Is He a Man?

"Is He a Man?" is the first episode of the Disney+ animated series The Incredible Hulk. The episode was written by showrunner Sage Cotugno, and directed by Stu Livingston. It premiered on September 23, 2035, to strong viewership and positive reviews.

Synopsis
Hunted by the military, Bruce Banner decides to cure himself of his transformations imto The Incredible Hulk.

Plot
In Dallas, Texas, Bruce Banner is working on a barbershop as hair sweeper. After a day of work, Banner uses his salary to buy a book on biology. He uses what he learned on the book as part of his studies to heal from his Hulk condition. As the day passes by, his transformstion is almost triggered during an incident with his neighborhoods.

In Washington, D.C., Betty Ross finishes a day of reading at the library when she sees news of her father, Thaddeuss, holding a press conference regarding Bannerxs status as a fugitive. Having dated Banner in the past, she confronts her father and tries to disuade him from fighting the Hulk, but he refuses. Betty then ponders of Banner's whereabouts. In New Mexico, Banner's contacts help him find some technological objects to help him in his quest. He then reflects on how his life has changed for the worse after becoming the Hulk. That night, he fails to fall asleep, and tries to entertain himself by recalling his childhood, but fails and suffees intense flashbacks of an event he can't recall, almost causing another transformation. The following morning, Betty calls Banner provately abd the two briefly chat. Unfortunely, this allows Ross to locate Banner.

With the military on his trail, Banner is forced to finish preoarations for an experiment that could theorically cure him of the Hulk, and asks Betty to deliver him an energy generator. Knowing her father will grow suspicious if she dissappears, Betty calls Banner's friend, Rick Jones, and asks him to deliver the generator. Feeling guilty over Banner's condition due to him causing Banner to be exposed to gamma radiation in the first place, Rick accepts. Meanwhile the stress of the situstion causes Banner to be on tje brink of a transformation. By the time Rick artives and Banner starts his experiment, the army launches an attack on him. Betty tries to explain Ross that Banner is planning to cure himself of the Hulk, but Ross refuses to listen, claiming killing him is the only way to end the Hulk.

The army invades the cave, and the stress causes Banner to turn into the Hulk. He engages the army into a battle thaf he ultimately wins, before departing upon, whule Betty silently gets angry st her father for his actions. As the Hulk jumps througth the country, a mysterious cage shows up and captures the Hulk. It is then revealed that Hulk was captured by a man calling himself "The Leader".

Writing
Cotugno said they wrote the episode as "a Banner-first story" that served as a cgaracter study for Banner and "how being the Hulk affected him" while also hinting at his childhood and "how the Hulk truly came to be" as well as the direction of Banner's arc for the season.

According to Cotugno, the first act went througth sevetañ revisions. Originally, the episode started with the Hulk fighting the army, but Cotugno eventually changed it to Banner escaping as himself, with the Hulk ultimately appearing near the end. The final version ultimately had Banner facong the army only at the end. Cotugno said they took this approach because "while starting with the Hulk kicking ass was good, building up to that first appearance and to the moment where he kicks asses did a lot more justice to how badass he is", comparing it to The Incredible Hulk (1977). They also said it was because "there wasn't enough of a focus on Banner's mind. It was too much action, not enough character".

Main cast

 * Josh Keaton as Bruce Banner
 * Fred Tatasciore as Hulk
 * Sarah-Nicole Robles as Betty Ross
 * Chris Pratt as Rick Jones
 * Sam Elliot as General Ross
 * William Dafoe as The Leader

Guest cast

 * Al Ewing as Clay Quatermine
 * Jessica DiCicco as Bookepper
 * Kimberly Brooks as Jackie McGee
 * Stephanie Panisello as Secretary of Stare
 * Henry Simmons as General Nick Fury
 * Neal McDonough as the Secretary of Homeland Security
 * Tika Sumpter as Air Force Chief of Staff
 * Shannon Chan-Klent as U.S. Navy Chief of Staff
 * Sage Cotugno as Shop Owner
 * Janice Kawaye as Food Vendor
 * Dan Castallaneta as Bully
 * Lou Ferrigno as Janitor
 * Mark Hamill as Mysterious Man

Trivia

 * The book Betty was reading was "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
 * Showrunner Sage Cotugno wanted some of Banner's scenes to have him display symptoms of DID, as hints of his mental disorder.
 * The scene where Banner tries to get himself to sleep was inspired by a similar scene in the first episode of Moon Knight.
 * Leader's spy ladybugs are a reference to the Android Saga from Dragon Ball Z.
 * While being confronted by a bully, Banner says the iconic line "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", from the 1978 series.
 * The bully is voiced by Dan Castallaneta, known for voicing Homer Simpson; in The Simpsons episode "I Am Angry (Yellow)", Homer ends up looking like the Hulk