Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: betty ross, Captain America: New World Order, liv tyler, marvel, movies, The Incredible Hulk

Captain America: New World Order – Marvel Should Bring Back Betty Ross

In July 2010, Marvel Studios announced that Edward Norton would not be returning to the role of Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, in the upcoming Avengers movie, and he would be recast with Mark Ruffalo. Fans more or less took this recasting in stride, but it was acknowledged, at least among fans, that this meant that Marvel was probably going to ignore everything that happened in The Incredible Hulk, at least in the movies. There were some references here and there; Abomination, played by Tim Roth, got name-dropped in the short The Consultant, again in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and you see references to him in newspapers in the Netflix shows. General Ross, played by the late William Hurt, was also mentioned in The Consultant and Fury's Big Week shorts, but he made an appearance in person in Captain America: Civil War.

That was the first time that Marvel had really acknowledged that the characters that appeared in The Incredible Hulk were still around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-recasting. Then Abomination turned up in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and again in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. At the D23 Expo, Marvel Studios announced that they were bringing back Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, played by Tim Blake Nelson for Captain America: New World Order, finally following up on a tease from The Incredible Hulk. On October 17th, Marvel announced that General Ross would be recast and that Harrison Ford would be taking on the role for Captain America: New World Order. Almost all of the big players from The Incredible Hulk have gotten a chance to come back to the Marvel universe, and that is why it's time for Marvel Studios to bring back Betty Ross.

Betty Ross Deserved Better, And Captain America: New World Order Can Make It Right

The Incredible Hulk was only the second movie that Marvel Studios ever made, and they didn't even make it entirely themselves; the rights to the Hulk were tied up with Universal Studios at the time. So they were still figuring things out, and when it comes to Phase One love interests, people usually only think of Pepper and Peggy, but Betty hardly deserves to be ignored so much. She is a cellular biologist who was right there with Bruce when the accident happened, and she even made sure to hold onto the documents that her father stole. She is the first one who can connect with the Hulk on a human level, and she does so even though she knows Hulk could kill her easily. She's not a passive love interest by any stretch of the imagination, and when it comes to a woman putting herself in harm's way to keep the hero safe, in terms of Phase One, she might be the one who puts herself in the most immediate danger.

However, Betty Ross is far from some throwaway love interest and a fascinating character in her own right. She has been an active member of the Marvel Universe in comics since 1962 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. She has gained powers in her own right in a few different ways, but one of the more infamous ways would be the Red She-Hulk, a fairly recent change back in 2010. She gained the same powers as her father, General Ross, and a big ass sword. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is very much pushing its way toward making things a little more even across the board when it comes to male versus female characters. Jennifer made a joke in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law about a Red Hulk. Betty is a badass who has been completely forgotten by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the circumstances of Captain America: New World Order could prove to be a perfect jumping-off point for her.

Harrison Ford Joins The Marvel Universe, But For How Long?

Harrison Ford is playing Ross in Captain America: New World Order, but you have to wonder how many movies he will sign up for. Ford isn't exactly a young man anymore, and signing a multi-movie contract just doesn't seem like it is in the cards for him. So it stands to reason that if there was ever someone that you could say is probably a one-and-done person when it comes to Marvel Cinematic Universe characters, it would be Ford's version of General Ross. This is fine; it gives them time to write the character out instead of just letting him vanish or die off-screen. The joke from Jennifer and the existence of The Leader in this movie could hint that Ross will become the Red Hulk in this movie. People have been waiting for this to happen since the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk. However, becoming a Hulk is not exactly an easy process, and Bruce just explained in She-Hulk that he and Jennifer really only survive because of their DNA. Ross doesn't have that safety in his DNA as far as we know, so if he does turn into Red Hulk, that could very well be the thing that kills him.

And if that is the thing that ends up killing him, there is someone who could see that as the fault of the Avengers. Someone like Betty Ross, who lost five years of her life to the Snap, and who basically seems to have been abandoned by Bruce and perhaps her father as well.  That could be the spark she needs to prompt her to take the step to become the Red She-Hulk. What Betty has that Ross doesn't are the original records of how Bruce became the Hulk and her own well of knowledge. If anyone could figure out how to tweak the formula that killed her father to keep from killing her, it would be Betty, and there would be plenty of motivation for her to be angry at plenty of people. And no one likes a Hulk that is angry.

Liv Tyler Is Awesome, So Let Betty Ross Be Awesome

Liv Tyler kills it in pretty much whatever role that she is given, and in terms of underutilized talent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she's right there, and no one took advantage of her skill or range. She has shown through the years that she is willing to do a variety of genres, from horror to television to high fantasy to science fiction.  She pretty much does it all, and she is memorable in nearly everything she is in. Betty yelling at a New York City cabbie while kicking his door as Bruce tells her she should work on her anger is probably one of the best scenes in The Incredible Hulk, and her dynamic with Mark Ruffalo would be awesome.

Betty doesn't need to play a massive role in Captain America: New World Order. A small part for her would be plenty, and the promise that it could be expanded later on would be nice. Marvel is clearly still looking to previous movies to finally close some dangling plot threads when it comes to The Leader; why not bring back the most underrated love interest who isn't played by Rachel McAdams? There have been some thankless roles for women in the Marvel universe, even more so in the early days, but any woman that can calm a Hulk is an absolute badass. Captain America: New World Order should be the first step to bringing back Betty Ross and giving her character the chance she deserves to shine. Captain America: New World Order is currently set to be released on May 3rd, 2024.

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