8 Movies We Didn’t Know Were Origin Stories Going In

Going into 2008's The Incredible Hulk, audiences were informed that we'd be getting Ed Norton's spin on the Jade Giant butting heads with Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky, aka Abomination.

While we clearly got these two behemoths doing brutal battle throughout Louis Leterrier's picture, one added bonus that nobody was expecting was the origin tale of The Leader.

In Marvel Comics lore, The Leader, aka Samuel Sterns, is one of Hulk's greatest rivals, with his history dating all the way back to 1964's Tales to Astonish #62. Going into The Incredible Hulk, though, we didn't even know Sterns would be featured.

During the first half of the 2008 movie, Norton's Bruce Banner is in regular contact with an online figure known only as Mr. Blue. For Banner, he's working with Blue to help find a cure for the condition which turns him into his hulking green alter-ego.

As The Incredible Hulk progresses, it's revealed that Mr. Blue - as played by Tim Blake Nelson - is actually Samuel Sterns. Not just that, mind, for a confrontation with Abomination sees Sterns knocked to the floor as some of Banner's unique blood falls into an open wound - thus starting Sterns transformation into The Leader.

Unfortunately, The Leader has yet to resurface in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although he has been included in certain MCU spin-off comics.