10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About The MCU

4. When The Hulk Was Teased As The Villain Of The Avengers

Though Marvel were seeding the idea of their movies being part of one shared universe from the beginning, the references and crossovers were initially all saved for post-credit sequences. You can see why they'd play it safe; this was an idea never before attempted, and the studio probably only had a a rough idea of what they'd actually do if they ever made it to the eventual team up of The Avengers.

That safety net paid off in dividends in hindsight, as it allowed them to completely ignore the fact that the post-credit scene in The Incredible Hulk actually set up the Hulk as the villain of the team-up movie. Showing Tony Stark meeting with General Ross on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., the scene ominously ends on the tease that Iron Man and his team could solve the General's Hulk problem.

The director of the movie even hinted toward the confrontation, saying at the time that if there wasn't a sequel, then the ambiguous final shot of Bruce Banner could mean he returns as a menace in The Avengers.

Obviously, Marvel went down a very different route after this film debuted, moving away from pretty much everything set up in the story. Consequently, not only does Marvel want you to forget this post-credit scene, but pretty much everything that happened in the early Phase 1 effort.