Courtesy of Marvel Studios
[This story contains spoilers for She-Hulk episode two.]
Being a Hulk is now a family business. But Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) may not be the only members of their gamma-irradiated clan. The second episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, directed by Kat Coiro and written by Jessica Gao, sees the Hulk once again headed to space, this time on a Sakaarian ship, similar to the one featured in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and presumably the same one that caused the accident that created She-Hulk in the debut episode. Despite She-Hulk serving as a sitcom, there does seem to be something larger happening between the scenes, a revelation that could finally lead to a new Hulk movie.
Much of Phase Four of the MCU has placed an emphasis on family and legacy, with characters taking on new roles, like Scarlet Witch, Loki, Captain America (Sam Wilson), and Spider-Man. Others have adopted the names associated with their predecessors, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Black Widow (Yelena Belova), Ms. Marvel, and found mentors in the process. Bruce doesn’t have either option. He’s smarter in his Hulk form now, but his role hasn’t changed, and even after saving the world (and the universe), he still can’t entirely shake off the public perception of being a monster, regardless of how many selfies he takes with kids.
There’s a reason why find him alone on an island. And as for legacy, well no one really wants to become the Hulk. Yet, when Jennifer is contaminated with some of Bruce’s blood and Hulks-out, he thinks he’s finally found a new purpose as a mentor to his cousin, and a year-long journey to stop her from going through the same thing he did. Yet, as Jennifer, and the show, make clear, she’s not him. So, who is?
A What If? comic storyline from 2007 became canon in 2008 when Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. introduced the Hulk’s son, Skaar. Conceived during the Hulk’s time on Sakaar with Caiera, one of the planet’s natives, Skaar is essentially Conan Hulk. Long-haired, sword wielding, and savage, Skaar aged rapidly to adulthood, all while carrying the anger over his father abandoning him. He arrives on Earth with a plan to kill his father, though the two would find themselves working together, often begrudgingly over the coming years, with Skaar even becoming a member of the Dark Avengers.
Obviously, should the MCU introduce Skaar, which is what I’d bet on happening by the end of She-Hulk, the events will play out differently. We never got the full Planet Hulk treatment in the MCU, rather it featured as an undercooked side plot in Thor: Ragnarok, thus the aftermath, World War Hulk, in which the Hulk declares war on the Illuminati and Avengers for sending him off to space, and the death of Caiera, likely won’t come to be. However, that doesn’t mean that World War Hulk is entirely off the table.
If Marvel is able to get the distribution rights for a Hulk solo film back from Universal, we may see Banner finally find a new purpose, though not the one he hoped for. Hulk’s meeting with Skaar likely won’t be a happy family reunion. If he’s been left for over five years on a planet that’s essentially the universe’s trash heap, while his father’s been living on Earth, that’s certainly enough to create a grudge. And seeing his father, as he is now, “Smart Hulk,” surely wouldn’t match the force of nature he’d heard about, the fierce gladiator, “Green Scar.” Suppose then that Skaar tells Hulk he’s coming to Earth, with the full rage and might of all that being a Hulk entails, and that Banner will be unprepared. Perhaps this will lay the groundwork for the Hulk to experiment on himself again, regain his rage while maintaining his intelligence and finally permitting the cunning and manipulative Grey Hulk to make his onscreen debut.
Speculatory as all of this is, the reception to She-Hulk has shown that there’s still plenty of interest in gamma-mythos, and while it’s not Banner’s show, the lack of a solo project for the character in fourteen years has created an appetite to see more of the character and further explore his psychological complexities. And having an immensely likeable Hulk in the form of Jennifer Walters, makes the “Smart Hulk” feel a bit less necessary, something Banner also seems to be aware of. Truth is, we like the Hulk when he’s angry, and if She-Hulk can replace him as the hero and Avenger the multiverse needs post-Endgame, then there’s certainly room in Banner’s future to go in a darker and more imperfect direction.
Admittedly getting ahead of myself, I can’t help but wonder if we might be seeing the early stages of Hulk’s transformation into Maestro, an evil, future despot version of the Hulk with Banner’s intelligence and enhanced strength from the world’s nuclear wars, as introduced in Peter David and George Perez’s Future Imperfect. With time-travel and the multiverse tying this new MCU saga together, it doesn’t seem far-fetched. And when Hulk, in the prime timeline, began having visions of this darker future, who did he entrust to stop him? None other than She-Hulk, a reluctant superhero who’s the key to saving the human race.
It may be a long-shot, and the Saakarian ship could just lead to a gag with Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as The Grandmaster. If so, OK. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law certainly offers enough to enjoy for its own sake. But given the wealth of Hulk stories we’ve yet to see explored, this series setting the stage for World War Hulk and Future Imperfect, with Banner as an ever-growing threat, could prove that She-Hulk is the strongest there is.