In 970 A.D., Odin, king of Asgard, wages war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and their leader Laufey, to prevent them conquering the Nine Realms, starting with Midgard (Earth). The Asgardian warriors defeat the Frost Giant's and seize the source of their power, the Casket of Ancient Winters. In the present, Odin's son Thor prepares to ascend to the throne of Asgard as King but is interrupted when the Frost Giants attempt to retrieve the Casket. Against Odin's order, Thor travels to Jotunheim to confront Laufey, accompanied by his brother Loki, childhood friendSif and the Warriors Three: Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun. A battle ensues which forces Odin to intervene and save their lives, destroying the fragile truce between the two races. For his arrogance, Odin strips Thor of his godly power and exiles him to Earth, accompanied by his Hammer - and source of his power - Mjølner, now protected by a spell to allow only the worthy to wield it.
Thor arrives in New Mexico and is found by scientist Jane Foster, her assistant Darcy Lewis and mentor Dr. Erik Selvig while Mjølner is discovered by agent Phil Coulson and confiscated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson forcibly acquires Jane's data about the wormhole that delivered Thor to Earth. Thor, having discovered the location of Mjølner, attacks the S.H.I.E.L.D facility to retrieve it, only to find himself unable to lift it, and is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. He is eventually freed and resigns himself to exile on Earth as he develops a romance with Jane.
Meanwhile, Loki discovers that he is Laufey's son and was adopted by Odin after the war ended. When Odin, overcome with stress, falls into the Odinsleep, Loki is given the throne as Regent and offers Laufey the chance to kill Odin as well as retrieve the Casket. Sif and the Warriors Three, unhappy with Loki's rule, attempt to discover a way to end Thor's exile, convincing Heimdall, gatekeeper of the Bifrost Bridge - the means of traveling between worlds - to allow them passage to Earth. Aware of their plan, Loki sends The Destroyer, a seemingly-invincible, metallic Golem, to pursue them and kill Thor. Sif and the Warriors Three find Thor but are attacked and defeated by the Destroyer, forcing Thor to sacrifice himself to save them and Jane. In doing so, he proves worthy to wield Mjølner, and the hammer returns to him, restoring his powers and allowing him to defeat the Destroyer before he prepares to return to Asgard and confront Loki.
In Asgard, Loki betrays and kills Laufey, revealing his true plan to use their attempt on Odin's life as an excuse to destroy Jotunheim with the Bifrost Bridge and prove himself worthy to Odin. Thor arrives and fights his brother before destroying the Bifrost Bridge to stop his plan, stranding himself in Asgard. Odin awakens and prevents the brothers from falling into the abyss created in the wake of the Bifrost Bridge's destruction, but Loki, believing he has failed Odin, allows himself to fall to his apparent death. Thor makes amends with Odin, admitting he is not ready to be King, while on Earth Jane and her team search for a way to open a portal to Asgard so that Jane can reunite with Thor.
In a post-credits scene, Dr. Selvig is taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where he meets Nick Fury. Fury asks Selvig to study the recently-discovered Cosmic Cube, which holds untold power, to which Selvig agrees. It is then revealed that Selvig is under the control of Loki who remains invisible yet manipulative of the weaker minded humans he now lives among after having been transported to Earth.
As Tony Stark reveals to the world that he is Iron Man, in Russia Anton Vanko died after telling his son Ivan to use what he had been taught. Six months later, Stark has used his Iron Man armor to bring about a negotiated peace between the major super powers of the world, and his immense popularity with the general public is only furthered when he fulfills his father's dream by opening the "Stark Expo", to showcase all the latest inventions that will benefit the world. Stark is, however, still vilified by the United States government, and Senator Stern in particular, who demands that he hand his armor technology over for military application. Stark refuses, publicly shaming rival Justin Hammer in the process by highlighting his own failed attempts at recreating the technology. All is not well in Stark's life, however: he has discovered that the palladium in the arc reactor keeping his heart beating has begun to poison his body, slowly killing him, and all attempts to find a substitute element have failed. Slowly going off the rails as a consequence of what he believes to be his impending death, he appoints his former personal assistantPepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, replacing her with Natalie Rushman.
While racing in Monaco, Stark is attacked by Ivan Vanko, who has constructed a miniaturized arc reactor of his own, including whip-like attachments harnessing the electrical energy. Defeating Vanko with the aid of his Mark V armor (a transforming briefcase), Stark discovers that Vanko is the son of disgraced Russian physicist Anton Vanko, who collaborated on the first arc reactor with Stark's father Howard. Vanko is promptly broken out of jail by a revenge-seeking Justin Hammer, who puts him to work fashioning a line of armored combat suits that he will use to upstage Stark at his own Expo.
Tony throws what he believes will be his last birthday party and promptly proceeds to get drunk whilst wearing the Mark IV armor, forcing his friend Lt. Colonel James Rhodes to don the Mark II armor and subdue him. Disgraced, Stark is approached by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., who provides him with a chest of his father's old artifacts that can hopefully be used to find a cure for his palladium poisoning. Reviewing the film reels in the chest, Stark discovers a message from his father that leads him to the original 1974 diorama of the Stark Expo: in reality, a disguised diagram for the molecular structure of a new element. Stark hand-builds a particle accelerator with the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S. and synthesizes this new element, creating a new triangular chest arc that cures his poisoning.
Simultaneously, at Stark Expo, Hammer unveils his new military drones, captained by Rhodes in a heavily-weaponized version of the confiscated Mark II armor. Unfortunately, it is soon discovered that Vanko has complete control of both the drones and Rhodes's new armor, and Stark arrives just as they go on the attack. As Stark battles against these remote-controlled enemies, Happy Hogan and Natalie (an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Natalia Romanoff) race to Hammer's Queens facility to stop Vanko. By they time they arrive, Vanko has already departed for the Expo in a new, more powerful suit of armor, but Natalie is able to give Rhodes control of his armor again so that he and Stark can fight Vanko together. The two armored allies combine their powers and successfully take Vanko down, but his armor and Hammer's Drones are revealed to have been equipped with self-destruct charges. As they begin to go off, Stark races to save Pepper, rescuing her at the last minute. She quits her CEO position, and she finally gives Tony a kiss.
At a debriefing, Fury informs Stark that while Stark is "unsuitable" for the Avengers Initiative, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants Iron Man as a consultant. Stark agrees on the condition that Senator Stern present him and Col. Rhodes with their medals for bravery.
In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Coulson is seen driving to a remote impact crater in the New Mexico desert. Over a phone, he informs Fury that they've "found it". The camera then pans from the opposite side's view and Thor's hammer is seen and thunder is heard as the screen fades to black.
A series of flashback shots show the gamma radiation accident that transformed scientist Bruce Banner into thethe Hulk, and hospitalized his lover Betty Ross. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, and Betty's father, General Thaddeus Ross, Banner goes on the run for five years. He settles in Brazil, working in a soft drink bottling factory while attempting to find a cure for his condition with the help of an Internet friend, "Mr. Blue". He also studies martial arts and meditative breathing techniques with a Brazilian Jujitsu expert to help control his emotions, and has not suffered a transformation for five months.
After Banner suffers a cut, and his blood drips into a soda bottle eventually drank by an ill-fated consumer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ross discovers Banner's location, and sends a team to capture him, led by Russian-born British special operations expert Emil Blonsky. Following a ferocious battle in the soft drink bottling plant where he transforms into the Hulk, Banner escapes Blonsky, and ends up in Guatemala. He travels to the United States, where he sees that a now-recovered Betty is working at Culver University and is dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson. He also sees his old friend Stanley, a pizzeria owner, who gives him a job as a delivery boy. Banner uses this job to sneak past a security guard to continue his research. After Betty visits the pizzeria and sees Bruce, she later reunites with him.
Blonsky reports to Ross that Banner evaded them in Brazil because of the appearance of a large green monster. Ross explains that the monster is Banner, and that he was created accidentally during an experiment in radiation-resistance that was inspired by World War II era military bio-force enhancement research (or "Super-Soldiers", as Blonsky puts it). Blonsky, seeking both revenge and power, volunteers as a test subject in order to capture Banner. He receives a small dose of the mothballed original Vita Ray serum, created by Dr. Reinstein for Weapon Plus. He leads an assault on Banner at Culver University, during which Betty is knocked unconscious. Despite Blonsky's increased strength, speed and agility, the Hulk crushes most of the bones in Blonsky's body. The Hulk saves Betty from an explosion and escapes with her to the Smoky Mountain National Forest.
Banner and Betty then travel to Empire State University in New York City, where they meet "Mr. Blue", Samuel Sterns. Accompanying Sterns to his lab, Banner and Betty learn that Sterns has developed a possible antidote that may cure Banner's condition or merely reverse each individual transformation while an overdose could kill him. Despite the risks, Banner agrees to test Sterns' antidote and is restrained before being shocked into transforming with electricity before being reverted to normal with an injection of the serum. Exhilarated by the success of the antidote, Sterns reveals that he has synthesized Banner's blood sample into a large supply with the intention of using it to enhance the human condition to the next evolutionary level. Appalled by what Sterns had done and fearful of the Hulk's power falling into the wrong hands, Banner attempts to convince Sterns to destroy the blood supply but is shot by a tranquillizer from one of General Ross' snipers.
As both Banner and Betty are taken into custody, Blonsky, whose super-soldier treatment has healed all his injuries but is desperate for more power, demands Sterns subject him to a dose of the Banner's gamma radiation treatment. Sterns warns that the combination of the Super Soldier formula and a gamma treatment would be an unpredictable combination that could turn him into an "abomination". Blonsky is less than concerned about this, and Sterns promptly administers the gamma charge. As Blonsky mutates into the monstrous Abomination, he knocks Sterns aside and an irradiated sample of Banner's blood-derivative drips into an open wound on Sterns's temple, causing his cranium to mutate and expand. In an attempt to draw the Hulk out, the Abomination goes on a rampage through Harlem and Banner, realizing that he is the only one who can stop the Abomination, convinc
es General Ross to release him. He jumps out of Ross' helicopter as it hovers over the city, hoping the fall will stimulate his adrenal glands into triggering a transformation. Banner's plan succeeds and after a brutal battle the Hulk manages to defeat the Abomination by strangling him with a huge chain, though he releases his grip after a plea from Betty. The Abomination collapses, and the Hulk flees the scene with the army in hot pursuit.
Thirty-one days later, Banner is in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Instead of trying to suppress his transformations, he is attempting to initiate them in a controlled manner. As his eyes turn green, a grin appears on his face. Meanwhile, General Ross is drinking in a bar when he is approached by Tony Stark who reveals that a "team" is being put together.
The movie begins with Tony Stark visiting soldiers on duty in the Middle East. He is joking with some members of a convoy who seem to be genuinely amused by his persona. Suddenly, the convoy is attacked. The soldiers fight to defend themselves but are quickly killed. Stark flees when a bomb (bearing the logo of his company, "Stark Industries") explodes, severely wounding Tony's chest. Tony is captured and recorded by a group of terrorists.
A flashback sequence reveals Tony's history as a child prodigy before taking over his father's technology company at age 21. Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes attends a ceremony to present Tony Stark with an award for his work, but Stark is not in attendance. Tony's right-hand man (and his father's former partner) Obadiah Stane accepts the award in Tony's honor. Rhody later finds Tony partying in a casino. On his way out, a reporter named Christine approaches Stark with some questions regarding the ethics of his weapons business. Stark deflects her questions with some swift quips and the two end up spending the night together.
Next morning, Christine is awakened by a voice on a computer monitor. It's JARVIS, the artificial intelligence program responsible for running Tony's house. Christine is greeted by Tony's assistant, Virginia "Pepper" Pottsas she leaves the house. Pepper helps Tony catch up on some business before Tony heads out to the airport where his plane is kept.
In flight, Tony talks with Rhody. Rhody is unhappy about Tony's lax attitude, and Tony tries to get his old friend to relax. Before long they are drunk and leering at the stewardesses.
Tony arrives at a military outpost in the Middle East to demonstrate his company's latest project - the Jericho, a super-missile system. After the demonstration, Tony gets a phone call from Obadiah and they are both pleased that the demonstration went well. Tony goes off with the convoy that is soon attacked by terrorists.
Much later, Tony regains consciousness in a cave. His chest is hooked up to a strange device. Another captive, named Yinsen, explains that he operated on Stark but was unable to remove all the shrapnel fragments from the bomb blast. Yinsen created a device - essentially a battery-powered magnet - that will keep the remaining fragments out of Tony's heart.
The terrorists who captured Tony and Yinsen enter the room. Yinsen translates; they want Tony to build them a Jericho missile. Tony refuses, so they begin to torture Stark.
Hours later, the terrorists show off a huge stockpile of weapons-all made by Stark Industries. Tony appears to relent and start building the missile, but has other plans. With Yinsen's help, Tony constructs a tiny device called an Arc Reactor - a new type of power generator - streamlined from a much bigger design used in one of his companies factory. The power output is enough to run Stark's heart for fifty lifetimes... or something much bigger for about 15 minutes.
Tony designs a way out for them - a powered weapon suit that he will wear and use to defeat the terrorists. Midway through construction, the head of the terrorist group (The Ten Rings), a man named Raza arrives and attempts to torture Yinsen, angry because he thinks Stark is not working on the Jericho as they wanted. But Tony assures him that he will need Yinsen to finish the missile. Raza gives them one more day to finish.
Working overnight, Yinsen straps Tony into the completed armored suit, telling him the way out of the cave. They set off a bomb inside the cell as a distraction for the guards as Tony powers up his suit. Yinsen realizes that they will not have enough time. He grabs a gun and runs off to distract the surviving guards.
Tony Stark escaping in the Mark 1
Tony, fully powered, muscles his way through the cave. The guards try to stop but his suit easily deflects their weapon fire. Halfway out, Stark finds Yinsen, mortally wounded. Tony tearfully thanks Yinsen for saving him, and Yinsen encourages Tony to not waste his life as he dies.
Tony turns his suit on the terrorists, igniting flame-throwers. He destroys their stockpile of weapons and uses a rudimentary jet-pack to blast away from the captive zone. The armor is ruined as he crash-lands into a sand dune, but he escapes alive.
Stark walks over more sand dunes when a couple of US helicopters fly overhead. A group of soldiers, led by Rhody, come across Tony. Rhody is overjoyed to find that his friend is alive.
Tony returns to the United States after three months in captivity. Pepper wants Tony to receive medical treatment, but Tony states that there are only two things he wants: an American cheeseburger and a company press conference. Shortly after, Tony appears before a group of reporters and announces that he intends to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division immediately. At the same time, Pepper is approached by Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistic Divisionagency. They want to talk to Tony Stark about his capture. Pepper schedules an appointment for them.
That evening, Obadiah confronts Tony about his actions, furious. Obadiah knows that the stock value for their company (and, by extension, their financial status) is going to take a serious drop because of this announcement. Tony wants Stark Industries to move forward with Arc Reactor technology, but Obadiah thinks that the Arc Reactor is nothing but a publicity stunt. Through the conversation, Tony ends up revealing his prosthetic power-heart to Obadiah. Stane convinces Tony to lay low for a while so the company can sort things out.
Pepper watches a news report on the declining value of Stark Industries when Tony asks for her help. He's created an upgraded Arc Reactor but can't install it into his chest without someone to help. Pepper accidentally yanks out the cords for the old reactor too soon, putting Tony on the verge of cardiac arrest. They manage to complete the process in time. Tony tells Pepper to get rid of the old model since he's not a sentimental person.
Tony comes to visit Rhodes and asks for help with a new private project. Rhody does not agree with Tony's approach; he thinks Stark is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his capture and needs time to recover.
Tony turns to his other best friend - JARVIS, the A.I. program - for help. Tony's plan is revealed to be an upgrade to his armored suit (referred to as "Mark 2," with the suit from the terrorist cave being Mark 1).
Meanwhile, the terrorists who held Tony captive are searching the desert, gathering all fragments of the original armored suit.
Tony decides that the first thing he has to do is to perfect the armor's flight system. Since the leg-mounted jets prove too unstable, he creates arm-mounted stabilizers to balance out the system. Pepper comes in when he is testing the stabilizers and they find that it also creates a powerful repulsion beam that could also be used as a weapon. Pepper leaves a box on Tony's desk.
Obadiah visits Tony and reveals that the board of directors have filed an injunction to gain control of Stark Industries. Tony isn't worried; he still maintains controlling interest in Stark Industries.
Tony finally manages to perfect his flight system, and is delighted at the prospect of flying.
A new armored suit is soon finished, looking like a heavily-streamlined version of Tony's Mark 1 armor. Tony connects with Jarvis to monitor the progress in the suit. Tony decides to take it out for a test flight, and he is thrilled by everything the suit can do. Tony decides to push the limit for higher-atmosphere flying, but at such great heights the suit becomes coated with ice and his power supply shuts down. Tony is barely able to reactivate his thrusters in time to avoid crashing into the ground. Stark returns home, but the armor is so heavy that it crashes through three floors of the house.
As Tony recovers from his crash landing, he opens the box that Pepper left behind earlier. It's his original Arc Reactor heart, with a special border around it reading, "Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart."
Tony analyzes more data and decides to rebuild the suit using gold titanium from an old project to solve the icing problem. Tony also instructs Jarvis to add some "hot-rod red" paint to the next suit, codenamed Mark 3. Tony then leaves to attend his annual benefit dinner while the new suit is being assembled and painted.
At the charity event, Tony meets with Agent Coulson, who still wants to learn about Tony's incident. Tony then leaves to dance with Pepper and they share a moment together in the moonlight.
Tony is then confronted by Christine, the reporter from an earlier scene. She shows him photographs of his weapons being used by a terrorist group the previous day in the Middle East. Tony confronts Obadiah on the matter, and Obadiah reveals that he is the one who filed the injunction against Tony. Obadiah calls himself an "Iron Monger," and has no qualms about selling Stark Industries weapons to both sides of the conflict. Tony returns home, furious. When the new suit is completed, Stark steps in and essentially transforms into Iron Man for the first time.
In a Middle East village, terrorists are rounding up civilians for capture and execution when they are confronted by a mysterious figure in red
Iron Man Mark 3 firing a rocket at a tank
and gold. Iron Man has arrived. Within seconds, he defeats the terrorists and the armor's superior targeting allows him to kill a group using civilians as human shields without harming the hostages and destroys the weapons they had obtained. The leader of the group tries in one of the buildings to hide only to find a red and gold arm smash through the wall and yank him back out into the street Iron Man then hands him over to the villagers saying "He's all yours," before taking off.
As Iron Man leaves the area, two F-22 jets spot him. Col. Rhodes is asked about the status of any new developments. He contacts Tony, who claims that he knows nothing about what is happening. Iron Man tries to outrun the jets but they are too much for him. Tony calls Rhodes and reveals that he is responsible for the "unidentified craft." Rhody is furious about Tony sending in unauthorized equipment, and horrified when Tony explains that the "equipment" is actually himself! Iron Man is hit by one fighter jet, sending him flying into the wing of the second jet. The pilot is forced to eject, but the parachute fails to open. Iron Man, still under fire, manages to fly in and successfully deploy the parachute in time to save the pilot's life. Tony convinces Rhody to pass off what happened with the jets as a "training exercise."
As Tony arrives back at home, Pepper catches him removing the battle-damaged Iron Man armor.
Meanwhile, the Ten Rings terrorist group is visited by none other than Obadiah. It is revealed that Stane paid the Ten Rings members to kill Stark, but they realized who Stark was and demanded a much higher price. Obadiah takes the remnants of the Mark 1 armor they have gathered.
Tony tries to talk Pepper into helping him, believing that nothing else matters but stopping the people who he put in harm's way. Pepper is moved by Tony's dedication, and agrees. She goes into Obadiah's office with a tiny piece of equipment designed to copy files from the computer. As Pepper sifts through stored files, she finds a video from the terrorists proving that Obadiah was responsible for Tony's capture.
Obadiah comes into the office just as she is leaving, but Pepper manages to get away. However, as soon as he powers up the computer, Obadiah realizes what she was up to. On the way out, Pepper is joined by Agent Coulson and he agrees to help stop Obadiah with his fellow agents.
Obadiah meets with his team of developers working on his own armored suit. They cannot figure out how to create a power source for the suit. Stane is furious; then realizes that he has one other option.
Stane arrives at Tony's house and paralyzes him with a sonic weapon. Obadiah yanks out the power source from Tony's heart, taunting him all the while. After he leaves, Tony realizes that he has only one hope for survival - the preserved Arc Reactor that Pepper gave him in a display case. He gets the power source installed just as Rhody arrives.
Pepper, Coulson and several other agents arrive at Obadiah's research facility. They spot the Mark 1 Armor and a storage location where something else was kept. Just then, a gigantic robotic suit comes to life and attacks them - it's Obadiah's counterpart suit, code-named the Iron Monger.
Rhody watches Tony suit up, awestruck at the Iron Man costume. As Tony flies away, Rhody looks at the prototype silver suit Tony built earlier... then shakes his head and mumbles "Next time."
Iron Man arrives and begins to fight Iron Monger. Jarvis warns Tony that he has only about half power in the suit; the older power source
Iron Monger
wasn't designed to work alongside the newer suit. The two ironclad warriors have a huge battle. Iron Man, after being beaten by his nemesis, attempts to flee from the battle scene. However, Iron Monger counters this by flying after him and carrying him high into the sky. Iron Monger, as he thinks he has the upper hand, instantly freezes up as he goes higher into the atmosphere, freeing Iron Man in the process. Iron Monger crashes in the Stark Industries building, and Iron Man falls moments after, his battery running out of power. The two fight again.
Nick Fury
Tony instructs Pepper to overload the building's Arc Reactor, which will generate a shockwave strong enough to knock out the Iron Monger's suit. Pepper is hesitant, believing that Tony could also be killed. Tony manages to keep fighting while she builds up power to the Reactor. The Arc explodes, taking out Obadiah and injuring Tony. But the energy wave from the Reactor also manages to re-charge Tony's heart battery, saving him from death.
Days later, Rhody holds a press conference about the incident with the two robots. Tony is impressed with the newspaper's coming up with the name "Iron Man," and plans to adopt it. Agent Coulson has released cover stories about Obadiah and the "truth" about Iron Man (who will be referred to as Stark's bodyguard). Pepper thanks Coulson but cannot remember the full name of the group he belongs to. Coulson just tells them to call it S.H.I.E.L.D. and states that they will be in touch again.
Tony goes before the reporters once more, and prepares to comply with the cover story. But, before he can even start, Tony Stark throws away his notes and declares "I am Iron Man."
Much later (after the credits), Tony returns home to find a mysterious man in black telling him that as Iron Man, Tony has become part of a larger universe. Tony asks who the man is. He turns around and introduces himself- Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Samuel L. Jackson). He's come to talk with Tony Stark about an upcoming project- known only as "The Avengers Initiative."
David Banner (father of Bruce Banner, the Hulk) is a genetics researcher who experiments on himself, trying to improve on human DNA. Once his wife gives birth, he is concerned about how his modified DNA might affect his son. Young Bruce is a withdrawn and closed child, rarely outwardly expressing emotion in extreme cases. The only physical effect of his mutated DNA is the strange patches of green skin that appear when he feels intense emotions. The elder Banner, under extreme guilt for his unintentional damage to his son, is feverishly attempting to find a cure for the child's condition when the government, represented by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, shuts down his research after learning of his dangerous experiment. David Banner, in a fit of rage, causes a massive explosion of the facilities' gamma reactor. After the accidental death of his wife David Banner is locked away while Bruce is sent into foster care. During his life, the repressed memories of his parents and his young life manifest themselves as intense nightmares that leave the young Banner shaken and disturbed but unable to conjure the memories.
The movie then advances twenty years to when Bruce Banner, a brilliant researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, uses nanobots to regenerate living tissue. The nanobots are activated by Gamma radiation, but all experiments result in out of control cellular growth and the death of the test subjects. The Military-industrial complex, represented by the unscrupulous Major Talbot, becomes interested in the research to build self-healing soldiers. David Banner reappears and begins infiltrating his son's life. "Thunderbolt" Ross, now an army General, also begins to investigate when he learns of Bruce's involvement in the research through Talbot. Ross, the estranged father of Bruce's ex-girlfriend and co-researcher Betty Ross, becomes concerned both for his daughter's safety around Banner, but also because Bruce is working in the same field as the father he does not remember. A laboratory accident involving the nanobots and gamma rays results in Bruce's transformation into the Hulk.
Banner's and the Hulk's battles are fought on many levels in the film. On the surface, the Hulk's nemesis is the military commanded by General Ross. Seeing Banner and the Hulk as a threat based on his perception of David Banner, he orders Bruce sealed away from the world, and by extension, from his own daughter who refuses to give up on her former love. On the other side of the military equation is Talbot, whose primary concern is learning the secret locked in Bruce's DNA and replicating the experiments that resulted in his transformation. His goal is simply to patent the discovery and reap a fortune by selling it to the military. On a lesser note, Talbot is jealous of Banner. Having been a college love interest of Betty Ross, Talbot cannot cope with the idea that she could possibly have feelings for the apparently weak Banner.
Both Banner's and the Hulk's ultimate foe ends up being Banner's father. The elder Banner, having become completely obsessed with Bruce during his incarceration, conducts his own experiments at copying Bruce's trans-formative abilities, resulting in his ability to absorb and replicate the properties of various forms of matter and energy. After allowing himself to be captured, David Banner confronts his son under the guise of attempting to make amends. His true goal is the use of his emotional impact to enrage Bruce and trigger the Hulk transformation. The now completely mad David Banner needs the Hulk's unique abilities to stabilize the cellular reaction caused by his experiments, allowing him to fulfill undisclosed, megalomaniacal aspirations. This results in a two front, father/son battle; the Hulk versus David Banner's trans-formative powers, and the psychological battle of a deranged father attempting to subjugate the will of his son. Both Bruce's inner strength and the Hulk's outer power prove to be too much for David Banner, saturating his cells' absorption abilities and sending his powers out of control. A last ditch effort to stop the two monsters with a high energy gamma bomb, ordered by General Ross and launched from an F-22 Raptor, results in the destruction of David Banner. In the destruction that follows, Bruce Banner goes missing.
The end of the film finds Betty Ross and her father operating under close, yet strained conditions as the elder Ross tries to balance his attempts to comfort his daughter's loss with his mission to find Banner. As for Banner, it is unclear what his goals are. However, the film's final scene suggests that Banner has made the decision to direct both his and the Hulk's abilities to helping those who need it (very much like the protagonist of the television series). Bruce is last seen treating a boy in a South American jungle when guerrillas arrive and demand the medicine. The leader speaks to Bruce threatening him. He then says the famous lines (in Spanish): "You're making me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry". The shot pulls up as his eyes turn green, the rain forest is seen from a bird's view, the Hulk's roar is heard seconds later.
