Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk movie wasn't exactly great, but it's probably fair to say it's a little underrated. The film was something new, departing from the typical superhero movie formula to explore father-son dynamics and Freudian psychology in a serious way. On multiple occasions, it employed an innovative split screen technique to cinematically mimic the panels of a comic book page.

But there was another innovation the movie introduced to the big screen that appeared in Iron Man five years later — a trick that, in both movies, was used in an attempt to defeat a powerful foe. In Hulk's case, it was the titular character himself on the end of the trick, and in Iron Man's case, it was Obadiah Stane AKA Iron Monger.

Related: Hulk Has a Forgotten Link With Another MCU Avenger

The trick in question occurred when the Hulk went to San Francisco to find Betty Ross. He encountered a fighter jet, which he proceeded to jump on mid-flight. General Ross instructed the pilot to "take him on a ride to the top of the world," which is exactly what he did. The Hulk ended up in the upper atmosphere, where he iced up and passed out. And it's this trick that Tony Stark later used against the aforementioned Obadiah Stane.

During the final confrontation between the two armored combatants, Stark instructed JARVIS to fly as high as his suit allowed and headed into the sky, knowing that Stane followed him. When Stane caught him, he boasted about how his armor was better than Stark's in every way, prompting Stark to ask, "how did you fix the icing problem?" Of course, Stark was one step ahead of Stane, as the latter hadn't fixed the icing problem at all. He promptly fell to Earth, his suit having frozen and shut down.

Now, it's important to note that the intentions in each of these scenarios were different: Ross instructed the fighter pilot to take the Hulk into the sky so he'd pass out, while Stark lured Stane into the sky to make his Iron Monger armor fail. But the outcomes were both the same. In both cases, the individuals on the end of the trick were temporarily stalled, but not completely defeated.

Related: Hulk Vs. Cull Obsidian: Which MCU Monster Is Stronger and Who Wins in a Fight?

the iron monger

 

The Hulk went on to survive his resulting fall fairly effortlessly, and ultimately, Bruce Banner went into hiding. Obadiah Stane's armor was damaged, but he survived his fall and continued to battle Tony Stark, although the hero defeated him and the villain died in a huge explosion.

There's every chance the Jon Favreau and his Iron Man team took some inspiration from Ang Lee and the folks behind the Hulk movie when it came to the jet trick. The movies were only five years apart and both featured Marvel superheroes, after all. Though there are obvious differences in the acts, there's certainly a parallel.

KEEP READING: Hulk: Why Mark Ruffalo Replaced Edward Norton as the MCU's Bruce Banner