Today, the internet caught on fire a tiny bit with the release of the first picture of The Hulk from The Avengers, due to be released in May. It’s interesting because we’ve got Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) replacing Edward Norton (Fight Club) as the eight-foot tall green harbinger of doom, yet the facial design for the completely computer- generated character evokes Lou Ferrigno’s late ‘’70’s, early ‘’80’s- Hulk more than anything. I’m not saying the new Hulk should completely toss the baby out with the bathwater in terms of character design, but in a time where motion- capture technology is at its peak and we can truly see the actor behind the animation, why couldn’t they meld some of Ruffalo’s hangdog features into the not-so-jolly green giant? Since The Avengers is still a few months out, the effects are probably still undergoing a few tweaks, but since Ruffalo will be the 4th actor giving his interpretation of the Hulk, I’m hoping they find a way to separate this one from Bill Bixby’s prickly version, Eric Bana’s dull take and Edward Norton’s cerebral interpretation. Maybe this one can just smash things like he’s supposed to.
