THE INCREDIBLE HULK (2008)
The Gist: Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner/the Hulk in this movie revamp of the character. Liv Tyler is love interest Betty Ross, William Hurt is nemesis General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, and Tim Roth is classic Hulk villain (but movie noob) Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. the Abomination.

How It Looks?: Well, the action appears to be ramped up considerably, but we see more of Blonsky and Abomination than we do Big Green. But we appreciate this movie's attempt at a Godzilla vs. King Kong–style monster throwdown. Plus, the Bruce Banner on-the-run sequences are encouraging because A.) They remind us of the Bill Bixby TV series and B.) They don't involve long scenes of people talking to Nick Nolte.

HULK (2003)
The Gist: For this first attempt to get the Hulk on the big screen, Universal pulled in director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) to tell the story of a scientist with severe daddy issues. Jennifer Connelly costars as an even hotter Betty Ross, while "Thunderbolt" Ross was played by both Sam Elliott and his mustache.

How It Looks?: From the opening shot of young Bruce and his mommy, you can tell right away that this one's a soap opera pretending to be an action flick. However, Lee does deliver more money shots per second than the new Hulk trailer (nothing beats the tank-chucking)—it's just a shame the movie padded the moments in between with way too much psychobabble. And, of course, there's no supervillain for Hulk to square off against. (And, no, we don't count the Nolte balloon he wrestles with at the end).


THE INCREDIBLE HULK CARTOON (1966)
The Gist: Back when "animation" meant "let's take a static comic book image and make the arms move once or twice," Marvel brought a classic version of the Hulk to TV screens.


How It Looks?: Are you paying attention, Ang Lee and Louis Leterrier? This is how you sell the Hulk. Bouncy, sing-along jazz tunes, confusing Betty Boop vocals ("Aint he un-glam-or-ace"?), and the best "sound effect" of all time: "Skroonk!" It makes Hulk huggable, lovable, and capable of crushing a tank so thoroughly it tears the fabric of space and time. Stick with the classic.