This article discusses the first season of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Spoilers ahead.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has recently concluded its first season. The series was plenty of fun. But its wacky finale, along with a number of Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the season, also lays the groundwork for several interesting developments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The following are nine ways that the sensational Disney+ series affects the future of the MCU.
#1. Opportunities for Daredevil’s new direction after She-Hulk
Charlie Cox‘s much-hyped return as Daredevil has been largely celebrated by fans.
Sure, we saw Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it’s in She-Hulk where we see the blind lawyer suit up as our beloved Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. He’s a little more lighthearted than he was in his Netflix series, to fit in with the tonally-different MCU where there’s more fun to be had.
Interestingly, Daredevil’s stunts in the MCU have been embellished with some CGI. It’s something that we might also see in his upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again, as Charlie Cox alludes to in a GQ interview.
“I guess what I would say is: hopefully, on the Disney+ show, Born Again, we will be able to use—and I hope that we do it sparingly, I believe it should be used sparingly—but we’ll hopefully be able to use a tiny bit more CGI in the action sequences. Just to emphasize his gymnastic abilities that have been basically impossible to do. It really should be sparingly. I don’t believe there should be complete action sequences that are almost all computer-generated. Most of it should be stunt-coordinated and done by a stunt performer and myself or the other actors in a similar fashion to what we did before.
— Charlie Cox
We can bookend it with these little moments. With the batons particularly, we could never really do anything in our show where Daredevil ricochets a baton off a wall and takes someone out because you can’t physically do that. It’s not safe and not possible…just these little moments would elevate scenes and be something that makes the show even more recognizable to the comics. That’s the stuff that happens almost episodically when you read the issues.”
And, of course, with Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk‘s parents hinting hard that Matt Murdock has his own law practice back in Hell’s Kitchen, it’s likely that we’ll see her make a return appearance in Born Again.
#2. Drip broker Luke Jacobson
Speaking of Daredevil, his new gold and red suit comes from New York’s premier fashion designer for superheroes, Luke Jacobson (Griffin Matthews). Jacobson also gives She-Hulk her superhero-ing costume, alongside some stylish formal and casual wear.
In the comics world, Luke Jacobson is associated with Detective Dakota North—who is friends with Jessica Jones, and has worked for Black Panther and the Dora Milaje, as well as Luke Cage, Punisher, Spider-Man, and numerous others. Thus, this character could serve as a reintroduction for some of the Marvel heroes who were on Netflix.
With a superhero fashion designer firmly established, we might even get to see more comic-accurate costumes for other characters in the universe, like Hawkeye and Iron Fist.
#3. K.E.V.I.N. and the Fourth Wall in She-Hulk
In the She-Hulk finale, the titular hero smashes through the Disney+ front page and subsequently comes face-to-face with the A.I. brain pulling the strings at Marvel Studios—K.E.V.I.N. (or Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus; a clear stand-in for real-life Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige).
Jen explains to the robot that her show has become a mess, and that she’s looking to fix its issues. During their conversation, she raises key points such as how “Marvel movies all end the same way,” while observing the “unwritten rule that you have to throw a bunch of plot and flash” into the climax, which distracts from the core emotional story. K.E.V.I.N. shows off his reality-warping powers by giving in to her demands.
Before She-Hulk leaves to return to her own show, K.E.V.I.N. announces that the glitch has been fixed. This means that She-Hulk, or presumably any other character (including fellow fourth wall breaker Deadpool), will no longer have access to K.E.V.I.N. and his plotline-altering capabilities.
It’s great to see some self-awareness from Marvel Studios. So, here’s hoping that we get more interesting and varied finales from Marvel properties in the future. Meanwhile, we’ll just have to wait and see how She-Hulk defies expectations in a different way for a potential season 2.
#4. X-Men and Mutants
“When are we getting the X-Men?” Jennifer asks K.E.V.I.N. while giving a cheeky thumbs up.
The show has been deftly dropping various Easter eggs alluding to mutants in the MCU. These include sneakers that pay homage to characters like Cyclops and Deadpool in the credits for Episode 5, as well as the appearance of lesser-known mutants in the show like Mr. Immortal and El Aguila.
She-Hulk has also foreshadowed some of the prejudice that mutants might face in the MCU, as Jennifer loses her job at the DA’s office, and struggles to find a new one, because her Hulk form is “a liability”.
We might see mutants like Nightcrawler, whose demonic looks are part of his mutation, resort to tech like Bruce Banner’s wrist-mounted device from Episode 1 in order to maintain a human appearance.
#5. Vampires are real
Saracen (Terrence Clowe) is among the D-listers that Jennifer meets in Emil Blonky’s retreat in Episode 7. He is introduced as a gloomy goth who “thinks” he’s a vampire.
In contrast to Werewolf by Night, which demonstrates that nobody knows what a werewolf is in the MCU, this proves that vampires are totally a thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Saracen also happens to be one of Marvel’s oldest vampires in the comics. So, we could even see him make an appearance in the upcoming Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali, which is expected to touch on how long vampires have been in the MCU and where they have been.
#6. The Sokovia Accords have been repealed
While defending Luke Jacobson against claims that Eugene Patilio / Leap-Frog (Brandon Stanley) was supplied with a defective costume, Matt Murdock casually points out that the Sokovia Accords have been repealed.
The Sokovia Accords dictated that superheroes must disclose their identity and powers and submit to monitoring, stripping them of their privacy.
The Accords being repealed means that superheroes can now operate without fear of being closely monitored, allowing them to focus on working together and fighting crime. But it also means that we might see more vigilantism — Frank Castle, anyone?
#7. Hulk blood is out there
Although Bruce explicitly destroys samples of his cousin’s Hulk-infused blood in Episode 1 out of fear that they might fall into the wrong hands, we eventually learn that Intelligencia successfully extracted some of Jennifer’s blood for their own nefarious means.
With the existence of Hulk blood out there, this paves the way for more Hulks in the MCU—including Red Hulk, Red She-Hulk, A-Bomb, and more.
#8. Skaar’s MCU debut in She-Hulk
One of the last scenes of the She-Hulk finale explains why Bruce left for Sakaar in the show’s second episode. Turns out, Bruce has a son, Skaar (Will Deusner), whom he introduces at the Banner family dinner.
Skaar was first introduced to the Marvel comics in World War Hulk #5 (2007). His presence in the MCU, along with Hulk blood in the wild as mentioned above, could lead into the rumoured World War Hulk movie.
In any case, the next time we see the Hulk, we can expect him to wrangle with new responsibilities in addition to his superheroic duties.
#9. Abomination is free
In the mid-credits scene of She-Hulk‘s finale episode, Wong (Benedict Wong), the Sorcerer Supreme, frees Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), the Abomination, from jail. This leaves one more dangling plot line that any future Marvel project could pick up.
The Abomination could join Tim Blake Nelson’s Leader in Captain America: New World Order. Or even team up with the ragtag group of villains and anti-heroes in Thunderbolts. Knowing Marvel, the possibilities are endless.
Edwin is a seasoned raconteur with a lifelong passion for video games, comic books, movies, and more. He thrives on captivating stories and immersive world-building, with a soft spot for adorable monsters.
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