At Culver University in Virginia, General Thunderbolt Ross meets with Dr. Bruce Banner (Marvel Cinematic Universe), the colleague and boyfriend of his daughter Betty Ross, regarding an experiment that Ross claims is meant to make humans immune to gamma radiation. The experiment—part of a World War II-era Weapon Plus that Ross hopes to recreate—fails, and the exposure to gamma radiation causes Banner to transform into the Hulk for brief periods of time, whenever his heart rate rises above 200 beats per minute. The Hulk destroys the lab and surrounding area, killing several people inside, and injuring the General and Betty, along with others outside. Banner becomes a fugitive from the U.S. military and Ross in particular, who wants to weaponize the Hulk.