The general who spent a career hunting one man, then became the government, then became the thing he was hunting.
Thaddeus Ross is a lieutenant general in the United States Armed Forces who later serves as Secretary of State and is then elected President. He is Betty Ross’s father, and their relationship is the one consistent wound in the character. He leads the manhunt for Bruce Banner and, in doing so, helps create the Abomination.
He is played by William Hurt from 2008 to 2021 and by Harrison Ford from 2025, after Hurt’s death in 2022. Both readings are of a man who believes he is the adult in the room and is never once right about it.
Minor spoiler
Samuel Sterns, whom Ross had held for years, feeds him gamma radiated pills. Ross becomes the Red Hulk and destroys the White House. He stands down as president and is imprisoned in the Raft.