10 Famous Characters Who Acted Totally Out Of Character In Sequels

6. Dr. Bruce Banner - Avengers Assemble

Not all abrupt character changes are for the worse. Often the producers see the change as necessary if attempting to continue a franchise that has been met with relative audience indifference in the past. That is most certainly the case with the return of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in 2012's Avengers Assemble. The Incredible Hulk's prologuing solo effort remains the least loved of all the entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with criticism largely honing in on the notion that it's an all-too-earnest, serious hangover from Ang Lee's morose misfire a few years before. There's something clearly off about making a slow-burning, bleak and angsty character drama about a giant, green CGI monster who smashes helicopters, and this is mainly cited as the reason for The Incredible Hulk's lukewarm audience response. Edward Norton does his best as the grumbling, lonely Dr. Banner, lamenting his situation and reluctant to so much as crack a smile until the very final shot of the film. The Hulk side of the character fares little better €“ his set-pieces are glum, over-serious and never really make the most of the fact that a giant, green CGI monster can be quite fun. Nobody knew this better than Joss Whedon, the man charged with uniting the Marvel heroes for their first team-up outing. Bringing back the Hulk but instead having him a roaring, riotous source of visual fun and explosive action, Whedon gave us the surprise star of the show €“ which culminated in the infamous and laugh-out-loud 'Puny God' ending to Loki's villainous endeavour. This is admittedly not so much a character change as a change in how the Hulk's behaviour is portrayed, but what about Bruce? The facts behind Norton's departure from the role are rather elusive and the jury's out on why he had to go, but his exit gave us Mark Ruffalo, and by extension a very different Banner from the one who struggled to keep us awake in 2008's effort. Banner, while still bemoaning his condition (and rightly so), is witty, endearing and bereft of the charisma-sucking angst that dominated Norton's portrayal, referring to his Hulk transformations as his "party trick", gelling instantly with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark (can you imagine Norton and Downey Jr. displaying such chemistry?) and revealing at the optimum moment that he's got the Hulk sussed out after all. What a guy. Another solo Hulk movie is, at this stage, pretty unlikely, but Ruffalo's Banner is a fan-favourite and likely mainstay of the MCU franchise. Change is good.