she hulk
Marvel’s latest highly controversial Phase 4 Disney+ show premiered today. She-Hulk: Lawyer just released their first episode titled ‘A normal amount of rage‘. The featured episode Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk) and Marc Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (aka Hulk). The episode was directed by Kat Coiro and written by Jessica Gao.
The official synopsis for the episode on Disney+ reads – ‘Jen Walters’ world is turned upside down after a freak accident grants her superpowers.‘
The episode featured the origin of Jennifer Walter’s powers, her ingenious skills as a lawyer, and how easily she can deal with her alter ego. Other than that, there were also subtle and “not-so-subtle” references made to MCU’s OG Avengers.
Let’s examine them here. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Captain America’s Dignity
MCU has always represented the love life of its OG Avengers to a large extent: Hawkeye had Laura, Tony Stark had Pepper, and Thor had Jane. But the road to the same for our Steve Rogers has been peppy. According to what was shown in the films, the only romantic encounter Rogers had was a brief kiss with Carter’s niece, Sharon, during Civil war after emerging from the ice in the 21st century. It left some fans wondering if Rogers ever lost his virginity, before returning to live out his days with Peggy after the events of End of Game.
In She-Hulk Episode 1, Jennifer Walters and Bruce Banner (as a human) were riding in a car together. Prior to their accident, Walters brings up the subject of Steve Roger’s virginity which she based on her knowledge of ‘The History Channel’. Based on this, she tells Banner that Steve Rogers didn’t have a girlfriend before he was frozen in ice, and said “very busy“after coming out as he passed from”disaster threatening the world disaster threatening the world.” Banner calmly denies it and says it wasn’t true.
The Post-Credit Scene
However, in the episode’s post-credit scene, Banner (in his Hulk himself) and Walters are at Bruce’s Bar. She-Hulk goes on with his theory that Steve Rogers never had sex. Remembering the phrase about the “behind” of America, she even shouts “That jerk didn’t deserve to die a virgin!”
Hearing this banner breaks and explains to him that was not the case. He explains that Rogers lost his virginity in 1943 to a girl on the USO tour. Walters then reveals that she had been pretending to be drunk all along. She had shrewdly used her skills as a lawyer to reveal the truth to Banner. Walters exuberantly shouts “Captain America Fu—”, the scene fading to black before she finishes her profanity.
Whether this is true or not cannot be said at this time. Because Rogers had already met Peggy before doing the USO tour, and being with another girl might make him feel like he was cheating on Peggy. Either way, the Captain America virginity theory was ultimately ruled out by the MCU writers.
BB and TS
Bruce and Tony had been very good friends since they met at avengers. This fact was also highlighted in the episode. After Walter’s sudden transformation from the car accident, Banner brings him to his little beach house somewhere on the Mexican coast. When Walters regains consciousness, she heads to a lab. There she reunites with Bruce Banner in his ‘smart hulk‘ form. When she asks about the place, he says that “This is where I spent The Blip fixing myself and integrating the Hulk-Banner identities.“Banner later reveals that the lab was built by his friend Tony Stark a few years ago.
He says, “He used a joke saying it was a loan, and one day he just walked by and brought it back (lab).He then smacks his lips, probably grieving that he was no longer alive.
Bruce then begins to train Walters on his Hulk powers. Later, he takes her to a bar he had at his beach house. When Walters asks if he built the bar by hand, Banner replies that he built it with Tony’s help. He says “Well, Tony was mostly drinking, just sitting around, like complaining about Steve.“He was most likely referring to their time during The Blip. Bruce then points to an engraving of their initials on the bar table. It read – ‘BB’ and ‘TS’, obviously representing Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Later, they both clapped back at his “IIt was a good time during hard times“.
Natasha’s Lullaby
Back to the days of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow) was shown to be able to control Banner’s rage while in his Hulk form. She was singing a sort of lullaby to calm him down. Walter asks Banner how he was able to transform between his human form and the Hulk. To which he said:Usually I fall from a jet (The Incredible Hulk and Thor Ragnarok)or I get knocked out by a robot (Avengers: Age of Ultron)and I would wake up as Banner.“He further continues that”Or, Natasha, for a little while, was telling me a lullaby.”
This was clearly referring to when Natasha used to say – “Hey big guy, the sun is getting very low” to Banner. She would then take out her hand and calm him down with her soft touch on his arms. It showed that Banner cared about Natasha and still mourns her passing.
Epilogue
All of these references and callbacks clearly show the kind of relationship Bruce Banner had with his fellow Avengers. He was a confidant of Steve Rogers, a pal of Tony Stark, and Natasha clearly missed the way she treated him.
Their separation affected him a lot, and now he is cautious and a little hesitant about what he says or does. It clearly humanizes the character and we as the audience instantly connect with him. The show also did an amazing job of introducing Jennifer Walter’s She-Hulk. With Daredevil and Wong yet to make appearances, it will be interesting to see where the show goes next.
