Thunderbolt Ross (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

"Banner's work was very early phase, it wasn't even weapons application. He thought he was working on radiation resistance. I would never have told him what the project really was. But he was so sure of what he was onto, that he tested it on himself. And then something went very wrong, or it went very right. As far as I'm concerned, that man's whole body is property of the U.S. Army."

- General Ross to Emil Blonsky, taking about the Hulk.

General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross is the secondary antagonist turned supporting protagonist/anti-hero of the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk. He is portrayed by William Hurt.

The Incredible Hulk
Ross is the head of a military project that is attempting to recreate Dr. Abraham Erskine's Super-Soldier Serum. He convinces Dr. Bruce Banner, who is his daughter Betty's fiance, to participate in the project. Banner tests the end result of one such experiment on himself; as a result, he transforms into the Hulk, injures Betty, and flees. Taken by a sense of guilt and rage, Ross puts his life at the service of a single cause: to hunt down and capture Bruce Banner.

Five years later, Ross is still determined to hunt down Banner, and pinpoints his location in Brazil (where Banner has been working in a soda-bottling factory) after tracing a bottle of soda that had been contaminated with Bruce's blood. Ross dispatches a special ops fire team lead by Captain Emil Blonsky of the British Royal Marines. The team, however, fails in capturing Bruce, who evades the team narrowly after he transforms into the Hulk.

When Blonsky comes back and is told how Banner has become the Hulk, he accepts to be injected with an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum, developed by Ross' researchers. When Leonard Samson, Betty's new boyfriend, warns Ross that Bruce has come back to Virginia, Ross and his forces, super-powered Blonsky included, attacks the Culver University in an attempt to capture Banner. Ross uses all his men and his new weapons created by Stark Industries, but fails once again, and Betty flees with Bruce.

With much of Ross' surprise, Blonsky manages to recover very fast from the wounds suffered in the battle with Banner, that because of the Serum. General Ross manages to track Banner's accomplice and has his lab taken in custody by the Army. Unknown to Ross, anyway, Blonsky goes to Samuel Sterns lab and forces him to inject him with Bruce's DNA, which reacts with the Serum and transforms him into a Hulk-like monster. For stopping Blonsky, Ross accepts Banner's help, and has The Hulk fight The Abomination. At the end of the battle, Ross takes Blonsky in custody, while Banner is disappeared once again.

Later, in a bar, Ross meets Tony Stark,a.k.a, Iron Man, who wants to talk with him and though about the "Avengers Initiative" that might interest him.He does not answer then the credits roll.

"Tony Stark: What if i told you We were making a team together? General Ross: Who's We?"

- Tony Stark and General Ross about the Avengers Initiative

Trivia
Leterirrer cast Hurt because ''Ross is more physical, more explosive in this movie, and no actor goes from zero to 100 as well as William. The Hulk is Hurt's favourite superhero, and his son is also a big fan of the character. Hurt found production very different from the typical pure anxiety of a studio film, finding it more akin to an independent film. He described Ross as ''humiliated as Hulk's conscience: he actually sees and recognizes that its more developed than his own, even though he's a patroit and a warrior for his country. He's sacrificed [much] for that purpose, but at the expense at times of his humanity - which he occasionally recovers" Sam Elliott who played Ross in the first film, would have liked to reprise the role, nothing it was odd seeing someone take this part, "but i'll be looking forward to seeing this one".