The Avengers has broken records, earned itself critical devotion and charmed comic book and non-comic book fans alike, but its greatest feat was in finally giving audiences a Hulk worth cheering for. For the Hulk, the old third time’s a charm adage proved to be true. Audiences around the world couldn’t help but fall for the big guy, especially after he slung Loki around like the puny god was his favorite chew toy. The Hulk has three things to thank for his spotlight stealing turn—technology finally catching up enough with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s imagination to render The Hulk in a way that inspired awe instead of giggles, the incomparable Joss Whedon and perhaps most significantly, Mark Ruffalo, the man who gave The Hulk and Bruce Banner a soul. Ruffalo has been a fixture in Hollywood for the past decade, and he spent the decade before that earning paychecks starring in made-for-TV fare like the (not-quite, but it really should be) Christmas classic, On the 2nd Day of Christmas. He went on to make a name for himself in [...]
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