In the four years between The Incredible Hulk being released in 2008 and The Avengers being released in 2012, the character of Bruce Banner changed a great deal. Not only was the actor portraying Bruce recast, but the character himself underwent many personality changes.
He grew somewhat between films, but also became slightly more afraid and hesitant to interact with others. Bruce has seen the damage the Hulk can cause, but he has also seen the good he can create. While the Bruce Banner of The Avengers is largely similar to his portrayal in The Incredible Hulk, there are some noticeable differences that make it clear that Bruce changed quite a bit in between films.
10 Edward Norton Became Mark Ruffalo
Perhaps the most obvious change in Bruce Banner between The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers is the fact that the actor playing the character was recast. As a result, of course, Bruce Banner’s physical appearance changes dramatically, but smaller things about him change, as well.
Mark Ruffalo is naturally more softly spoken than Edward Norton and brings a gentler edge to the character than Edward Norton had. Both of them are great in their own respects and bring something unique to the character in their respective portrayals.
9 He’s Always Angry Now
Towards the end of The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner was struggling to control his transformations. He was trying to find a cure for the Hulk but was coming to the understanding that a cure wasn’t what he needed, but rather increased control over himself and over the Hulk.
While Bruce is meditating at the end of The Incredible Hulk, he’s able to control his transformation into the Hulk. However, in The Avengers, he turns into the Hulk instantly by saying he’s “always angry.” This seems to contradict the emotional balance he found, but at least he kept that pre-established control.
8 Betty Ross Vanished From His Life
Bruce Banner was estranged from Betty Ross for a time when the two were reintroduced to one another in The Incredible Hulk. For everybody’s well-being — including Betty’s — Bruce decided to isolate himself. However, once the two of them are back together, it’s clear they’re still madly in love with one another.
Bruce chooses to isolate himself again between movies, but he doesn’t even mention Betty again. Even when Thunderbolt Ross shows back up in the MCU, they barely ever refer to their past together. However, it is mentioned that Thunderbolt and Betty died in the Snap, and Bruce brought them back in the Blip — and Thunderbolt attended Tony Stark’s funeral.
7 He’s Not As Concerned About His Blood
At the beginning of The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner is working in a factory when he accidentally lets a drop of his blood fall into an open bottle. He becomes frantic trying to clean up his blood before anybody can interact with it. Bruce Banner, at the start, displayed a great deal of concern and care when dealing with his own bodily materials.
However, as time goes on, he seems to become less and less concerned with his gamma-infused blood, saliva, hair, et cetera. Even when injured, Bruce seems to make no concerted effort to protect others from his blood.
6 Apparently Loses His Villains
The two antagonists for Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk were Emil Blonsky, also known as the Abomination, and Thaddeus Ross, also known as Thunderbolt Ross. However, these characters have no apparent issues with Bruce later on in the MCU, and certainly not in The Avengers.
It seems that Tim Roth will be appearing as Emil Blonsky in She-Hulk, but he has not confronted Bruce since The Incredible Hulk. In addition, Thunderbolt Ross only ever mentions Bruce in passing after this film. Bruce apparently has no issues with either of them by The Avengers, despite them hunting him in The Incredible Hulk.
5 (Slightly) Improved Relationship With The Hulk
Bruce and the Hulk are at odds for most of their lives in the MCU before eventually coming to terms with one another. Eventually, they will fuse together, but this is a concept that would seem strange and far-off to the Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.
He is mostly afraid of what the Hulk is capable of, though he reaches a tenuous sort of control over him by the end of the movie. By the end of The Avengers, Bruce Banner seemingly is able to call up the Hulk instantly, and, though he fears his strength, he doesn’t seem to actively fear or hate him quite as much anymore.
4 Sam Sterns, AKA Mr. Blue, Is No Longer Playing Any Active Role In His Life
When Bruce is still struggling to figure out a cure that will rid him of the Hulk, he gets in contact with someone he knows only as “Mr. Blue.” Mr. Blue is later revealed to be Samuel Sterns, and he seemed like he might be about to get a spin-off of his own.
In The Incredible Hulk, Samuel Sterns is the one who tells Thunderbolt Ross and Emil Blonsky not to create an abomination, but they do so anyway. It is, in fact, the Abomination who caused Sterns to become infected with Bruce’s blood. It seemed this character and plot would go somewhere, but Bruce never mentions him in The Avengers — or ever again.
3 Increased Willingness To Work In A Team
The Bruce Banner that audiences see in The Incredible Hulk is genuinely terrified of interacting with other people. Though he does enjoy the presence of others to a point, he is too afraid of what the Hulk is capable of to trust himself around people.
However, after The Avengers, Bruce is actually a lot better at this. He goes with the Black Widow when she asks him to — though he doesn’t really have a choice — and ends up willingly rejoining the Avengers team to help them out during the Battle of New York.
2 Better Control Over The Hulk
At the end of The Incredible Hulk, audiences saw that Bruce Banner was at least able to bring the Hulk up to the surface enough to turn his eyes green. Throughout the film before that point, his grasp over the Hulk was tenuous at best. However, this moment showed that his control over the Hulk was growing.
That control only continued to grow into and through The Avengers, as Tony is shown shocking Bruce and that stimulation isn’t enough to bring out the Hulk. Bruce is able to turn into the Hulk spontaneously, and even fought the Hulk transformation at a point — though he ultimately failed to subdue the Hulk’s arrival on the Helicarrier.
1 The Hulk Is Strong Enough To Beat A God
During The Incredible Hulk, it’s obvious that the Hulk is strong, but he’s also chaotic. He struggles to focus his strength and energy in one direction, making him a reckless, destructive monster, operating based on raw emotions.
However, he starts to channel his abilities. By the time he appears in The Avengers, he’s strong enough to consciously save Tony Stark from falling to the ground and roars to wake him up. He also takes on Loki and wins, beating the trickster god into the ground.