Billed as a legal comedy and delivered pretty much along those lines, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law didn’t seem like the type of show that would have far-ranging implications for the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, with one episode left to go, it seems that quite a bit of potential has been packed into these shorter episodes. Bruce Banner has left the planet for personal business on Sakaar; Jen’s blood has fallen into the hands of the HulkKing; and a man is running around in a frog suit! As big of a deal as Leap-Frog might seem to have been in Episode 8, “Ribbit and Rip It”, another revelation might end up being a bigger factor down the line.
During Jen’s brief and slightly embarrassing court battle with Matt Murdock, Murdock casually revealed that the Sokovia Accords, which have governed the vigilantism of superheroes since the United Nations adopted them in 2016 following the events in Lagos, Nigeria, have been repealed. The Accords were intended to put an end to the unsanctioned acts of powered individuals and groups, such as the Avengers, by establishing an agreed-upon set of regulations.
The Accords have been addressed in several projects over the years after having been established in Captain America: Civil War. WandaVision saw a government agency defy them and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which was set in 2024, saw them on display in the Smithsonian. So while they might have seemed like a relic of the Infinity Saga, they’ve been kept alive for a reason before being tossed out there again in She-Hulk, which is set in 2025. What good comes from keeping them on the minds of the audience, though, when they’ve largely been ignored since their creation? The answer might be in the fine print.
By signing the Accords, heroes agreed to a whole mess of things, including:
- providing a DNA sample
- revealing their secret identities/legal names
- power analysis
- the use of tracking bracelets
The Accords also prohibited governments from sending powered heroes to other countries without the approval of that country; outlawed the creation of self-aware AIs; outlawed the creation of further superhumans without strict oversight.
For a line that was interjected into the middle of a fairly fast-paced bit of dialogue by Murdock, the revelation that the Accords no longer govern not only the actions of powered individuals but the CREATION of them seems incredibly important given the fact that Jen’s “better blood” is in the hands of, presumably, the Intelligencia which, presumably, is lead by The Leader. With The Leader recently announced as the villain of Captain America: New World Order, Jen’s tease of a Red Hulk and the long-standing rumors of her blood being used to create multiple Hulks that might face off in a World War Hulk project, the fact that there are now no universally accepted regulations on how to handle these types of situations seems like it is setting the stage for chaos to ensue…and a new order to be established.
