10 Best CGI Movie Characters Ever

4. Hulk - Marvel Cinematic Universe

Lord of the Rings Gollum
Marvel Studios

After several modern-day attempts to bring the Green Goliath to big-screen life, it looked as if comic book fans were destined to never see a proper take on the Hulk realised on the silver screen. Ang Lee’s Hulk, while a slow-built and nuanced picture, needed a major injection of “Hulk Smash!!!!” and featured a titular character who grew to ridiculous sizes. Then there was Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk, which was a solid popcorn movie yet had an awful villain and was maybe a little too reliant on “Hulk Smash!!!!”

Upon Bruce Banner’s gargantuan alter-ego being brought to life in The Avengers, though, finally we had the perfect balance of subtle and smash. And just as important as the characteristics of the World-Breaker, this incarnation of Hulk was a visual delight. With Mark Ruffalo’s face incorporated into the character in addition to Ruffalo carrying out motion capture work, this CGI creation looked as if it had been pulled directly from the pages of Marvel Comics.

Since then, the character and the visual detail of Hulk has gone from strength to strength with each MCU appearance. The big question many have, mind, is whether Hulk is a strong enough character to finally anchor his own successful movie – or whether it’s just a case of this being a character who works best as part of a larger ensemble.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.