Marvel Studios Ironheart will introduce one of Marvel Comics’ most ruthless villains to the MCU: Parker Robbins, aka The Hood. Anthony Ramos will be playing Robbins and was introduced at D23 by Kevin Feige, though little was revealed about his origins or motivations. Footage from Ironheart did, however, show a very comic-accurate-looking cloak on The Hood and a new rumor indicates that its origins may be a bit less comic-accurate.
According to My Time to Shine Hello, Robbins’ cloak, which is the source of many of the magical powers he wields in the comics, will be connected to the demon Mephisto. In the comics, the cloak originally belonged to Dormammu, who used it to possess Robbins at one point. With Mephisto filling the role, it’s likely that Ironheart will feature Mephisto, the Great Corrupter, sinking his claws into Robbins and making a deal for his soul, as he does.
The Hood is the villain of the show. He's magic based character that makes a deal with a demon to get his cloak and powers. Originally it was with Dormammu in the comics but here it's gonna be with Mephisto.
Fans have believed Mephisto was going to appear in every Marvel Studios’ project for the last several years and no doubt some of them will pound their chests to tell you that they were right; however, finally introducing the Master of Malice to the MCU opens up a wealth of new stories that can be told, including the long-gestating Ghost Rider project and a comic-accurate origin for the Silver Surfer!
An additional rumor suggests that the actor bringing the Dread Persuader to life in the MCU will be Sacha Baron Cohen. While Cohen is most well-known as his wild antics Borat, Ali G. and others, he recently received praise for more serious work in Netflix’s The Spy and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Trial of the Chicago 7, his third nomination as he was also nominated for the screenplay of both Borat films.
Cohen’s versatility as a performer makes him a fascinating choice for Mephisto, should the rumor prove to be true. A deal to play Mephisto would likely keep the Cohen busy for quite some time because, as comic fans know, Mephisto has found himself in just about everyones’ business at one time or another.
With less than a month until release, Marvel Studios’ Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, is tracking for a massive debut. Box Office Pro has unveiled the latest tracking for the film, and as it stands, Wakanda Forever could potentially set a new November record.
Box Office Pro believes Wakanda Forever could open between $180 million and $225 million. Working in the film’s favor, of course, is that Black Panther was a phenomenon and demolished records with its $202 million domestic debut. The character later went on to become a big part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and later in an episode of What If…? on Disney+. With a huge gap between films, fans have been eagerly awaiting Wakanda Forever‘s release, helping to push the film’s trailer views past those of its predecessor.
Of course, given that we are still very much in a pandemic, it’s possible the film could open lower than expected. The box office has struggled since COVID first hit in 2019, and it’s still struggling to return to normal. Moviegoers don’t seem as ready to head to theaters like they once did. It doesn’t help either that Thor: Love and Thunder had such a mixed reception, or that many feel as though there’s too much content hailing from Marvel Studios thanks to Disney+.
Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on Nov. 11th. Tickets are on sale now.
The finale of Season 1 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law opened with a great callback to the classic Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno series, The Incredible Hulk, that ran on network television in the late 1970s and early 1980s and spawned not one, not two but three made-for-tv movies in the late 1980s. The callback, which served as the recap of the series so far, ended with what’s become the norm for the series, a new, weekly title: The Savage She-Hulk. That title is, of course, the title of the first appearance of Jen Walters in Marvel Comics, The Savage She-Hulk #1, which hit newsstands in 1980. Ironically, through the course of the D+ series, Jen’s She-Hulk has been anything but savage for most of the time; however, the same can’t necessarily be said for the series itself.
Language is an ever-evolving thing and, over the last decade or so, one word that has experienced some changes in its usage is “savage.” The way the kids are using it these days (these days being like 5-10 years ago), it means someone who has zero regard for the consequences of what they say when they rip into a person or a group of people. It’s in this way that Jessica Gao and the rest of the writers’ room on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law made the series one of the most self-aware and savage social commentaries in modern pop culture history.
As the finale pointed out, Marvel Studios has an internet problem. No matter what project they churn out it wasn’t long enough, didn’t have enough cameos or didn’t include THAT character or THAT story that some fan was certain was going to be there. However, some projects have a bigger internet problem than others: the ones featuring female leads. From Captain Marvel to Ms. Marvel to Thor: Love and Thunder and now She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, female-led projects at Marvel Studios are described as “problematic” and “sloppy” before general audiences have seen a second of footage. And as Marvel Studios enters its second saga of stories and begins to introduce legacy characters, many of whom are female, the internet has come out swinging with chants of “Mary Sue” and “Thor is a name, not a title” as characters like Kamala Khan, Jen Walters and Jane Foster assume heroic mantles.
It is in addressing these internet problems head-on that She-Hulk became truly, in the modern context, savage. The savagery really began in earnest in Episode 3, “The People vs. Emil Blonsky”, when Jen’s work at GLK&H began to garner more attention. In a brief sequence, the show called out anonymous and misogynistic social media influencers and YouTubers by making a mockery of their go-to commentary. “They took the Hulk’s manhood away, but then they gave it to a woman?” “So we gotta have affirmative action with superheroes?” “No more female superheroes plz.” “Why are you turning every superhero into a girl? Nobody asked for that.” “Why everything gotta be female now???” “So we have a #MeToo movement and now all the male heroes are gone?” Ridiculous only in their accuracy, these comments could have been (and most likely were) taken from real social media account from men decrying that “every hero” is now a female. Forget the fact that Thor: Love and Thunder featured both a man and a woman co-starring as Thor (and the female died), facts have no place in this dojo.
To add an extra layer of verisimilitude to its social commentary on social media, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law brought the dudebro online community known as The Intelligencia to the forefront. While initial theories about who might run the group understandably centered on characters from the comics associated with the group, it turned out to be a collective of manbabies united by one thing: their insecurities. The creatives laid the satire on thick and in layers going so far as having Jon Bass‘ HulkKing scream “come at me bro” shortly after turning into Chris Kattan-Hulk.
Between satirizing the ridiculous nature of online discourse around these projects and having Jen be the first MCU character to really explore dating and sex (she even smashes Matt Murdock on occasion), the Gao and the writers certainly had the very same people they were mocking clutching their pearls. And they did so by simply capitalizing on the very nature of the character pulled straight from the comics where she was Marvel’s first character to be aware that she existed inside of a story and interacted with the world that existed outside her story. So while Jen’s She-Hulk proved she was anything but the savage version her cousin Bruce thought she might be, Marvel Studios went full frontal savage and, in doing so, made their most socially relevant project to date.
Marvel Studios made sweeping changes to their upcoming theatrical slate recently, shuffling the release dates of several projects in what looks to have been a game of dominoes. Upon closer look, however, it seems possible that the last domino hasn’t fallen yet.
2023
Phase 5 begins! Outside of Blade being removed from the 2023 slate, the slate remains unchanged. Two projects (Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Loki Season 2) look to connect directly with the overarching plot of the Multiverse Saga, but The Marvels might connect to it a bit more than one might think at first glance.
2024
The changes to the 2024 slate are where things really start to fall apart and where one has to question whether or not there will be another round of changes ahead. It seems like a big factor in whether or not there are more changes will depend on how connected the Disney Plus series/special projects are to the order of things.
Originally, Phase 5 was supposed to end with Thunderbolts in July of 2024, now it looks like it will likely end with Deadpool 3 in November of 2024. Blade and Deadpool 3 (even though it wasn’t officially given a date until recently) were always a part of Phase 5, so where they land within it doesn’t seem to matter. However, as of SDCC, the first Phase 6 project was intended to be a Disney Plus series/special presentation scheduled for Fall 2024, before Fantastic Four. Then, another two Phase 6 Disney Plus projects were set to stream before the end of 2024.
With all the changes, the end date for Phase 5 has now been extended by 4 months, meaning two streaming projects that were meant to be a part of Phase 6 are now TENTATIVELY set to stream before Phase 5 concludes. Can these projects just be moved into Phase 5? It’s hard to determine without knowing the identity of the projects. Do audiences need to see the content delivered in Blade or Deadpool 3 before they can view these series? Again, hard to determine without knowing what the projects are. If they need to be included in Phase 6, Marvel Studios would have to push them into November of 2024 or later, potentially creating a content void that they seem to be trying to avoid. A lot of questions that can’t be answered, but 2024 and Phase 5 are clearly being impacted the most by the changes and potentially impacting everything else the most as a result.
Summary: Phase 5 ends later and with a different project and would currently experience an increase in the number of projects with some Phase 6 projects set to stream before Phase 6 begins.
2025
While the update on Monday revealed two pretty major changes, it also implies that more might be coming. With Fantastic Four being bumped into 2025, Avengers: Secret Wars was bumped out. However, it also means the February slot before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is now occupied by Fantastic Four when it was clearly meant for another film up until these changes took place. The best bet as to what was intended to be there is the sequel to Shang-Chi. Both films are set to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and there’s been enough said to me to indicate that Shang-Chi 2 was meant to lead up to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. With all that in mind, the slate is what it is at this point, but don’t be surprised to see further changes. One possibility is for one Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to move to the vacated November slot, opening up one of two summer spots for Shang-Chi 2. And while Disney doesn’t date Spidey films, that 4th movie is looming out there, so perhaps one of these 2025 films might come off the schedule entirely to make room for Spidey 4.
Summary: Phase 6 starts later than expected, but with the same project (Fantastic Four). It also ends later, but with the same project (Avengers: Secret Wars).
2026
As announced at SDCC ’22, Avengers: Secret Wars was intended to close out Phase 6 and the Multiverse Saga in November of 2025. The next day, Disney slated 4 Untitled Marvel Studios films for 2026, all meant to kick off Phase 7. But as the delay of Blade led to the delay of another project and another project and so on, Avengers: Secret Wars found itself bumped 5 months to May of 2026. But being the capstone project of the entire Multiverse Saga, moving Secret Wars ultimately means delaying the end of Phase 6 and the start of Phase 7.
Additionally, in shifting from November 7, 2025 to May 1, 2026, Avengers: Secret Wars actually jumped 2 dates. On the surface and without further changes, this adds a 6th film to the Phase 6 slate. We don’t know what the untitled films are, but when the slate for Phase 6 was revealed, it was comprised of 5 films. With things the way they are now, it’s 6 and this seems like a pretty major change to a slate that one would assume is pretty well planned out and only holds the requisite number of projects to tell the story. The scenario described in the 2025 section above provides some relief to that by removing one of those films to make way for Spidey 4. The best guess here is that Marvel Studios is NOT done shuffling and that these dates should be viewed as placeholders and nothing more.
Summary: Phase 6 not only ends later but with Avengers: Secret Wars jumping 2 release dates, it currently includes one additional film that was previously slated for Phase 7.
Realistically, any analysis is probably a waste of time because the only constant with Marvel Studios’ slate of projects is change. So for now, tracking the changes and thinking about how they might lead to more is both the best we can do and the worst thing we can do because it sends us down a path with no clarity just past the horizon.
We have come to an end of yet another Marvel Cinematic Universe series, but this finale stands on its own. Since WandaVision, MCU series have been rather well known for either botching or just not following through with outstanding finales. How anyone feels about the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law finale is less straightforward than usual. While the word “unique” has been thrown around a lot in Phase Four, there is no other way to start the discussion.
Even though it did not take up the entire runtime, the massive fourth wall break in the finale has to be an instantly iconic moment in the MCU. To not only take the audience out of “the show” but to spend time with the titular character in Marvel Studios’ headquarters is beyond bonkers. Of course, the jarring transition from the regular program to She-Hulk breaking out of the Disney+ screen is incredible, and it lives up to the comic book version of her doing the same decades ago. The core potential of the character is released in the finale, and there are very few moments in the MCU that can genuinely say the same.
The humor stemming from the fourth wall break is not only laugh-out-loud funny, but it is peak She-Hulk. Throughout the season, the show makes jabs at tropes and the incessant presence of the internet’s yelling in every single moment of the contemporary MCU. Anyone on Twitter is familiar with this, and anyone with a brain knew that She-Hulk would provoke perhaps the most attention in that regard. Instead of winking at the audience about it, the artificial intelligence replacement for Kevin Feige (a joke worthy of its own review maybe) addresses it head-on. The MCU has an internet relations struggle. She-Hulk is a strong, confident woman. The two combined were meant to be together, but the way the finale actually embraces it is almost too good to be true.
The fourth wall break, without a doubt, is the finale. It may even beShe-Hulk. Still, that does not mean the finale as a whole deserves top marks. It is somewhat hard to separate the fourth wall break from anything else, both because of the inherent difficulty of that and because they addressed very different things. The break speaks to the essence and the heart of She-Hulk, and what better place to do that than in the finale? But the rest of the story is quite limited because of it.
Yes, it brings home the point that this is She-Hulk’s show, but it also made it clear that She-Hulk’s story—at least in Season One—did not do much more than what we already saw before this episode. That is not inherently bad, especially considering the show really wants to call itself a legal comedy. Plus, fans should have learned their lesson after WandaVision to not expect series finales to become the crossover, universe-shattering moments of their dreams. To that, She-Hulk said: here is Skaar. But plenty of plotlines arguably deserved more time and attention, and a longer version of how Jen cleared her name would have been very welcome. That in particular is the biggest loss of the finale’s choice, but at the end of the day, the fourth wall break is always the preferred option.
She-Hulk made waves as an MCU series. As one of the few MCU projects to feature a woman in the title role, it went beyond just basic representational work on that front. Women’s real experiences were either mentioned or actually discussed, and the first project the MCU felt comfortable throwing sex in was a project where a woman led that concept on-screen. But the series will also go down as the funniest Marvel Studios project to date and in many ways one of the most grounded in reality (which is ironic in plenty of ways). Jen was an actual, believable human, and the series made that the basis of everything, even the crazier elements. She-Hulk, arguably, was what many internet fans wanted Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Cameos to be, and yet this was just the first season of a solo series. At the end of the day, there is not much else to say except: She-Hulk smashed.
Much happened—or didn’t, depending on how you look at it—in the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law finale. The series ended on an upbeat note, and Jen seems to have taken back her life after the dark ending of Episode 8 and the sad beginning of the final episode. One thing is for sure, though, and that is that the bonkers fourth wall break is undoubtedly an iconic Marvel Cinematic Universe moment from here on out. In it, there are a couple of moments that mention a She-Hulk Season 2. And while Loki is still the only series to get an official confirmation by the time the credits start rolling, we have may have gotten the next best thing.
When She-Hulk arrives in the writers’ room, she interrupts their conversation about what the second season should be. Specifically, one writer pitches the god-awful idea that the entire second season would be a dream sequence. Later, when She-Hulk is talking to K.E.V.I.N., a second season is once again brought up in a very matter-of-fact way.
While the fourth wall break does not appear to be Marvel Studios’ way of officially announcing something, the fact that a She-Hulk Season 2 was mentioned more than once in a “yeah, this is going to happen” way seems like a fairly obvious way the show may be teasing it. After all, robot Kevin Feige had plenty to say but certainly did not correct the Season 2 assumption. While the writers could have included the references as cheeky jokes—after all, the internet will surely start debating what every word in the fourth wall break meant—it did not play off as obviously as some of the other jokes in that sequence.
Like everything, we will have to wait and see if or when Marvel Studios decides to announce something like She-Hulk Season 2, but the writing may be on the wall. She-Hulk is also, conveniently, an incredibly second-season-friendly show with its ability to be a half-hour legal comedy. Whether it truly accomplished that in this first season is perhaps debatable, but the potential from this show and the comics’ source material is truly astounding. The episodes with Donny Blaze, Madisynn, and group villain therapy could easily become the norm in a second season, and those were standout episodes. There is a lot more lawyering Jen can do, and there is certainly a lot more She-Hulk smashing she can do.
All episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law are now streaming on Disney+.
The She-Hulk: Attorney at Law finale had so much going on, that the surprise introduction of a major character at the very end almost did not pack much of a punch, perhaps because it has been rumored for quite some time. Still, the brief introduction of a new character likely has major implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward.
At the end of the She-Hulk finale, Bruce does eventually show back up (granted, he was axed from the messy climax after Jen went to clear things up with Marvel Studios). At the Walters’ family picnic, however, Bruce arrives with someone else in tow: his son, Skaar. For those unfamiliar with Skaar from the comics, this could be a wild twist. In general, it is a major inclusion in the MCU that will surely carry a lot with it. So, first, who is Skaar? And second, what does his presence mean for the MCU now?
In the comics, Skaar comes from a relationship the Hulk has while on Sakaar. He conceived a son with Caiera the Oldstrong, but after a ship explosion that killed Caieria, the Hulk believed that Skaar had died in the womb. Obviously, Skaar did in fact survive and was raised by his mother’s Shadow People on what was left of Sakaar. Eventually, he was exiled to Earth. And when he arrived, all he wanted to do was kill Bruce.
In live-action, it is not hard to imagine that something similar happened and our MCU Hulk fathered a child on Sakaar. We have a lot less information on who Skaar’s mother might be, the state of Sakaar, or why Skaar has come to Earth, however. The way his arrival was set up in She-Hulk, it almost came across as though Bruce went to Sakaar knowing that he had some sort of responsibility—maybe Skaar. It is also very likely he was not aware of Skaar before his return to the planet. In any event, he definitely brought his son with him and they seem chummy enough.
The most obvious prediction for how Skaar will factor into Phases 5 or 6 is as part of the rumored ‘World War Hulks’ project. She-Hulk seemed to tease that it could be part of the setup for that project or overarching storyline, given the Hulk blood fascination. The series did not end up going that route, but the implication is very clear: the MCU is about to get more hulks. What happens when the MCU gets a bunch of hulks?—probably some type of World War Hulk iteration. Skaar plays a significant role in that story, but the theories on how Marvel Studios might adapt it so far are endless since we are seemingly at an early stage of that process. However, given the casting of Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader in Captain America: New World Order, that movie might be a solid place to start.
Even before She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premiered on Disney+ this past August, the internet has had no shortage of jabronis voicing their complaints about the show. There has been so much media made about how She-Hulk is the worst TV show ever. All this negativity toward She-Hulk has led to some giving up on the show. However, with the final episode premiering later this week, now is the perfect time to get back on board so you can see what you’ve been missing, because She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the best Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ show.
She-Hulk is the First Marvel Disney+ Show That Knows How to be a Show
There’s something to be said for a piece of media effectively utilizing the medium in which it exists. A common complaint among the Marvel Disney+ shows is that they feel like movies cut up into 6 pieces and thrown on Disney+. In some cases, it’s a fair criticism. Frequently, the episodes don’t feel like their own concise story, so while the episodes can be separated by certain storytelling functions or a change in location, it still feels like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, or even Ms. Marvel could’ve been better served by cutting out a bunch of the fluff and editing the entire story into a 2-hour long movie. Only What If…?, WandaVision, and Loki had done this right previously, but She-Hulk might be the best at it specifically because unlike What If…?, WandaVision, or Loki, She-Hulk is very explicitly a sitcom.
Part of the charm of a sitcom is that while there are big, season-long arcs – like Diane warming up to Sam in Cheers or Mac getting fat in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – the episodes themselves are largely disconnected and can be watched out of order. Once everything was set in motion, starting with episodes 3 and 4, the creatives on She-Hulk really managed to hit that balance. That balance can be pretty effectively highlighted by focusing on the legal aspect of the series. Every episode is another case. Every case presents a new challenge, introduces a few new characters, and after 22 minutes, everything is neatly wrapped up. Someone could watch episode 1 and then skip to episode 4, and they’d mostly get it.
Some people don’t like this disconnect at the heart of the show, but it’s a feature, not a bug, and whether one likes everything about She-Hulk or not, it’s hard to deny that it’s living up to the promise of a superhuman law sitcom. If you don’t like the idea of sitcoms, then this was never going to work for you, but it’s difficult not to appreciate how She-Hulk is the first MCU show that has embraced the sitcom format.
She-Hulk Expands on the MCU in Interesting Ways
She-Hulk has introduced so many characters and concepts with barely any legwork. This can be attributed to the fact that She-Hulk is the first MCU show that is explicitly about a character dealing with the superhuman side of the universe that audiences don’t really see. Moon Knight had Egyptian gods. Ms. Marvel had Clandestines. They did not have, for instance, a sorcerer just show up; it wouldn’t have made sense and that’s fine. Thematically, it is consistent with the scope of the story. But it’s pretty wild that even though Earth is full of aliens, Asgardians, and all sorts of gods and enhanced people, outside of the Shang-Chi cage fight, there has not been an earthbound project where characters just bump into something weird or acknowledge the weirdness in the rest of the world. She-Hulk is the first MCU show to properly acknowledge the Celestial in the middle of the ocean – that’s incredible because one problem with Phase 4 is that – apart from Wong – it’s felt sort of disconnected. There aren’t those little moments where Coulson mentions a thing he has to deal with that signals to the audience that Thor also exists in this world, or where Bruce Banner name-drops Wakanda. Moments like those are necessary to keep everything balanced outside of the big team-up movies and ground the world in some shared reality, even if it is a weird one.
Phase 4 has done a fair amount of world-building, but it was almost always providing context to past events from the last few phases, like Kamala telling the audience about the end of Avengers: Endgame or Hawkeye watching “Rogers: the Musical.” Fans have gotten plenty of context for things in the past, but what about the very recent past? There have been so many world-altering events that never get mentioned. Did anyone else experience the time Mr. Knight and Khonshu turned back time in the sky, or that kaiju fight from the end of the series? Those are examples just from Moon Knight. Nobody has brought up the Gargantos attack, any of the Statue of Liberty stuff, Hawkeye shooting goons in 30 Rock on Christmas, the Taskmaster chase, the attack on New Asgard, the Shang-Chi bus fight, and anything from Eternals…outside of acknowledging that Kingo exists. These things all happened in public, so the idea of a character who gets to react to them or a show that would not feel weird if it acknowledged them is a lot of fun.
It’s clear that Phase 4 was jumbled by the pandemic. Lots of movies changed spots, so plenty of the direct references wouldn’t play, but a show like She-Hulk wraps a lot of that up at the end. It’s the last D+ project of 2022, so She-Hulk gets to be sort of a greatest hits of the phase. But even beyond that, She-Hulk’s world-building is really impressive because of how much the creatives trusted the audience. A Light Elf shows up – audiences have never seen or heard of them before, but the writers know if they look and act a specific way, audiences will infer that this is a Thor-related thing. Mr. Immortal just popped in for an episode. In the comics, he has the power to live forever and was the leader of the Great Lake Avengers at one point. This version of the character was certainly a different take on the hero, but it fits into the universe well. It’s great that they can do characters like this without explanation; it just makes the world feel so much bigger.
Jennifer Walters is an Interesting and Likable Character
There has been a lot of discourse pertaining to whether Jennifer Walters is an interesting character or not. Many seem to believe that Jen is not an interesting character because she has no flaws – she never does anything wrong and dismisses Bruce, her kind, older cousin. However, this is a wild misreading of the entire series. Jen’s biggest flaw is that she’s sort of arrogant – just like Tony Stark, Thor, Peter Quill, or Stephen Strange before her. Jen believes she’s will be better at being a Hulk than she actually is and dismisses people offering her help…that is, until she doesn’t. Though it does remain to be seen if Jen will learn her lesson by the end of episode 9, perhaps the other lawyer superhero will have something to say about the whole work/life balance thing.
Another great element about Jen’s character is that she really feels like an adult. The idea of having to go on bad dates or attend a chaotic wedding is really relatable. That’s why the conversation that Jen has with Bruce in the beginning of Episode 1 feels apt. Jen talking about how Steve Rogers never got to have sex is both a fun conversation that all nerds have had at some point, but also an acknowledgment that the MCU’s second lead character never got to just slow down and date – at least, not so far as audiences have seen. She-Hulk exploring that is refreshing, especially since Tony Stark being a little playboy was one of the things that drew people to the MCU. Just like Tony, Jen has a sense of humor and feels human.
And similar to how they’ve explored relatable adult relationships with Tony Stark, Thor, Peter Quill, and Stephen Strange, Jen and all of her supporting characters are great. The group dynamic between Jen, Nikki, and Pug is a lot of fun, and so are the little Nikki and Pug side adventures. What they’ve done with Mallory Book – a character who plays an important role in the Dan Slott comic run from 2004 – is also commendable. Additional standouts are Jen’s family, Wong and Madisynn, and Lulu, played by Patti Harrison.
With She-Hulk coming to an end, give it a look with a pair of fresh eyes and appreciate it for what it is: a sitcom that’s grown the MCU in a creative way.
The 9th and final episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law releases on Disney+ Thursday, October 13th.
Episode 8 gave us the long-awaited Matt Murdock / Daredevil appearance, which bore some similarities with The Good Old Days story arc featured in the 2014/15 Charles Soule She-Hulk run. Soule, who like Walters and Murdock is an attorney himself, got both characters meeting on opposing sides of the court with a slightly different setup than what we got in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
In the show, Jen was oblivious as to who Murdock was, to the point of directing a “Who is this asshole?” to the camera. She later looked him up ahead of their meeting at the bar, but not only was she initially unaware of who Matt was, but she also had no idea Daredevil was even a thing. In the comic, they were already familiar with each other, so much so that even previously in the same run, Jen had gone to Matt looking for some legal advice when dealing with a case involving Doctor Doom and his son, Kristoff Vernard. She then sought to do the same when defending Captain America only to be turned down in a way that only made sense a few pages ahead when she enters the courtroom and finds Matt as the opposing counsel. Unlike in the show, the shock of him being there isn’t only on the reader/viewer but especially on her.
There is a lot more lawyering in the comic than in the show, with Jen’s client being a bit more high profile than Leapfrog. Captain America, who had recently seen the Super-Soldier Serum within his body being neutralized (in the Rick Remender run that would lead to Sam Wilson becoming the new Captain America), was being charged with wrongful death in a civil suit and had approached Jen to be the one to represent him. Murdock was then the attorney for the plaintiff, looking to get Steve Rogers convicted of the role he played in the death of his friend Samuel in the 1940s, a few years before Rogers was even Captain America.
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
Little did both Walters and Murdock know that Steve Rogers was (sort of) playing both sides. With his old age, he had enemies that would want to tarnish his legacy once he’d be gone, and that meant setting up the whole lawsuit situation. It wasn’t like he could just send in the Avengers to punch their way out of it since that would make it seem that he was indeed guilty of all charges. He had to find another way to not only avoid a conviction but to completely discredit the entire case. He then managed to get Murdock involved so that, in the public eye, everything was being done in order to convict him since Matt was regarded as being one of the best. As for Jennifer, as hard as he wanted Matt to go, he also needed someone equally as good on his side since, in his own words “I didn’t want to lose, you know.”
She-Hulk #9 (2014)She-Hulk #9 (2014)
Outside the courtroom, their late-night encounter also played a bit differently. In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Jennifer left her apartment when trying to protect her client from being attacked, leading to her first confrontation with Daredevil and the eventual disclosure that Murdock was behind the mask.
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
In the comic, it was Matt that came to Jennifer in order to get her out of the house and into the Los Angeles night sky. But even if he felt that they both should unwind following an entire day stuck in a courtroom, dealing with a case that both were having a bit of trouble adjusting to, his true purpose was to try and free Jen of the feeling that Cap should be above the law, and that his conviction should be taken as a real possibility. It is here that Matt tells Jennifer that when he was asked to step into the role of prosecutor, Cap was the one who ok’d it, making Murdock promise not to pull any punches. This made it seem, for both Jen and Matt, that Cap might actually be guilty after all, and that it was all a weird way of him finally coming clean about past mistakes.
In the TV show, their late-night exploits lead them to Leapfrog’s secret-not-so-secret lair. After Matt explains that Patilio kidnapped Luke Jacobson the two work together to rescue the latter. They make quick work of the goons/henchmen defending the premises and get Jacobson to safety without breaking a sweat.
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
There’s a very similar occurrence in the comics that happens once the case was settled (go read the comics to know exactly how that transpired). We also got a Daredevil / She-Hulk team-up when Steve Rogers seemingly figures who might have been the mastermind behind the entire lawsuit situation. Dr. Faustus, an Austrian specialist in psychological manipulation seemingly had access to old Nazi information from the ’40s and was able to explore the events in order to hurt Cap’s image. When faced with this information, Jen and Matt do not hesitate and, with the case already closed, have no issue with breaking into Faustus’ compound and, much like in the show, getting it done in the blink of an eye.
She-Hulk #10 (2014)
In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, following their day together—first in the courtroom, then at the bar, and finally rescuing Jacobson—Jen and Matt start making plans to meet up again after he goes back to New York since that would be his last night in LA. But, unlike in the comic run, that night out never happened since they skipped all of that and just…
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8
In the book, it was almost the reverse situation. They also found themselves on the west coast (San Francisco, not LA, where Matt was living at the time) but it was Jen that had to go back to her practice in New York. When realizing that that would be her last night in town, Matt also asks Jen out, and they do end up going out, just not in the usual sense.
She-Hulk #4 (2014)
The first eight She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episodes are now streaming only on Disney+.
Marvel Studios is reportedly halting Blade, at least temporarily, as it continues its search for a new director. The news comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, with the outlet reporting the decision was made in order to further develop the movie and continue the search for a new director. The movie was expected to enter production in November. The crew is said to have been notified today that the production is temporarily shutting down.
Bassim Tariq was originally set to direct the film starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, however, Tariq left the project a little over two weeks ago. With the production currently shutting down, it seems doubtful it’ll make the previously announced release date of Nov. 3rd, 2023. Marvel Studios is said to be keen to get the movie “right,” and Ali has been heavily involved in the creative decisions on the film with the actor reportedly having had say in hiring Tariq in the beginning.
Following Tariq’s exit, it was revealed that Beau DeMayo had signed on to rework the script. With DeMayo’s hiring, it was expected that Marvel Studios would quickly fill the director position (ala Ant-Man), but instead, the studio has opted to slow down to “deepen the search” for a new director, while also ensuring they took time to further strengthen the movie.
Blade was first announced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige in 2019 when Ali was brought on stage to reveal the project was in development.
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