by Miller C. Lashbrook
This show is so good. I am enjoying it so much. Comedic, ground-level in the MCU may not be for everyone, but just like Hawkeye last year, I am loving this so much. Jennifer continues to be a wonderful character. I am really enjoying a reluctant hero who has to learn to balance the superhero life with their personal life. This episode seems to really establish the status quo of the show going forward, based heavily on the new status quo set up in Dan Slott’s run in the She-Hulk comics.
SPOILERS AHEAD
For the spoiler section of this review I am going to break things up based on three topics: Bruce, Abomination, and Jennifer.
Bruce is Going Back to Sakaar?
We do not get much of Bruce in this episode, especially compared to last week, but after his phone call with his cousin we learn that he is on the Sakaar currier craft that caused the car crash in episode one. The primary running theory right now is that this has to do with Hulk’s son. In the comics during the Planet Hulk storyline, Hulk married a woman. She got pregnant with his child, but they were both seemingly killed in an explosion (this led to Hulk’s World War Hulk storyline). It was later revealed however that his unborn child survived and grew in a cocoon of sorts. This son was named Skaar and got his own comic for a bit. This could be the route that the show goes in, with Hulk having impregnated a woman before Thor arrived on Sakaar in Ragnarök.
There is another fan theory gaining traction however. There is a theory that the MCU is going to make Teddy Altman A.K.A. Hulkling the son of Hulk. In the comics Hulkling is actually not related to Hulk at all, other than in name. Hulkling is the child of the Kree Mar-Vell and a Skrull princess. I love Hulkling and his husband Wiccan, so I am going to a little suspect to any changes to his origin, especially since his heritage has become quite important in the comics, but I do think having Teddy be the son of Bruce could be a great way to take his character.
Abomination is Poly?
We are reintroduced to Emil Blonsky a.k.a. Abomination in this episode as Jennifer’s first Superhuman client. We saw him last year in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings briefly, but the last and only time he had meaningful screen time was in 2008’s Incredible Hulk. Now granted it has been roughly 15 years in universe, but he seems like a completely different person; he also has seven potential partners that he wants to live on a commune with. I am very intrigued to see how this plotline unfolds and for how long.
Jennifer is Trying to Balance it All
Jennifer’s arc in this episode really continues out of the fallout from last week’s episode, with her “Hulking out” at the trial leading to her firing from the DA office and subsequent hiring at GLK/H. This episode also continues to show us how Jennifer is struggling with balancing She-Hulk and Jennifer, additionally showing how some are already trying to objectify her body, through objectifying She-Hulk. I really think the way that She-Hulk is being used to show how women are objectified was amazing.
I really hope this show just keeps getting better and better!
5/5 Drops of Gamma Blood 🩸
P.S. I cannot believe that they snuck a Wolverine easter egg into this episode. I am so ready to see mutants in the MCU in earnest.
Pop Culture Fae 