In what may be the greatest, albeit most exploitive, TV spot I’ve seen in awhile, Robert Downey Jr., as Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), shows up at the beginning of a new commercial for The Incredible Hulk. Of course we’ve known about the cameo for some time, mainly because nothing is safe from the “spoiler nation” of the Interweb, but most of us were probably not expecting to actually see it for real until the movie arrives in theaters (it opens Friday). I guess this is smarter than hiding the cameo after the end credits, a la Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Iron Man, in order to somewhat maintain denial even during the film’s theatrical run.

Hopefully TV audiences won’t be fooled into thinking Downey has a bigger part in the film. In a way, the cameo seems to lift the prestige and appeal of The Incredible Hulk, yet it also really seems like a cheap ploy to get us excited about an otherwise crappy looking comic book movie. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time a movie unfairly sold itself on a cameo appearance. Highlander II: The Quickening (”starring” Sean Connery) comes to mind, for example. Actually, now that I’m comparing it to that film, I may be even less interested in The Incredible Hulk than before. Fortunately, if there’s any more to the Stark cameo than visible above, someone will put it up on YouTube for those of us who skip it.

[via The Playlist]