma radiation treatment. Sterns warns that the combination of the Super Soldier formula and a gamma treatment would be an unpredictable combination that could turn him into an "abomination". Blonsky is less than concerned about this, and Sterns promptly administers the gamma charge. As Blonsky mutates into the monstrous Abomination, he knocks Sterns aside and an irradiated sample of Banner's blood-derivative drips into an open wound on Sterns's temple, causing his cranium to mutate and expand. In an attempt to draw the Hulk out, the Abomination goes on a rampage through Harlem and Banner, realizing that the Hulk is the only one who can stop the Abomination, convinces General Ross to release him. He jumps out of Ross' helicopter as it hovers over the city, hoping the fall will stimulate his adrenal glands into triggering a transformation. Banner's plan succeeds and after a brutal battle the Hulk manages to defeat the Abomination by strangling him with a huge chain, though he releases his grip after a plea from Betty. The Abomination collapses, and the Hulk flees the scene with the army in hot pursuit.

Thirty-one days later, Banner is in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Instead of trying to suppress his transformations, he is attempting to initiate them in a controlled manner. As his eyes turn green, a grin appears on his face. Meanwhile, General Ross is drinking in a bar when he is approached by Tony Stark who reveals that a "team" is being put together.

Iron Man 2

When Nick Fury debriefs Tony the screen on the right shows the report of the attack on Culver University which was in fact the Hulk.

Thor

Erik Selvig mentioned Banner as the pioneer in gamma radiation. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. came and he wasn't heard from since.

The Avengers

"Puny God."

―Hulk^[src]

Banner is working as a doctor in India having not transformed for over a year. He is tricked into contact with Natasha Romanoff by a little girl and is brought into the Avengers Initiative. After meeting members of the team on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Banner and Tony Stark begin research on the recently captured Loki's spear. When the team begins to spark unnecessary arguments, the brainwashed Clint Barton leads a team into the ship and explodes one of the engines, causing Banner and Romanoff to fall into the weapons cache room. Injured from the fall, Banner transforms unwillingly despite Romanoff's efforts to calm him down and ends up falling off the Helicarrier after causing much destruction and even throwing down with Thor. He eventually transforms back to Banner to find himself having been watched falling by a security guard. The guard gives Banner new pants.

Banner returns to fight in the war in New York and finally reveals his secret of keeping calm: he is always angry. Banner willingly transforms into the Hulk and takes out a Leviathan with one punch then aids the Avengers in the battle. He is given a simple order by Captain America: SMASH! After assisting and sucker punching Thor, Hulk enters the Stark Tower and beats Loki into submission. The World Security Council eventually send a missile to destroy Manhattan. Stark flies the missile through the Chitauri's portal, though his suit shuts down in the progress. Hulk catches the unconscious Stark and screams in his face, waking him up. After Loki is sent back to Asgard with Thor and the Tesseract, Banner and Stark drive away in one of Stark's sports cars while the others go their separate ways.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

"I adore you, But I need the Other Guy."

―Black Widow^[src]

Hulk raided a HYDRA base with the Avengers. While Iron Man inspected the base from inside, Black Widow calmed down Hulk turning him back into Banner. Later at the Avengers Headquarters, Tony Stark had an idea about creating a robot called Ultron for the world's safety. It takes time for Banner to agree with this project.

The Avengers tries to ambush the hideout of Ultron, but the Scarlet Witch controls the minds of Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and Hulk. While Captain America and Thor are hallucinating, the Hulk went on a rampage.

Tony Stark put on his Hulkbuster armor and fought Hulk, trying to restrain him. Even a capsule made of pure titanium could not stop the Hulk. Iron Man threw Hulk into a building. Back to normal, Banner regretted everything he had done.

Banner rescued Black Widow who had been trapped by Ultron, but he transformed into the Hulk and to destroy a great number of Ultron drones. Hulk punched Ultron into the sky and then boarded a quinjet and headed to somewhere unknown, ignoring Black Widow's hail on the comms.

Thor: Ragnarok

"We know each other! He's a friend from work!"

―Thor^[src]

Hulk likes Raging Fire — "Hulk likes raging fire"

"Hulk like raging fire, Thor like smoldering fire."

―Hulk^[src]

Two years passed since Ultron was defeated and the Hulk found himself on Sakaar where he became a popular gladiator fighter and the champion for the Grandmaster. During that time, the Hulk never transformed back into Banner; everyone on the planet assumed that the Hulk was just the Hulk. He also developed the ability to communicate with words. He then challenged Thor, who ended up on Sakaar after being forced there by Hela and captured by Brunnhilde and forced to fight for his freedom. Thor attempted to have Hulk turn back into Banner to avoid fighting him but ended up being forced to fight the Hulk after the Hulk thrashes him around. Hulk only won after the Grandmaster shocked Thor . After the fight, Thor was brought to Hulks room. Hulk showed him where the Quinjet was, still in perfect condition. At some point, the Quinjet passed through one of many space warps and landed Hulk on Sakaar. After unknowingly helping Thor escape to the Quinjet, he went after Thor to get him to stay, heavily damaging the aircraft in the process. Thor stopped him by playing Natasha's last recorded transmission. This recording triggers the transformation back to Banner despite some resistance from Hulk.

Banner became stressed after realizing he stayed the Hulk for a full two years; he feared that, if he ever became the Hulk again, he might not ever transform back to Banner. Despite the fear, he became the Hulk on Asgard in order to fight the Fenris wolf. After a raging battle, Hulk knocked Fenris off the edge of Asgard. The Hulk returned to the bridge to see Surtur beginning Ragnarok on Asgard.He didn't realize that Thor revived Surtur on purpose and wanted him to destroy Asgard to defeat Hela. Thor and Brunnhilde eventually got Hulk to not fight Surtur; Hulk got them all on the departing ship with Loki, the Gladiators and the Asgardians as Asgard was destroyed.

Avengers: Infinity War

Thanos and the Black Order attacked the Statesman, which was carrying the surviving Asgardians, so they could take the Tesseract and the Space Stone within. After they killed or otherwise subdued most of the Asgardians on board, Loki unleashed the Hulk. Hulk piled into Thanos and to his complete surprise, Thanos beat him to within an inch of his life. A badly injured Heimdall used the last of his power to create a Bifrost Bridge and sent an unconscious Hulk away from the battle and back to Earth. Thanos killed Hemidall and Loki and destroyed the ship, seemingly killing the rest of those on board, including Thor.

Back on Earth, Hulk crash landed in the New York Sanctum Sanctorum and reverted back to Bruce Banner. He warned Dr. Strange about Thanos' plan to kill half the universe. Strange recruited Iron Man to help when a Q-Ship descended over New York to retrieve the Time Stone. Peter Parker saw the fight and changed to Spider-Man to help. Banner tried unsuccessfully to turn into the Hulk and join the fight, but the Hulk refused to come out.

Banner contacted Steve to warn him about Thanos.

In Wakanda, Steve reunited with Bucky Barnes before Thanos' army arrived. The Avengers, alongside T'Challa and the Wakandan forces, mounted a defense while Shuri worked to extract the Mind Stone from Vision. Banner, unable to transform into the Hulk, puts on Tony Stark's Hulkbuster armor. Thor severely wounded Thanos, but Thanos activated the complete Infinity Gauntlet and teleported away.

Thanos' plan succeeded, with half of all life across the universe disintegrating, including Barnes, T'Challa, Groot, Maximoff, Wilson, Mantis, Drax, Quill, Strange, and Parker. Stark and Nebula remained on Titan while Banner, Okoye, Rhodes, Rocket, Rogers, Romanoff, M'Baku, and Thor were left in Wakanda.

Avengers: Endgame

To be added

Character traits

In The Incredible Hulk, Hulk is constantly enraged and draws his strength from this rage. The angrier Hulk is the more powerful he becomes. This aspect of his physiology grants him virtually limitless strength. If Hulk calms down to a certain point, he reverts back to his human form.

When Bruce would originally transform into Hulk, he would lose control of himself because of rage, adrenaline or stress, which hormonally stimulates the heart rate. The total time of transformation takes only seconds. Banner becomes Hulk with increase in heart rate or adrenal levels, suggesting that the true trigger mechanism into Hulk is far more psychological than physical.

Bruce was unable to control the transformations, but while his consciousness is buried within Hulk's, he can influence Hulk's behavior only to a very limited extent such as when he was asked by Betty Ross not to kill his enemy. Hulk was also spurred by Betty's cries to resist the sonic weapons that were attacking him.

In The Avengers, after over 4 years of training to control Hulk, Bruce learned that if he always remains in a controlled angry state, then he can easily change into Hulk at will. This type of transformation allows Hulk to be more intelligent and less enraged than an uncontrolled one. However, if Bruce is sent into a state of stress then he can lose control and transform against his will despite trying to control it; Hulk will revert back to a savage enraged state where he would attack anyone being friend or foe.

In Thor: Ragnarok, after having stayed in his superhuman form for 2 years on Sakaar, Hulk has developed a calm and stable demeanor, which allows him to not solely act aggressive and hostile (despite his temper) such as when he talked calmly with Thor after the two of them argued and befriended Brunnhilde during his stay on the planet. Hulk has also become intelligent to the point of acknowledge his human-half, but repeatedly refuted Bruce's existence, claiming "No Banner, only Hulk!", he did this out of resentment and bitterness for Bruce.

In Avengers: Infinity War, after taking a savage beating from Thanos, Bruce is unable to transform into Hulk, every time he tried, Hulk refused to manifest himself.

Because Hulk has never lost a fight before; his experience and growing intelligence in Sakaar reinforced the idea and image so much that he believed himself to be invincible, no longer a primitive rage monster like when he first came into existence and now capable of grasping a wide spectrum of emotions, the defeat at Thanos' hands traumatized Hulk tremendously; he has since grown so fearful of the Titan and his forces that he outright leaves Bruce alone to fend for himself for the first time since his creation, to the extent staunchly refusing to transform and come out to fight even when told to.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Superhuman Physiology/Transformation: Due to an experimental procedure, Bruce Banner permanently obtained superhuman abilities after his transformation as Hulk, making him one of the most powerful beings in the universe. He is capable of overpowering beings like Thor and the Abomination.
- Superhuman Strength: Hulk possesses the capacity for virtually limitless physical strength. His immense immeasurable physical strength is capable of effortlessly defeating powerful monsters and villains, with a single, nonchalant punch (although this strength is not limited to punches). Hulk has perfect control over his strength, allowing him to handles gentle and fragile objects or easily do menial, delicate task that require dexterity. He can easily do feats like split a car in two, stop a Humvee in its tracks, and throw humans around like ragdolls. He took the entire engine of a Humvee and threw it into another Humvee. He knocked Emil Blonsky more than 100 ft with one kick, and threw a forklift truck like it was a softball. By clapping his hands he can make a shockwave that snuffs out fire. Hulk's immeasurable strength is directly proportional to his level of rage, excitement, stress, and necessity, the stronger/more dangerous the enemy/situation he faces the stronger he becomes thus he is always able to overpower anyone and anything. To date Hulk has never apparently been provoked into demonstrating a maximum output of strength, but since he possesses limitless strength, he probably has no upper limit. This is also displayed when seeing Betty in danger in the damaged helicopter; he outmuscled the Abomination to free himself. By rising his fists and arms and striking the ground (accompanied by one of his classic lines "Hulk Smash") he can create tremors of incredible force. He was the "ace in the hole" when the battle of New York happened, destroying scores of Chitauri troops, ships and Leviathans (taking one out with a single punch) he beat Loki senseless in Stark Tower, essentially taking him out of the fight. Hulk can inhale great quantities of air, and expel the air at great speeds, enough to knock down forests. He is capable of using his strength to turn anything in the environment around him into weapons or armor to use. Hulk was also powerful enough to apocalyptically hold his ground against the Hulkbuster armor, which is in itself, even for an Iron Man armor, extremely powerful - when their punches connected, they created brutal shockwaves. Though the fight was increasingly protracted and both combatants caused colossal amounts of damage to one another and their environment, Hulk clearly had the upper hand because Tony Stark had to desperately summon several spare pieces of the armor to replace pieces that Hulk had ripped off or destroyed. In both of his fights with Thor, Hulk was capable of harming him enough to make him bleed, lifting him off his feet and slamming him to the ground repeatedly, sending him flying with his blows and nearly defeating him, although on both fights Thor wasn't fighting his fullest and Hulk's ability to increase his strength with rage contributed to this. However, even Hulk proved to be no match for Thor at his full strength, as he was soundly beaten down after Thor unlocked his full powers briefly. When fighting Fenris Wolf, although he initially struggled against her, being lifted and throttled around the Asgardian Wolf's mouth, Hulk was ultimately able to win and punch her off him, hurling her into space. Against Thanos, Hulk was able to stagger Thanos a bit with his punches but the Mad Titan quickly proved to surpass his strength as Hulk's grip on him was removed with only mediocre effort on his part and he was swiftly beaten to a bloody pulp.
- Superhuman Durability: Hulk's body possesses an incredible degree of resistance to physical and mental injury. Hulk's impervious to conventional blades, only Vibranium are the few known metals that can effectively pierce and penetrate his skin. This invulnerability extends to the optic system since bullets, grenade shrapnel, and Hawkeye's arrows, did not penetrate nor damage it. Hulk is able to withstand high caliber bullets, powerful energy blasts, pressures extremes, falls from orbital heights, maximized heat without blistering, maximized cold without freezing, and also massive impacts. Hulk has withstood several times the impact of ground zero nuclear explosions, and the crushing pressures of 100000Gs without suffering damage, harm, or trouble. He can even withstand weapons made from the Tesseract with no difficulty. Only beings with tremendous force or extremely powerful weapons can harm him. He was also capable of taking Thor's attacks, even precise full-power hits from Mjolnir, with minimal damage, although he was finally visibly harmed by blows from Thor using his full power, with his defeat having been inevitable had the Grandmaster not knocked out Thor. His durability changes parallel with his strength. The full extent of his durability is shown during his famous battle with the Hulkbuster, where he was smashed, thrown, dragged and catapulted through an entire city, which - funnily enough - only made him angrier.
- Environmental Adaptation: Hulk can adapt to any environment, even airless space. Hulk can adapt to a wide diversity of hostile habitats. Hulk can harmonize his biological structure with the depths of the ocean. He can even speak in these inhospitable habitats. Hulk can eat, drink, breath and function normally in any environment. He does not need to eat, drink, or breath, and his ability to adapt to his environment is an inherent property, which is also enhanced and amplified by his rage, excitement, stress, and necessity.
- Accelerated Healing Factor: Hulk displays an incredibly fast rate of regeneration, even able to molecularly rebuilt his body. This also grants him immunity to any illness and ageless immortality. The Hulk heals rapidly from any injuries at a much greater rate than a normal human. After being bombarded with Chitauri weaponry, he only had a few minor bruises, and by the time he caught Stark out of the air, he was fully healed.
- Superhuman Endurance: Hulk's body generates no fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting him nigh limitless endurance in all physical activities. His stamina and vitality are inexhaustible and limitless.
- Superhuman Speed: Hulk is capable of running faster than a normal human; Hulk could even surpass an aircraft while on land, he can swim at 100 knots, and keep up with Blonsky. He can move at eye-blurring speeds.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Hulk possesses far more reflexes then a normal human; his reflexes have even been described as "lightning-fast reflexes", fast enough to capture mortar shells and missiles.
- Superhuman Leaping: Hulk is able to a make 1000 miles-sized leaps that can be incredibly precise in landing.
- Superhuman Senses: Hulk's senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and instincts, are heightened to superhuman levels and accuracy. Hulk possesses incredible perception, noticing even the smallest details.
- Superhuman Stamina: Hulk has substantially greater endurance than a normal human, allowing him to run and fight for a long time. His enraged state, during a fight, allows him to maintain peak output for hours on end and still continue to become even stronger as his anger escalates.

Abilities

Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: Hulk, while having no formal training, is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist; simply due to his great physical attributes. He typically uses street fighting and brawling techniques that make full use of his strength, and also employs pieces of his immediate environment to fight with, often using them as range projectiles to strike distant targets, while sometimes for melee attacks or protection. In Thor: Ragnarok, after being a gladiator on Sakaar for 2 years, Hulk's hand-to-hand combat and martial arts skills have improved greatly, becoming unbeatable coupled with his unsurpassed strength. His skill is shown by how he was able to fight Thor, who is a master hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist in his own right and had earlier outmatched him in skill easily, much better than before, able to pressure the latter when blocking his attacks and land some blows, but he ultimately proved to be outclassed by Thor and it was only a surprise attack to briefly overpower him and once Thor used his full power, had not been for the Grandmaster's cheating, he would have soundly been defeated. However, in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos used his far superior combat experience to soundly dispatch Hulk without Hulk being able to provide any resistance.
Speech: Initially, Hulk had limited communication skills, as he rarely spoke to others, most of the time he communicated with others with roars and gestures, much like any animal would. In Thor: Ragnarok, after having stayed in his superhuman form for 2 years on Sakaar, Hulk's ability to speak has improved enough for him to have conversations with others, such as with Thor Odinson and Brunnhilde, however, he still cannot form complete sentences yet.
Intimidation: Hulk commands an intimidating presence to the point where the majority of the world and many of his enemies fear him, even Thaddeus Ross, Natasha Romanoff and Loki Laufeyson respectively are terrified of him.

Relationships

Bruce Banner - Real name.
Betty Ross - Former love interest.
Avengers
- Steve Rogers/Captain America - Team leader.
- Tony Stark/Iron Man - Friend and teammate; deceased.
- Thor Odinson - Friend and teammate.
- Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Teammate and love interest; deceased.
- Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Teammate.
- Scott Lang - Teammate.
Nick Fury - Ally.
Maria Hill - Ally.
Phil Coulson - Ally.
Dr. Erik Selvig - Associate.
Thaddeus Ross - Enemy.
Emil Blonsky/Abomination - Enemy.
Loki Laufeyson - Enemy turned ally; deceased.
Chitauri - Enemies.
Ultron - Enemy; deceased.
Valkyrie - Friend and ally.
Thanos - Enemy; deceased.
Guardians of the Galaxy
- Rocket Raccoon - Former teammate and ally.
- Nebula - Former teammate and ally.
Ancient One (2012 version) - Ally; deceased.
Chitauri (2014 versions) - Enemies.
Outriders (2014 versions) - Enemies.

Appearances/Actors

Marvel Cinematic Universe (8 films)
- The Incredible Hulk (First appearance) - Edward Norton and Lou Ferrigno (Voice)
- Iron Man 2 (Cameo, footage from The Incredible Hulk)
- The Avengers - Mark Ruffalo and Lou Ferrigno (Voice)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron - Mark Ruffalo and Lou Ferrigno (Voice)
- Captain America: Civil War (Footage and mentioned only)
- Thor: Ragnarok - Mark Ruffalo and Taika Waititi (Additional motion capture)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Mark Ruffalo
- Avengers: Endgame - Mark Ruffalo
Marvel Cinematic Universe (5 TV series)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
  - Season 1
    - "Pilot" (Recycled Footage/Computer Monitor)
    - "The Well" (Mentioned only)
  - Season 2
    - "Love in the Time of HYDRA" (Mentioned only)
    - "Afterlife" (Mentioned only)
    - "The Frenemy of My Enemy" (Mentioned only)
- Daredevil
  - "Rabbit in a Snow Storm" (Newspaper photo)
  - "Stick" (Newspaper photo)
  - "Nelson v. Murdock" (Newspaper photo)
  - "The Ones We Leave Behind" (Newspaper photo)
- Jessica Jones
  - "AKA It's Called Whiskey" (Mentioned only)
  - "AKA 99 Friends" (Mentioned only)
- Luke Cage
  - "Moment of Truth" (Mentioned only)
  - "Just to Get a Rep" (Mentioned only)
- Iron Fist
  - "Immortal Emerges from Cave" (Mentioned only)

Behind the scenes

The alternate opening to The Incredible Hulk where Banner attempts to commit suicide is referenced in The Avengers; when Banner begins to describe his "secret" to the other Avengers on the Helicarrier, he says "I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spat it out."
In the 2008 film, the character was played by Edward Norton; Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk with Bill Bixby, remarked Norton "has a similar physique, similar personality. Ed is a very fine actor and it adds tremendous credibility for him to be involved with the movie"^[1].
According to Kurt Williams, the visual effects supervisor for the 2008 film, they decided it was important to make The Hulk a consistent size throughout the film.
In The Avengers, when Tony is viewing the the profiles of the other heroes, among them, a shot of Hulk lifting a humvee during the Culver University battle from The Incredible Hulk, the skin tone of the previous Hulk model was digitally altered to match the brighter hue of the newer Hulk model of the 2012 film.
For Hulk and The Incredible Hulk, the character is just a digital image, but for The Avengers, he is portrayed through performance motion-capture technology by Mark Ruffalo, who also portrays Bruce Banner.
During the Iron Man/Hulk fight in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Hulk was originally going to turn gray.

Gallery

See: Hulk/Gallery

References

↑ Lou Ferrigno Says Hulk Cameo A 'Smash'