12 Fiendishly Clever Comic Book Movie In-Jokes You Probably Missed

8. The Leader

You have to laugh when a movie sets up the appearance of future villains despite being mostly terrible and almost completely ending the marketability of the character, and The Incredible Hulk did just that.

Though the film does sort of inform the timeline of The Avengers (as confirmed by Banner's mention of his attempted suicide) it isn't exactly a prequel, and the messiness of the film (thanks in part to its curiously bland script) that iteration of the Hulk character starts and ends during that movie, so it's odd to see an Easter Egg hinting at the future appearance of long-time Hulk nemesis and Marvelite favourite The Leader.

Thanks to the ended continuity, it's unlikely we'll see Tim Blake Nelson return to the screen as Samuel Sterns (who it is hinted is on his way to becoming The Leader by the end of The Incredible Hulk) so this origin Easter Egg actually feels more like an in-joke than anything else in retrospect.

If Marvel do decide to continue the Hulk universe in some guise - and it would sense with Mark Ruffalo in the role, as long as they write smartly - The Leader should re-appear, as he's one of the few villains who actually represent a real threat to Big Green.