A Groundbreaking Discovery, Quite Literally
What’s the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the word ‘Marvel’? Well, if it isn’t an image of Avengers enacting their Power Rangers-esque poses to the iconic tune of The Avengers movie, then you have been doing it all wrong. In 2012, when the planet earth was about to meet its supposed expiry date as per the Mayan calendar, the Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to pull off something that everyone thought was impossible; stop an alien invasion with a shield, a hammer, and a few arrows, and some silly costumes. Except for Iron Man, his suits are the best.
MCU proved that not every alien invasion movie has to have brooding commandos camouflaging themselves in the mud. You can save the day with your friends while saying silly stuff like ‘Have you ever had shawarma?’ after waking up from a near-death experience involving you nuking an alien war fleet in space and then plummeting to your death.
There is but one segment that is very dark in tone with regards to the movie as a whole. This dialogue segment from Mark Ruffalo who portrays Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk in the movie:
“In case you needed to kill me, but you can’t. I know! I tried! I got low. I didn’t see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spits it out. So I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show. You put everyone here at risk.”
Some heavy words right there and very detailed too. Well because this scene was actually set to appear in The Incredible Hulk (2008) until the studio felt that it was too dark for the theatre audiences, and was cut altogether from the movie.
The deleted scene showcased Bruce Banner hitchhiking in a truck to a snowy forest. He then climbs the icy terrain to reach a lonely spot. He takes out a pistol, cocks it when suddenly his eyes turn green and we see Hulk crushing the weapon in his hand followed by what can only be described as rapid global warming. But just in that brief moment, fans with keen eyes and the power to pause the video were able to capture a glimpse of the blue and red trapped in the ice.
It was a cool Easter-egg, quite literally. A nod to the existence of the first avenger who wore star-spangled to bash the Nazis with his vibranium shield: Captain America. Marvel scrapped this idea to introduce Captain America and three years later, they released Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
You can find this deleted scene on YouTube. Just don’t forget to use the power of the pause button bestowed upon you to see the shades of blue and red trapped in the ice just after Hulk performs his signature HULK SMASH.
