Marvel Movie Verse
weesta had - at one point - not seen all the Marvel movies and asked for a primer leading to the Avengers movie. The Internet Provides All.
If you are watching them "in order": Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Hulk, Captain America.
The Hulk is Bruce Banner. He was a military scientist who was working on a revamp of the Super Soldier serum - so the Hulk is just as much a "gone wrong" story for Steve as the Red Skull is.
A chance at "source blood" would be a BIG incentive for Banner to play ball - and he NEEDS an incentive. General Ross LIED - and LIED - to the scientists. And then when Bruce started dating Ross's daughter he LIED MORE.
Banner serves as Subject A and becomes the Hulk. Realizing the Super Soldier is being weaponized and not for protecting soldiers from uranium radiation - Banner runs towards the Artic to kill himself and keep his body from the military. The emotional trauma leading up to shooting himself in the head is enough to trigger a transformation to the Hulk - who promptly blames the glacier he's on and smashes it.
The reason you need to know this? The glacier he's on is the one that Captain America is buried in - which is WHY it pops to the surface to be found by SHIELD. (Marvel Universe is built on the butterfly effect.)
Banner goes off the grid - eventually ending up in South America. Ross starts calling in favors - SHIELD is forced to provide support. I say "forced" because SHIELD comes away from the experience with no respect for Ross and no regard for his ability to tell the truth in reports. This will become a plot point for Banner.
This is all pre-movieverse - occurring prior to Iron Man. Obadiah Stane - as Stark Exec - and Tony Stark sell Ross weapons. So Ross has his own special forces.
[insert Iron Man here]
So Iron Man begins single-handedly creating world peace - so he thinks. Banner gets in touch with another underground scientist and gets a lead on a cure. He starts meditation techniques and defensive martial arts - focused on "calm and controlled" for obvious reasons.
[insert Iron Man 2 here]
During Iron Man 2, Coulson leaves for New Mexico because Thor's Hammer has been found. What Marvel Universe doesn't build on butterfly effects, it builds on overlap. You should go to You Tube and search for Marvel Funny Thing On The Way and figure out that your love of Coulson is COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED.
So while Stark's trying to save his own life, Thor's settling in with the crew in New Mexico and Banner is making his way back to the US, gets to Betty Ross's stomping ground and goes undercover.
While Banner is sneaking into university labs trying to find a cure - Ross has found himself a wacko to try and recreate the Hulk. The thought process is that if the subject was a soldier - he'd be as open to the transformation as Banner was repulsed.
That look on your face? That's the same look Nick Fury gets at the idea.
Banner's attempt at a "cure" doesn't work - but it does create the more classic comic book Hulk - he can talk and seems to have a higher degree of reasoning. He begins to recognize things that should NOT be "smashed" which is really half the battle.
This is - of course - the exact moment Ross shows up and finally catches him.
The unstable wacko Ross got to try again with - his name's Blonsky. He goes completely batshit crazy, gets himself a cult/fetish/obsession with the Hulk and injects himself with Banner's blood and cure serum all at once.
He transforms into the Abomination - a self-named Abomination. And really, what more do you need to know.
Ross thinks - huh. Maybe Blonsky isn't the best choice for a second attempt. The entire Marvel U yells at him. He releases Banner long enough to stop his mistake.
The Abomination is twice the Hulk's size but that new-found semi-control comes in handy. Hulk beats the Abomination, leaves him for Ross and runs away.
You need to go to You Tube and search for Marvel The Consultant here to fully understand the joy that is SHIELD. Because at this point - the UN wants SHIELD to add Blonsky to the Avengers Initiative because Ross has become that good at lying on his reports.
SHIELD finds a way to ask for Blonsky in such a way as to ensure that they will NEVER have to get Blonsky. They correctly want Banner - the guy who seemingly CONTROLS the insane strength.
So if this helps and you need one of the other movies "bullet pointed" for Avengers - just let me know.
Original post at my dreamwidth