In just under two minutes and thirty seconds, the title sequence of Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk (2008) weaves a dense web of references to other superhero narratives and media. Beginning directly after the studio logos, the sequence opens with a fast-paced montage that combines medical imagery –shots of lab equipment, CT scans, whirring tape machines, pulsating blood vessels viewed through a microscope –with the image of a flashing “Danger” sign and of shots mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) participating in the ill-fated experiment that will transform him into a rage-filled green monster (Figure 3.1). In these moments, Leterrier's film carefully restages key moments from the opening credits of the classic CBS television series The Incredible Hulk (1977–82), which featured a similar montage –and thereby locates itself within a longer history of Marvel Comics adaptations. Unlike the show's credits, however, the film's opening also depicts the Hulk destroying the laboratory and hurting Elizabeth Ross (Liv Tyler) and her father General Ross (John Hurt) in the process. The sequence continues with a remorseful Banner sneaking away from a recuperating Elizabeth and the depiction of a many-year- long manhunt for the protagonist, which is relayed through a montage of newspaper headlines, excerpts from electronic communications, shots of armed soldiers and military equipment in the field, and the recurring image of an angry-looking General Ross in front of busy computer screens. Leterrier's Hulk here effectively narrates a condensed version of the protagonist's origin story for viewers unfamiliar with it, a choice that further underscores that the film's central characters have appeared in other narratives and media before. Picking up speed, the opening titles eventually culminate in a series of rapid cuts that juxtapose images from the manhunt with shots of the experiment. Before the end of the sequence, the names of prominent characters and organizations from the world of Marvel Comics –such as Tony Stark's company Stark Industries, the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and its director Nick Fury, the Hulk's erstwhile sidekick Rick Jones, and the superhero Doc Samson –briefly appear onscreen. In including these references, the opening titles add another layer of intertextual reference and imply the existence of a larger narrative world populated by other Marvel characters –an impression that is confirmed in the film's post-credits sequence, which has Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., reprising his role from 2008's Iron Man) meeting up with General Ross.