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She-Hulk: Reviewed by the Real Attorneys at Law (Full season review)

The She-Hulk: Attorney at Law tv show title card

It’s time to review She-Hulk: Attorney at Law!

Here at the Bisnar Chase blog, we tend to focus on big-hitting topics. From car accidents and dangerous products to game-changing legal decisions. But we like to mix things up a little bit, and we love a legal drama. Which this is…sort of.

She-Hulk gives us the rare opportunity to cover something within the Marvel Cinematic Universe while staying (mostly) in our legal wheelhouse.

In this post, we have reviewed every episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Below the episode reviews, you will find our in-depth analysis of the 9-episode season as a whole, the characters and MCU implications, as well as a deep-dive discourse on the show’s portrayal of attorneys and gender politics within the legal sphere.

SPOILER ALERT! The episode reviews below contain spoilers.

Episode 1 – A Normal Amount of Rage

At a glance: We’re introduced to new hero Jennifer Walters, who is involved in an accident and develops Hulk-like powers.

Synopsis: The first episode of She-Hulk opens with talented attorney Jen Walters practicing her closing speech to the jury ahead of a court appearance. She then breaks the fourth wall, talking directly to the audience – as the character does in the comics – and takes us straight into a flashback set a few months ago, showing how she became a Hulk.

In the flashback, we see Jen on a road trip with her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), aka the Hulk. They are involved in a car crash and when Jen pulls Bruce from the wreckage, some of his blood mixes with hers.

Jen wakes in Bruce’s Mexican lab, where he tells her she is now a Hulk, and there is no cure. He tries to train her but is surprised to discover that she does not have to deal with a rage monster alter ego, as he had to. Jen can transform and remain in control. Despite Bruce urging her to use her powers as a superhero, Jen only wants to live as a normal person and be a lawyer. She leaves and the flashback is over.

Back to the present day, Jen is in court ready to deliver her closing argument. But she is interrupted by a villain named Titania smashing into the court, forcing Jen to Hulk out and deal with her.

Review: This is a decent enough start for the fledgling show. It’s difficult to get a real sense of what She-Hulk is going to be from episode one, which is really only used to set the scene and establish our new hero’s backstory. We always love seeing Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, but this green-tinged training montage of an episode doesn’t really feel like the legal show that we were promised. Nevertheless, aside from some iffy CGI, Jen Walters has the potential to be an interesting addition to the Marvel roster.

Realistic lawyering?: Yes, we’re keeping an unreasonably close eye on the lawyering side of the show. We are a law firm, after all. But this episode is dominated by the Hulk backstory, leaving very little room for Jen’s legal career.

However, we can tell you that our attorneys practice and refine their arguments ahead of a court appearance, as Jen did, to ensure the perfect delivery when the time comes. We haven’t had to deal with any super villainess interruptions in the courtroom, though. Yet.

Episode Rating: 6/10

She-Hulk in a courtroom
Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 2 – Superhuman Law

At a glance: Jen is fired from her job at the DA’s office (for being a Hulk) and hired by a prestigious firm – but only if she practices law as She-Hulk and takes on a controversial client.

Synopsis: After her heroic exploits in the courtroom in episode one, Jen Walters is identified as the new superhero and dubbed She-Hulk on the news. While the public reaction was mostly positive, her case was declared a mistrial (the defense rightfully claimed that the jury may be biased because She-Hulk saved their lives), and she was fired by the district attorney’s office after being deemed a liability.

Her applications for other attorney positions were all rejected, with other firms having the same concerns. Eventually, she is hired out of the blue by a top law firm called GLK&H and given a corner office. When Jen arrives for her first day at work, she realizes that she was only recruited because of her powers. She has been hired as She-Hulk to lead the firm’s new Superhuman Law Division.

There’s another catch; Jen only gets the job if she represents Emil Blonsky. A super-max prisoner who is up for parole, Blonsky (played by Tim Roth) first appeared in the 2008 Marvel Hulk movie. He can transform into the destructive monster Abomination and was locked up after being beaten by the Hulk in a massive battle in Harlem. GLK&H is taking Blonsky’s headline-making case for free due to the media attention it will drive.

Back in the Hulk movie, Abomination tried to kill Bruce Banner’s Hulk. This means that he has to sign a conflict of interest waiver to hire Jen as his lawyer. Blonsky signs the waiver, claiming he is a reformed man, and Jen agrees to represent him after checking that Bruce is okay with it.

Confident that she can make a strong case for Blonsky’s parole, Jen informs her new boss that she’ll take the job. But the episode ends with a news report showing Abomination escaping and then returning to prison, a revelation that is likely to destroy his case.

Review: After the superhero training action of episode one, this outing starts to settle She-Hulk into its intended genre, more of a legal procedural/sitcom mix. This episode gave us a welcome chance to get to know Jen as a character, in downtime, and with her family.

Tatiana Maslany is perfectly cast and does a great job of grounding the super-schlock elements of the story. It’s also great to see Tim Roth back as Emil Blonsky, having fun with his feet up in a high-tech prison cell. The episode is a bit limited, with not much going on outside our central story, but we hope that the world will start to expand as the show grows into itself.

Realistic lawyering?: We finally get to know Jen as a lawyer! We’re a little surprised that she did not look into wrongful termination grounds after her DA office firing, though the laws surrounding superhuman discrimination in the Marvel universe might be a little fuzzy.

We also enjoyed the attention to detail of having our reformed villain have to sign a waiver to hire his attorney, and it led to a nice revelation that Blonsky had sent an apology haiku to Bruce Banner years ago, with the two letting bygones be bygones.

Lastly, we love seeing the desire to help people be a greater motivating factor for Jen than the corner office. The trappings of a big law firm can be great, but it’s the desire to help people that motivates the best attorneys in our experience.

Episode Rating: 7/10

Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination in She-Hulk
Tim Roth as Abomination/Emil Blonsky in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 3 – The People vs. Emil Blonsky

At a glance: She-Hulk represents The Abomination at his parole hearing but faces an uphill battle when new evidence emerges.

Synopsis: Jen visits Emil Blonsky’s super-max cell and confronts him over the prison escape revealed in the last episode. He admits that he did leave his cell, but only because he was forced to by Marvel-favorite Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme. She tries to track Wong down as a key witness for the hearing.

Meanwhile, the media is buzzing about She-Hulk representing Abomination. Jen’s paralegal Nikki urges her to make a statement and get ahead of the story, but Jen is reluctant. She attempts to avoid reporters and questions throughout the episode.

In a secondary storyline, a slimy ex-colleague of Jen’s from the DA’s office named Dennis wants to hire GLK&H. He dated a shapeshifter from New Asgard who pretended to be celeb singer Megan Thee Stallion to trick and defraud him. Dennis reveals that he spent $175,000 on gifts for the fake. Pug, another lawyer from GLK&H, reluctantly represents Dennis and wins the case.

Wong arrives via magic portal because he heard Jen was looking for him. He confirms Emil Blonsky’s story – he teleported him out of prison because he needed a worthy battle opponent to complete his training as sorcerer supreme. He agrees to appear as a witness at the parole board hearing.

At the hearing, Blonsky transforms into the Abomination to prove to the board that he is in control of his inner monster. Wong also appears as promised…albeit showing up late and teleporting straight into the proceeding room…and says that Blonsky chose to return to prison after the breakout. Jen successfully makes the case for Blonsky’s release and the board rules in his favor.

Jen finally relents and is interviewed on the news, with a healthy dose of eye-rolling as she faces questions about her diet and exercise tips. The episode ends with Jen being attacked as she gets home by four thugs who try to steal a sample of her blood. She-Hulk easily fights the attackers off, but it remains a mystery who sent the attackers.

Review: She-Hulk is still finding its feet, but we are starting to get a better feel for what it wants to be. It’s Marvel meets Ally McBeal, and in episode three, it increasingly embraces the goofy humor and case-of-the-week format. It’s not just trying to be ‘Marvel funny.’ Marvel has always had its distinctive quippy humor, but She-Hulk is pushing to be a full-on sitcom, even if some of the jokes don’t land.

At the very least, it feels like Marvel is peeking out from behind the tried and tested formula. It won’t be for everyone, and the end-credit twerking sequence has already proved divisive. But if you can embrace the fun, there’s a lot to like. And getting a full dose of Tim Roth and Benedict Wong link it nicely to the larger universe.

Realistic lawyering?: The courtroom action is really ramping up now. We’re not sure how impressed a parole board would be at a Sorcerer Supreme sparking his way into procedures. Someone tell Wong that he should probably use the door!

On a related note, Emil Blonsky destroyed half of Harlem 14 years ago in The Incredible Hulk. Assuming he was up for parole at the halfway point, a 28-year sentence seems a little light. New idea for a show: courtroom footage from Marvel villain trials. We always see them locked up, but never the trials. Let’s have a transparent due process!

Lastly, the B-plot trial had a couple of interesting legal points. For example, the defense attorney tried to have the case dismissed based on the New Asgard having diplomatic immunity. But the biggest suspension of disbelief is that they managed to get a trial date for a civil case seemingly within 24 hours.

Episode Rating: 7/10

Jen makes her case to the parole hearing board in She-Hulk
(L-R): Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk and Tim Roth as Abomination/Emil Blonsky in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 4 – Is This Not Real Magic?

At a glance: She-Hulk tries to strike a work-life balance and find a date online, while Wong returns with a cease-and-desist case against a hack magician.

Synopsis: Jen signs up for a dating app using her work headshot. She is then interrupted by Wong walking through a portal into her office to ask for her help with a legal case. He wants to stop a magician called Donny Blaze – a dropout from Kamar-Taj (the mystic training grounds where Dr. Strange and Wong learned their craft).

Blaze is using real powers to spice up his stage show, teleporting audience members to dangerous dimensions. Jen grills Wong and finds that Kamar-Taj does not have recruits sign a non-compete, so they have no legal case to stop the pretender. But she still writes up a cease-and-desist demand, and the case is on.

In court, Donny Blaze’s lawyer says that magic cannot be copyrighted and asks the judge to dismiss the case. The judge agrees to review the evidence but refuses to place an injunction to prevent Blaze from doing magic in the meantime.

After a disastrous date with her only app match, Jen decides to make a dating profile as She-Hulk instead. She is inundated with matches, enduring a dating disaster montage before meeting one she actually likes and taking him home.

Meanwhile, Donny Blaze accidentally summons a swarm of demons through one of his portals at his latest show. Wong and She-Hulk portal in to clean up the mess, making Donny agree to the cease and desist in exchange for their help. With the demons dealt with, Jen portals back home to finish her date. The next morning, the date leaves quickly when he sees Jen in non-Hulk form.

The episode ends with Titania, the villainess from the end of episode one, having secured the trademark for the name She-Hulk. Now, the influencer is suing Jen over the brand rights.

Review: Episode four finally warps She-Hulk into a complete comedy, featuring more gags than ever before. The standout scenes involve Wong and a trainwreck called Madisynn, a ditzy party girl who is transported through dimensions by Donny Blaze and is later called as a witness in court. The pair steal every scene they’re in, including the post-credit sequence.

This episode was sharp and funny, and it demonstrates that the show belongs in the courtroom. In contrast, the demon swarm action scene at the end felt generic and out of place, and the dating subplot was a little undercooked. But the show hit a new stride as a legal comedy. Part of me wonders if we need our protagonist to be a Hulk at all. Let’s see how it develops, but this was a fun outing. With another Wong appearance, some people have questioned whether the show is too dependent on cameos. Personally, I want to see Tatiana Maslany given every chance to take the lead. She has been fantastic. But I also don’t mind the cameos so far; they have all worked for me.

Realistic lawyering?: What a fascinating legal question…can anyone copyright magic? How about if it can only be performed using a stolen, possibly proprietary mystic device such as the Kamar-Taj sling ring? We don’t know the answer, but it’s an interesting legal conundrum, and we would have been eager to see the judge’s decision.

Not necessarily courtroom-related, but Jen turns to online dating due to her struggles maintaining a proper work-life balance. We can absolutely confirm that attorneys have to work long hours to build cases effectively. Striking a balance can be a struggle.

Episode Rating: 8/10

She-Hulk discusses the case with Wong in court
(L-R): Benedict Wong as Wong, Patty Guggenheim as Madisynn, and Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 5 – Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans

At a glance: Jen faces a legal battle when opportunistic villain Titania trademarks the name She-Hulk and sues over copyright infringement.

Synopsis: After the previous episode’s final revelation that Jen is being sued over the She-Hulk name, she starts to see adverts everywhere she goes, including tv commercials and billboards, for beauty products named She-Hulk by Titania. The products have been launched by Titania, the self-obsessed influencer/villain from episode one who is now suing our hero. When confronted by Jen and her assistant Nikki, Titania refuses to drop the name.

With her boss less than happy about the naming rights controversy, Jen goes to (courtroom) war with Titania over the She-Hulk brand. She is represented by GLK&H heavy-hitter Mallory Book (Renee Elise Goldsberry), who decides that they should counter-sue. While Titania’s lawyer tries to have the case dismissed, Jen’s team claims Titania is profiting from wrongful name recognition.

Both sides present their evidence. Jen’s team uses news clips of her identifying as She-Hulk, as well as her She-Hulk dating profile, to make their case and show that Jen embraces the name. They parade her dubious dates through as witnesses, much to Jen’s embarrassment. But it works, with the judge ruling for Jen and ordering a recall of Titania’s product range.

In the episode’s B-story, a running joke makes fun of Jen’s clothing. Her assistant Nikki and fellow lawyer Pug go hunting for a superhero costume maker. They secure an appointment with super tailor Luke Jacobson (Griffin Matthews), who takes on the challenge of creating suits that adapt to her human and hulk forms.

Review: We love the idea of an episode centered around the small-scale, lesser-thought-of wrinkles of superhero life. Obviously, Tony Stark would have been quick to snap up the Iron Man trademark, but what happens when a reluctant hero with little interest in the name falls into the same situation? Well, we find out here, with a nice, nuanced nod to the resistant Jen finally accepting her alter ego. Jameela Jamil is a scene-stealer as the caricature influencer Titania, and we get that tantalizing nod to the re-introduction of Daredevil. The episode itself is fun and silly, but the comedy is hit-and-miss. Nikki and Pug’s exploration of underground Avongers (not a typo) merch is a hit, but the courtroom parade of bad dates is a miss, and it might feel like a bit of a filler episode to some.

Realistic lawyering?: Most of this episode is spent in the courtroom exploring the depths of copyright law. Sure, it doesn’t sound like the best premise for a 30-minute comedy, but it works.

In this area of the law, a trademark owner gets exclusive rights to prevent consumer confusion or mistakes. Given that Jen is known professionally as She-Hulk, her team makes a good argument for prior use. That said, the show definitely takes some liberties with the timeline. It can take more than a year to register a trademark!

Episode Rating: 7/10

Mallory Book makes her case in She-Hulk episode 5
(L-R): Renée Elise Goldsberry as Mallory Book and Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 6 - Just Jen

At a glance: Jen Is summoned to be a bridesmaid at an old friend’s wedding, but faces a showdown with a familiar foe.

Synopsis: Episode six opens with Jen opening an overly-glittered invitation to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of an old high school friend. It turns out that she has drifted apart from the friend over the years, and the invite is mostly out of obligation. Jen breaks the fourth wall to tell the audience that she agrees it’s poor timing for a self-contained wedding episode, but that most weddings are inconvenient.

Determined to look and feel good, Jen arrives at the wedding as She-Hulk. But jealous bride Lulu – quickly established as an awful person – immediately makes her promise to stick to being just Jen so that she doesn’t steal her focus. Jen decides to enjoy the wedding anyway by getting very drunk.

Familiar villain Titania, the superpowered influencer from previous episodes, has also engineered an invite to the wedding. She is intent on finally scoring a victory over She-Hulk and waits for the opportune moment to strike.

While Jen is feeling worse for wear after one too many drinks, Titania attacks her. Jen takes Hulk form and easily defeats the villain once more. The fight is filmed by wedding guests, and Titania flees after smashing her dental veneers. Luckily for Jen, the bride is too drunk to care. She also meets Josh: a nice guy with romantic potential.

Back at the office, Jen’s assistant Nikki has been working with fellow lawyer Mallory Book on a divorce case. They are representing Mr. Immortal (a Marvel character who first appeared in the 1980s), who is locked in a legal dispute with 18 ex-spouses. He left each of them by faking his death but eventually got caught.

Nikki negotiates a settlement with each ex. In doing so, she and Mallory come across a dark web conspiracy theory forum. Among other things, it is filled with hate-filled posts and death threats aimed at She-Hulk.

The final scene shows a laboratory. The scientists are watching a feed of Jen in real-time and studying her physiology. It is revealed that they sent the street gang after Jen in episode 3 to try to steal a sample of her blood. After that failed attempt, they are gearing up for another attempt with a much heavier-duty needle.

Review: Jen makes a nice joke out of turning to the camera and acknowledging that this is a self-contained episode that brings the season’s momentum to a screeching halt. The problem is, it’s true. It’s not the worst, and there are some nice moments. Jen is humanized as she battles very relatable wedding awkwardness, but it’s short on true character development.

Speaking of character development, villain Titania is feeling very undercooked at this point. She offers zero threat, with the latest in a series of comprehensive beatings for the character, and has no backstory to speak of. We assume that it’s setting the table for her to receive extra powers and develop into a true archnemesis, but it’s wearing a little thin at the moment.

It’s the B-plot that really shines in this episode, with a neat inclusion of Mr. Immortal in a legal storyline that makes creative use of the Superhuman Law division.

Realistic lawyering?: With Jen spending the episode at the wedding, we’re light on lawyer-talk to discuss this week.

We do see a fun take on a divorce mediation…combined with a class action, as there are so many spouses with a claim. As a personal injury law firm, we would not handle this kind of negotiation. It should be handled by a firm dealing with family law.

But it does echo real settlement negotiations to a degree. It shows the need to be flexible and find settlement solutions that are acceptable to all parties, which can often be difficult.

Episode Rating: 6/10

She-Hulk arrives at a wedding in episode 6
Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 7 - The Retreat

At a glance: Jen goes on a series of dates with a guy who seems too good to be true, then visits Emil Blonsky’s meditation retreat while waiting for the new beau to text back.

Synopsis: Episode 7 opens with a rom-com-esque montage of Jen dating Josh, the guy she met at last episode’s wedding. They get on brilliantly and it finally seems that Jen has found someone who likes her for her, rather than the Hulk alter-ego. After several dates, they sleep together.

Jen wakes up the morning after the date before to find Josh gone. She texts him but does not hear back. She waits several days, getting increasingly agitated as she watches her phone to no avail.

The phone finally rings, but it’s not Josh. It is Emil Blonsky’s parole officer saying that the inhibitor that stops Blonsky from transforming into Abomination is offline. He wants backup from She-Hulk as he goes to investigate. Jen agrees and they drive to Blonsky’s new meditation ranch. It turns out that the inhibitor had just malfunctioned, and Blonsky is still sticking to the terms of his parole.

Blonsky’s retreat is inhabited by several minor Marvel characters. Just as Jen is about to leave, her car is wrecked in a therapy fight between two combatants called ManBull and El Aguila, and she is stranded there until a tow truck arrives.

A frustrated Jen, who is still waiting desperately to hear from Josh, wanders around the facility trying to find a spot with a cell phone signal. She eventually meanders into a group therapy meeting in progress. After a brief bout of rage when she recognizes one of the participants as Wrecker (one of the men who attacked her and tried to take her blood earlier in the season), Jen sits in on the meeting and the odd group helps her work through some of her issues, including her Hulk identity and Josh ghosting her.

Now in a better headspace and with a group of new friends, Jen heads home when the tow truck arrives. We then cut back to three days earlier to see what happened to Josh. We see him clone Jen’s phone and take a picture of her sleeping, before slipping out of the apartment and sending a message to someone called HulkKing, indicating that he has taken a sample of Jen’s blood.

Review: This is another contained episode, but it works a lot better for me than last week’s wedding. The motley group of bizarre anti-heroes adds a lot to the episode, and the group therapy scene is a lot of fun.

We get to see a collection of minor Marvel characters. The previously mentioned ManBull and El Aguila are joined by Saracen and Porcupine. It is an elegant way of including street-level names that couldn’t support their own shows while fleshing out this world. It might even give us tiny nods toward future properties, such as Blade and X-Men.

As lawyers, we would like to see more of Jen at work. The showrunners probably assume most people need some variety in their superhero-filled legal drama, but we’re here for more legal wrangling, please.

And if we’re going to be hyper-critical, they’re really taking their time with the slow drip-feed of information on the series villain HulkKing. But maybe that’s not a bad thing, and this really is a fun episode that introduces interesting dynamics and sets things up nicely for an upcoming showdown.

Realistic lawyering?: As we’ve mentioned, there really isn’t much lawyering for us to get stuck into here. The most we get is a brief look at Jen sneaking a text to Josh while in a meeting at the office. Everyone needs a work-life balance, as long as she’s giving her clients her full attention.

As an aside, we’re guessing that Jen just went through her own insurance company to fix her car. We’re not convinced that ManBull or El Aguila would be able to pay for the damage. A personal injury law firm will typically only get involved with a car wreck case if it involves physical injuries to a person.

Episode Rating: 7.5/10

The group therapy session in She-Hulk episode 7
(L-R): Jordan Aaron Ford as Porcupine/Alexander Gentry, Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer "Jen" Walters, Joseph Castillo-Midyett as El Águila/Alejandro Montoya, Nick Gomez as Wrecker/Dirk Garthwaite, Terrence Clowe as Saracen, Nate Hurd as Man-Bull/William Taurens, and Tim Roth as Abomination/Emil Blonsky in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 8 - Ribbit and Rip It

At a glance: She-Hulk is forced to represent Leap-Frog in a product liability case due to a super-suit malfunction. She also teams up with a new(ish) hero.

Synopsis: She-Hulk consults with a potential new client – Eugene Patilio – who is a wannabe superhero called Leap-Frog. He describes a recent battle in which he was injured while trying to fight crime by a costume malfunction when his jet boots burned his legs. The faulty suit was made by Luke Jacobson, the same designer who recently made Jen’s new clothes.

While she is reluctant to take the case due to the conflict of interest, Jen is forced to do so by her boss. Eugene’s dad is a very rich client at GLK&H. Jen visits Luke to negotiate a settlement, rather than dragging the case through the courts. When she arrives, Luke is working on a dress for She-Hulk’s upcoming award ceremony. But he is insulted and says his suits do not malfunction. Luke cuts Jen off from future tailoring services, and an angry Jen says she’ll see him in court.

In court, Luke Jacobson is represented by blind lawyer Matt Murdoch. A skilled attorney by day and superhero Daredevil by night, Murdoch successfully out-argues She-Hulk and gets the case dismissed.

Later, while drowning her sorrows at a bar, Jen bumps into Matt Murdoch again. The two lawyers hit it off, and Matt tells her that she could use her She-Hulk powers when the law fails her. Matt receives a call and has to leave suddenly. Jen also gets a call from She-Hulk fanboy Todd (one of her disastrous dates from episode 4), asking for legal help. She meets him and he hits on her, so she leaves.

Once home, Jen gets another call. This time it is Leap-Frog telling her that he is being attacked. She dons her She-Hulk super suit for the first time and rushes off to help. When she finds Leap-Frog, he is under attack from none other than Daredevil. After a fight, She-Hulk unmasks Daredevil and discovers that it’s Matt Murdoch. He says Leap-Frog has abducted the tailor Luke Jacobson to force him to make a new super suit.

She-Hulk and Daredevil team up to take down the villain and his goons. Leap-Frog ends up jumping from a window in his lair and breaking his leg. After the fight, Luke forgives Jen and agrees to make her gala dress, since she saved him. Matt and Jen spend the night together before he heads back to New York.

The next night is the awards gala. She-Hulk and several other women are given Lawyer of the Year awards. But as Jen is making her acceptance speech, the screens behind her change. They are taken over by Intelligencia, the shady online group of She-Hulk haters. They show the pictures stolen from her phone and label her a slut. She-Hulk smashes the screens, causing the building to be evacuated. As her rage spikes, she spots Intelligencia creeps at the back of the room filming her and chases them outside, where she is surrounded by armed soldiers and forced to surrender.

Review: It’s fair to say that She-Hulk has had its critics so far. But episode 8 has something for everyone. It gives us the perfect mix between a sharp and funny legal drama and a superhero show. And yes, that owes something to the introduction of Matt Murdoch.

Though he technically made his MCU debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home, this feels like his real introduction to the universe. Charlie Cox is brilliant, bringing his outstanding portrayal of Daredevil over from the Netflix series. His goofy charm is a perfect fit for Jen Walters and the world She-Hulk has created.

Shoutout to Daredevil’s walk of shame, an instantly iconic moment that gets the episode’s biggest laugh.

Tatiana Maslany has been consistently excellent, but her easy, instant chemistry with Cox helps the show to new heights. It is also a joy to see her get to flex her muscles in the finale. The best episode yet, and we’re excited to see how the season ends.

Realistic lawyering?: After a couple of lean episodes in terms of legal action, we were excited to see She-Hulk get back into the courtroom, finally facing off with an attorney who is her equal. Additionally, product liability is an area of the law in which we have plenty of experience.

It was pleasing to see Matt Murdoch make a strong, detailed, and articulate legal argument, both for keeping his client’s list of customers confidential and for the case to be dismissed. It further cemented his reputation in the MCU as a talented attorney. Granted, most lawyers don’t have super senses to aid discovery.

We also feel for Jen a bit here. Having a dishonest client who doesn’t reveal all the facts and makes unwanted outbursts in the courtroom is every lawyer’s nightmare.

Who knew that the legal community would be such a hotbed of super-powered individuals?

Episode Rating: 10/10

Daredevil and Jen in She-Hulk episode 8
(L-R): Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer "Jen" Walters in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Episode 9 - Whose Show is This?

At a glance: Jen struggles in the fallout from her violent Hulk rage outburst, before the season is wrapped up in surprising fashion.

Synopsis: After her Hulking rampage at the end of episode 8, Jen starts episode 9 in a high-security cell. Mallory is acting as Jen’s lawyer again and tells her that no charges will be filed. But Jen has to wear a device that stops her from turning into She-Hulk.

The arrest, combined with the loss of her She-Hulk alter ego, have left Jen’s life in tatters. She is fired from her law firm (though Nikki gets to stay) and is forced to leave her apartment and move back in with her parents when she cannot find another job.

Jen spends her plentiful downtime trying to track down the masterminds behind Intelligencia, the website that hacked her phone and ruined her life. She wants to sue them for defamation and invasion of privacy. She needs to get away from everything and heads off to visit Emil Blonsky’s retreat.

Meanwhile, Nikki manages to get an invite to a secret Intelligencia meeting. She ropes Pug into helping her by attending the meeting as a fake She-Hulk hater/mole. At the meeting, Pug learns that Todd – the creep that Jen went on one date with – is HulkKing, and orchestrated the whole thing.

At the retreat, Jen is looking for Blonsky. She is directed to the lodge, where he is hosting a private function. Jen goes to the lodge and discovers that the private event is the Intelligencia meeting. Emil has transformed into the Abomination and is giving a motivational talk (though he is unaware that the group is the same one that has been targeting Jen). When Jen arrives, Todd reveals to Jen that he is HulkKing. He tells her he has stolen her blood, and injects himself, turning into a Hulk.

At this point, everything descends into madness. Abomination grapples with the Todd Hulk, Bruce Banner’s original Hulk arrives to get involved, and minor villain Titania crashes through the wall to join the fray. As this unfolds, Jen complains that this final battle is ridiculous and nonsensical.

Jen breaks the fourth wall, transforming into She-Hulk and escaping from the melee into the Disney+ menu screen. She jumps into a different show and emerges into our real world. First, she confronts the She-Hulk writers and tells them that their ending is terrible. Then, she goes over their heads to talk to Kevin – referring to Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios.

She-Hulk beats up the Marvel HQ security and breaks into Kevin’s office…only to find an artificial intelligence robot named Kevin (Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus) which uses an algorithm to decide all Marvel plots and storylines.

The Kevin AI defends the show’s ending, but Jen asks for a closing argument and convinces the robot that the show should be more character-focused and less spectacle obsessed. Together, they fix the ending by ditching the Todd Hulk power plot, holding Emil Blonsky accountable, and bringing back Daredevil. Kevin makes it clear that this interaction is a one-off.

Back in the show, Emil goes back to prison for violating his parole, but is later teleported to freedom by Wong. Todd is arrested, and She-Hulk pledges to hold wrongdoers accountable, both in human and green form. Daredevil arrives and is told he missed all the action, but joins Jen and her family for a barbecue. Bruce Banner’s Hulk joins the party and introduces everyone to his son – another Hulk called Skaar.

Review: Boy, there is A LOT going on in this season finale. To have your main character pull the plug on her own finale and take the writers to task mid-episode was incredibly bold. And for us, it mostly worked.

Anyone who has read the She-Hulk comics knows that the character is famous for breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience. She has even stepped right out of the pages before, and this is a direct interpretation of that kind of meta-barrier-breaking.

It won’t be for everyone, but it does a pretty incredible job of poking fun at the Marvel formula criticisms and outspoken elements of the fanbase, while taking big, brave swings.

In the end, it uses Jen Walters to tell us that Marvel can do some things differently, and that’s okay. Is it perfect? Nope. But that’s okay too. It does a really effective job of bringing the story around, chopping out some of the overblown nonsense, and giving us a satisfying conclusion to the first season.

Realistic lawyering?: As you can tell from the wild synopsis for this episode, there is zero lawyering going on here. We were reluctantly accepting of the show drifting away from its legal roots as the end game approached, but we hope Jen gets back to practicing law in season two.

That said, we love that Jen is focused on a legal solution to her woes, rather than going straight to a Hulk-smash solution. It feels consistent with her character, and we wish her luck in court against Todd!

Sure, someone who can pay $1 million for a vibranium spear from Wakanda, like Todd, can afford a pretty great defense team. But we’ve seen enough to know that Jen is a skilled attorney who can hold her own with the best.

Episode Rating: 8/10

She-Hulk is interviewed on the courtroom steps in episode 9
(Left): Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

The Overview

Now that the entire first season is out, we can finally take a step back and take in the big picture with a complete She-Hulk review.

If you Google the show you are going to see a lot of reviews ranging from indifferent to outright hatred. And to be clear, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. There is so much content out there, and we can all choose to watch or not watch whatever we want.

With that said, it seems that a vocal minority was determined to hate this show before seeing a single episode. A lot of major franchises, especially those dominated by male protagonists, have passionate fanbases that are undermined by toxic elements and online trolls. Recent Star Wars is notorious for this.

At Marvel, it’s hard to argue against there being an element of misogynistic fans who were furious when the first trailer appeared to show She-Hulk holding her own in a fight against the original Hulk.

The critics often shout the loudest. But it’s important to take a step back and judge a show on its merits.

Keeping all of that in mind, She-Hulk is not perfect. It spins its wheels a bit in the middle of the season, with a few episodes feeling like filler. And that is a problem in a nine-episode run. The humor can be a bit hit-and-miss (though it mostly hit for me), the CGI is a bit iffy in places, and it leans into a goofy style that will not be for everyone.

But what it does well, it does REALLY well. She-Hulk tries to shift the playing field for Marvel a little bit. In the finale, Jen lays out the Marvel formula and says: “I propose that we don’t have to do that.”

Marvel is still doing big spectacle stuff, but it’s also branching out. It takes up such a huge portion of the cinematic world right now that it can afford to experiment. We’ve seen that in the recent horror special Werewolf by Night. And this show treats itself as a full-blown legal comedy, right down to the sitcom-esque episode runtimes and pace of joke placement.

It successfully takes shots at the critics – those who predictably criticize every female lead and those who want to see Marvel stick to the formula. It also brushes through everything from workplace drama and gender politics to societal traits and genuine character exploration. It maintains a breezy pace and tone while injecting healthy doses of fun and thoughtfulness.

One of the marvels of She-Hulk as a show is that it makes us care more about Jen’s character than any looming evil. Who cares about a ham-fisted plot to steal her blood when we can tag along on her personal journey and conflicts?

It’s not perfect, and it’s not groundbreaking in the traditional sense. But it certainly breaks new ground for Marvel. It inserts a very capable feminist into a cinematic universe dominated by male strength, and it does so without taking itself too seriously. The show sticks the landing without leaning on an insane CGI-dominated climax and marks a really solid first outing for She-Hulk.

The She-Hulk Cast and Characters

The She-Hulk cast is packed with brilliant performers; some of them old favorites, and others who are new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tatiana Maslany – Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, Perry Mason) was the perfect choice for the protagonist double role in She-Hulk. She’s funny and quirky and strikes a delicate balance. Self-effacing and overwhelmingly normal, confident as a lawyer, and powerful as a budding superhero. She does a terrific job of holding the show together.

Ginger Gonzaga – Nikki Ramos

Nikki Ramos is Jen’s paralegal, first at the DA’s office before following her to GLK&H. She’s a loyal friend – the first to learn about Jen’s alter-ego – and is always determined to force Jen out of her comfort zone. Ginger Gonzaga (Kenan, Family Guy, True Lies) nails the role as a personable bundle of energy.

Renee Elise Goldsberry – Mallory Book

Mallory Book is a highly skilled lawyer, working with Jen at the Superhuman Law Division of GLK&H. She starts out all business, but gradually reveals a (slightly) softer side, opening up to both Jen and Nikki. Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton, Girls5eva) adds to her blossoming filmography.

Tim Roth – Emil Blonsky/The Abomination

Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction, Twin Peaks) reprises his role as The Abomination. Last seen in the MCU in 2008’s Incredible Hulk, he is brilliantly nonchalant as the reformed parolee Emil Blonsky.

Josh Segarra – Pug

A new face to the MCU, Augustus Pugliese (nicknamed Pug) is a junior attorney in the Superhuman Law Division at GLK&H. Played by Josh Segarra (Arrow, Orange is the New Black), Pug is instantly likable and goes out of his way to help Jen and Nikki.

Jameela Jamil – Titania

Titania is season one’s first villain, popping up several times to challenge She-Hulk physically and legally. A social media influencer, Titania has super strength but is jealous of Jen. The character is played as a sneering caricature to perfection by Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, DC League of Super-Pets).

Mark Ruffalo – Bruce Banner/The Hulk

Due to a rights issue, Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight, Shutter Island) can’t have his own Hulk movie (yet), but he has been popping up all over the MCU since 2012 when he took over as The Hulk in The Avengers. Used sparingly here, Ruffalo is always great value.

Charlie Cox – Matt Murdock/Daredevil

One of the most anticipated arrivals in She-Hulk, Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire, The Theory of Everything) returns as Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer/crimefighter from Hell’s Kitchen. He is entering the MCU officially at last in a soft reboot of the Netflix Daredevil show and had instant chemistry with Tatiana Maslany.

There were many other excellent character turns, of course. David Pasquesi as Mr. Immortal and Patty Guggenheim as Madisynn were incredible in limited roles, while fan favorite Benedict Wong returned for a couple of fun cameos, and character actor Jon Bass hit the mark with unlikable villain Todd.

Jen is visited in prison by her friends in She-Hulk episode 9
(L-R): Josh Segarra as Pug, Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki Ramos, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Mallory Book, and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer "Jen" Walters in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2022 MARVEL.

Portrayal of Attorneys

Getting stuck into the MCU is fun and all, but it was the legal aspect of the show that really caught our attention. So, what did our real-life attorneys make of the show and its portrayal of law firm dynamics?

It may be a dramatized sitcom, but the show gets a lot right…as well as making some compromises for the sake of the story.

  1. Identity: Being an attorney is a big part of Jen Walters’s identity. She is dedicated and focused and often takes her work home with her. This is true for a lot of attorneys in real life too, not just for the character. It is a calling rather than just a career for a lot of people.
  2. Paralegals are essential: Jen’s paralegal Nikki is one of the stars of the show. She provides ideas through the planning stages of a case, sits beside her in court, and goes above and beyond. This rings very true – great paralegals can be essential to a lawyer’s success.
  3. Competency: As with most professions, some lawyers are better than others. But they are all highly trained and have to pass some serious examinations in order to represent clients. Some sitcoms introduce bumbling attorneys for the sake of comedy, but She-Hulk does a nice job of allowing representatives on both sides to make sound legal arguments in front of impartial judges (apart from Dennis the ridiculous ADA).
  4. Court dates: Here’s a minor gripe. In She-Hulk, they manage to secure next-day court slots in even the more minor civil cases. Unless the court’s time works differently in the MCU, or there are lengthy unseen time jumps, that’s not how things work. Justice can work slowly. But hey, we get it. No one wants to watch Jen waiting around for months just to get in front of a judge.
  5. Partner power: Jen is recruited for GLK&H by Holden Holliway, a name partner at the firm (his name is the H in GLK&H). He is a prominent character in the comics too, and Jen has to answer to him several times during her time at the firm. The best firm partners strike the right balance between trusting their team and making the right decisions for the firm as a whole.
  6. The edge: The legal field is incredibly competitive, with all firms trying to separate themselves from the crowd, achieve the best possible exposure, and sign the best cases. This is even true of the top firms, which is why we see GLK&H taking high-profile pro bono cases and nominating their attorneys for top awards.

While we don’t get to spend a lot of time at the firm with Jen – and it is meant to be a light, stylized version of legal work – they do a nice job of bringing some legal dynamics to life in She-Hulk.

Women in the Legal Sphere

The legal profession has long been thought of as lacking in diversity, dominated by white men with a closed door to women and minorities.

Unfortunately, the numbers speak for themselves. According to the 2021 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms, only 22% of equity partners are women.

Women make up 32.5% of non-equity partners in multi-tiered firms, and nearly 26% of all partners in U.S. law firms.

It is not just the number of women practicing the law that is disproportionate. According to an annual survey into partner compensation conducted by Major, Lindsey & Africa, a significant gender gap also exists when it comes to compensation.

In the 2022 survey, male partners reported average compensation of $1.21 million, compared to $905,000 for female partners. The difference has narrowed from 44% to 34% since 2020 but still represents a significant gap.

The annual Diversity Report does highlight that there is slow but steady progress in the number of women and people of color occupying associate and partner positions, and attitudes are changing.

Progress is slow, but it is progress nonetheless. No one is going to mistake She-Hulk as being indicative of real life, but it is encouraging to see strong female attorneys in prominent shows like this.

It’s not just Jen Walters. We have tons of talented and formidable female TV lawyers, including:

  • Kim Wexler (Better Call Saul)
  • Jessica Pearson (Suits)
  • Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder)
  • Diane Lockhart (The Good Wife, The Good Fight)
  • Patty Hewes (Damages)

That’s just to name a few of TV’s heavy hitters. It’s unfair to expect fictional characters to shift entrenched misogynistic views, but they speak to a slowly shifting landscape.

Many of the shows and movies featuring female attorneys highlight the difficulties faced by women in male-dominated professions. She-Hulk in particular does a nice job of rolling its eyes at the casual misogyny thrown around in the workplace.

There is still a lot of work to do. But representation matters, and seeing even fictional attorneys break the gender bias is positive.

Nikki and Mallory researching on a computer in She-Hulk episode 6
(L-R): Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki Ramos and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Mallory Book in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2022 MARVEL.

She-Hulk’s Impact on the MCU

She-Hulk breaks with convention a little bit. It has major links to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it does not have much in the way of earth-shaking ramifications to the overall story arc.

It’s not without its links to the wider world though. For instance:

  • We saw a brief Abomination appearance in Shang-Chi, which tied into his temporary escape from prison in She-Hulk.
  • Bruce Banner’s Hulk heads off on a space adventure and is absent through most of the season, before returning at the end with a surprise visitor – more on that later. This is likely to tie into a future Hulk storyline.
  • Emil Blonsky/The Abomination escapes from prison again at the end of the season. Could he be recruited into a future superpowered team?
  • The hack magician in episode four is named Donny Blaze. Many people believe this might be a parody-laced reference to Johnny Blaze (aka Ghost Rider), potentially hinting at his future inclusion in the MCU.
  • Saracen – the man who believes he is a vampire in The Retreat – may actually be a vampire, or at least be paving the way for the eventual introduction of Blade.
  • Daredevil arrives and is soon headed back to New York, ready for his own series.

There are plenty of other references to other areas in the MCU, such as the Asgardian shapeshifter and weaponry. But these are the main threads that may roll into future stories.

It is a little lighter on plot-driving revelations than some other Marvel properties, but it is almost refreshing to have those lower stakes, focusing on characters rather than obsessing over the next link in the MCU chain.

Marvel She-Hulk Trailer

The first She-Hulk teaser trailer was released in May 2022, soon followed by the full trailer on July 23, 2022. The first look drew some criticism from fans over some ropey-looking special effects and was replaced by a more polished version.

She-Hulk Comic Appearances

For a long time, She-Hulk was a lesser-known character on the Marvel roster. So, let’s break down the basics and explore the character’s origin and backstory.

Who is She-Hulk?

She-Hulk is the alter-ego of Jennifer Walters. She is a Marvel Comics character who gains slightly altered Hulk powers from her cousin Bruce Banner’s blood.

When Was She-Hulk Created?

She-Hulk first appeared in a new run called ‘The Savage She-Hulk’. Issue #1 was published and released by Marvel Comics in February 1980. The character was created by legendary writer Stan Lee and brought to life by artist John Buscema.

She-Hulk Origins

Stan Lee created She-Hulk on the back of the success of The Incredible Hulk (the show starring Lou Ferrigno) and The Bionic Woman TV shows.

These two shows, both produced by Universal Television, were very popular in the late 1970s. Marvel feared that Universal may create a female version of the Hulk within the show and moved quickly to strike first. By developing their own female Hulk before the TV studio could, they ensured they would hold the rights.

She-Hulk Comics

She-Hulk has appeared in several major comic runs and additional stories over the last four decades.

  • The Savage She-Hulk (1980-1982): The original run of comics lasted for 25 issues. Writer: Stan Lee (#1), David Anthony Kraft. Artists: John Buscema (#1), Mike Vosburg, Frank Springer.
  • After the end of her maiden run, She-Hulk appeared in several existing series. She joined the Avengers (Avengers #221) and became a member of the Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four #265), as well as appearing in The Incredible Hulk.
  • The Sensational She-Hulk (1989-1994): The character’s next solo run lasted for 60 issues. Writers: John Byrne, Steve Gerber, Simon Furman, Peter David. Artists: John Byrne.
  • The character popped up with several guest appearances over the following years, including Fantastic Force (1995), Heroes for Hire (1998), and The Avengers.
  • She-Hulk (2004-2009): A new solo series had 38 issues published, broken into two parts. Writers: Dan Slott, Peter David. Artist: Juan Bobillo.
  • After a short-lived solo series in 2014, She-Hulk starred in A-Force and appeared in some Hulk issues.
  • She-Hulk (2022): A return to the solo arena keeps a similar tone to the TV series, focusing on lighthearted adventures and practicing law. Writer: Rainbow Rowell. Artist: Roge Antonio.

What Comics is the TV Show Based On?

The She-Hulk TV series takes inspiration from many storylines and character beats from the comics over the years. But it is widely thought to borrow most heavily from the 2004 series.

Breaking the Fourth Wall: More Meta Than Ever Before

In the world of comic book movies, meta means self-referential. And the She-Hulk series takes meta references further than many other shows will dare.

For example, the internet has been awash with whining from a vocal minority about the stories of several female heroes in the MCU. In She-Hulk, some of those same comments have been pulled and are repeated by ridiculous villains to poke fun at the origins.

In another example, the episode 9 finale references the fact that most Marvel properties end the same way and actively pushes toward a unique alternative.

Many Marvel shows and movies feature meta references. But this is made easier in She-Hulk because the character famously breaks the fourth wall. This means that she is aware that she is in a comic or TV show and will sometimes talk directly to the audience.

When did She-Hulk First Break the Fourth Wall?

She-Hulk first broke the fourth wall in The Sensational She-Hulk comics in 1989. It was the inspiration of writer John Byrne. In the comic, She-Hulk tore through the page and spoke to her creator and to readers.

The Marvel character Deadpool is also famous for breaking the fourth wall. He does it both in the comics and in the movies (starring Ryan Reynolds). But She-Hulk did it first, two years before Deadpool.

There was a huge amount of fan speculation over whether Jen Walters would break the fourth wall in the She-Hulk show. And she did, several times! It is a key part of the character and helps bring the comic pages to life on screen, as well as giving Marvel license to throw in extra humor and meta references.

Kevin the Marvel AI in She-Hulk episode 9
A scene from Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

CGI Controversy

One of the biggest criticisms of She-Hulk is that its CGI was not up to the usual high Marvel standards.

CGI stands for computer-generated imagery and is the process of creating visual effects for movies and TV shows.

In She-Hulk, every scene involving our green hero requires visual effects. VFX artists were required to create an entirely new character model, complete with realistic movements and featuring a likeness of Tatiana Maslany’s face.

It needs to be believable and recognizable as a transformed version of Maslany while fitting seamlessly and naturally into the surroundings. This is no mean feat.

It’s fair to say that the original She-Hulk CGI used in the first trailer left a little to be desired, especially when compared to the original Hulk in the same trailer. But it is important to note that Marvel could use its existing character model for the Hulk, as used in previous movies and complete with incredibly detailed facial texturing. With She-Hulk, they were starting from scratch.

The use of such effects can cause a show to become much more expensive to produce. The large green version of Jen Walters gets a lot of screen time. It adds up, and the show even makes a joke out of this in the finale by forcing She-Hulk to transform back into Jen off-screen, to save the budget.

There is no escaping the fact that She-Hulk looks slightly off in some episodes, particularly in the middle portion of the season. The face does not move as naturally while talking, and her general movement feels a little stilted.

The later episodes seem to feature stronger visual effects. It has been speculated that the VFX teams decided to focus their attention on episodes with higher expected viewing figures. Or it may be that they simply had longer to work on the later episodes.

As always, it comes down to a battle between creative priorities and economic pressures.

Marvel is embroiled in a bit of CGI controversy at the moment. Some VFX artists have spoken out over the crushing time pressures involved with Marvel projects.

In a tweet, artist Dhruv Govil said that working on Marvel shows had pushed him to leave the VFX industry.

This is far from the only criticism that Marvel has received, with a recent Reddit thread featuring many allegations of overwork and unrealistic expectations.

Marvel outsources all of its visual effects work to various third-party VFX studios. But it is producing content at an incredible rate at the moment with the introduction of so many Disney+ shows. In 2022 alone, the Marvel slate included:

  • Moon Knight
  • Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
  • Marvel
  • Thor: Love and Thunder
  • She-Hulk
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

The trusted VFX studios are being stretched too thin by the sheer volume of projects. It is no wonder that the artists feel overworked and sometimes are not given the time to perfect the final result.

To avoid burnout, both on the part of VFX artists and audiences, Marvel may be better off slowing down a little and giving each property more room to breathe.

Hulk and Skaar

What happened to the Hulk during the season?

He starts by featuring heavily in the first episode, which acts as Jen’s superpower origin story. Bruce and Jen are on a road trip when a spaceship swoops in front of them, causing the car to crash. This leads to Bruce’s blood mixing with Jen’s giving her Hulk powers. He spends the rest of the episode teaching her to harness her new powers.

We also see Bruce briefly give Jen permission to represent Emil Blonsky, before it is revealed that he is on a spacecraft headed to a mystery location.

That’s the last we see of the Hulk in She-Hulk. That is, until he turns up at the end of the final episode…with a son! Bruce introduces a large green Hulk as his son Skaar.

So, who is Skaar, where did he come from, where has Bruce been, and where does Bruce Banner’s Hulk go from here?

Bruce headed into space because of the Sakaaran craft that caused the car accident in episode one. She-Hulk producer Jessica Gao cryptically said that Bruce “had to handle some off-world things” in an interview with The Direct.

First, a refresher. Sakaar is the planet featured heavily in Thor: Ragnarok. In that movie, Thor arrived on Sakaar to find that the Hulk had been living there for some time. Bruce eventually leaves with Thor and gets back to Earth.

After visiting Sakaar during the events of She-Hulk, Bruce returns to Earth again – with his son Skaar in tow.

Skaar appears in a comic run called World War Hulk. It remains to be seen how and where he slots into the MCU, but his appearance (and a subtle line in Jen’s finale discussion with K.E.V.I.N) could be paving the way for a Hulk-centric movie.

For the last 15 years, Marvel has been unable to make a Hulk movie due to a rights issue. That is why Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has only appeared in other properties to this point (The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, etc.). However, it is believed that the Hulk movie rights revert to Marvel in mid-2023, so it’s likely that the company has a giant green story ready to go.

The Hulk demonstrating stretchy pants in She-Hulk episode 1
(L-R): Mark Ruffalo as Smart Hulk / Bruce Banner and Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer "Jen" Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Daredevil's Return

Fans were delighted to see Daredevil step into the MCU. But it has been a bit of an ordeal to get here.

Back in 2013, Marvel signed a deal with Netflix allowing the streaming giant to make five shows involving street-level heroes. They were: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. This was before Disney+ was launched, and before Marvel had the ability to put such shows out itself.

The Daredevil show was very well received. A couple of others (cough, Iron Fist) were not. Over time, Marvel had those shows canceled. They were recently plucked from Netflix and added to the Disney+ library, but have been distanced from the MCU.

Now, Marvel is looking to bring at least a couple of the characters into the fold.

Charlie Cox was widely praised for his portrayal of Daredevil, as was Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin in the same series. Both have now been introduced to the MCU for real.

The Kingpin appeared on the 2021 show Hawkeye, while Matt Murdock showed up briefly in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The first hint that Daredevil may also be in She-Hulk was in episode five when his costume was glimpsed at super-tailor Luke Jacobson’s shop. He then made his debut in episode eight, featuring prominently at the end of the season.

Daredevil’s cameo gave us an intro to Matt Murdock, and he will be getting his own series again soon. Daredevil: Born Again is on the Marvel slate for 2024 and is set to be a soft reboot of the Netflix show.

Daredevil with Jen Walters in She-Hulk episode 9
(L-R): Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer "Jen" Walters in Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2022 MARVEL.

What’s Next for She-Hulk and Marvel?

Where and when can we next expect to see Jen Walters and She-Hulk grace our screens? Right now, we don’t know. Season 2 of She-Hulk has not yet been confirmed, but there are endless big and small screen opportunities for the character to pop up across the MCU.

The upcoming Marvel timeline includes:

  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 2022)
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 2023)
  • Secret Invasion (Spring 2023)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 2023)
  • The Marvels (July 2023)
  • Echo (Summer 2023)
  • Loki Season 2 (Summer 2023)
  • Ironheart (Fall 2023)
  • Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Winter 2023)
  • Daredevil: Born Again (Spring 2024)
  • Captain America: New World Order (May 2024)
  • Thunderbolts (July 2024)
  • Blade (September 2024)
  • Deadpool 3 (November 2024)
  • Fantastic Four (February 2025)
  • Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (February 2025)
  • Avengers: Secret Wars (May 2026)

We’ll be eagerly awaiting news of She-Hulk’s return, and hoping for a season two packed with plenty of challenges for Jen’s courtroom skills.

We hope you enjoyed our extremely thorough rundown of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law! You can watch the full season now on Disney+. It’s been fun to analyze the legal industry through a pop culture lens, especially when that lens comes in the form of the MCU.

Now that the first season is out, we’ll be keeping an eye out for updates and hope to see a season 2 hit the Marvel slate eventually. In the meantime, let us know what you thought of the show, and contact Bisnar Chase if you have a personal injury case in California.

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