The stakes involved in MCU projects have never been as high as they are in the franchise’s current phase. Every new film or television series seems to feature a foe with galactic-scale superpowers, and our favorite characters have been cavorting about in the furthest corners of the multiverse. As such, it is refreshing when a new project seems to shrink the scope of things a bit.
The recently releasedShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawfocuses on the life of attorney Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany). In the series, she accidentally obtains Hulk status after being infected by blood from her cousin, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who is in his glasses-wearing, intellectual iteration Smart Hulk. As it is dealing with Hulks, many characters are anything but small.
Since her reluctant transition into a strong green monster, Jennifer Walters' life has been turned upside down. However, over the course of the series' second episode, she managed to find her footing (an impressive task, given the size of her newly enlarged feet), securing a lucrative new legal position and proving more than capable of being able to keep her Hulk alter ego at bay. However, her new job and emotional stability may be in question following her ill-fated meeting with a villain that fans might recognize as having been the primary antagonist in2008’sThe Incredible Hulk– Abomination.
A Difficult First Case for Jennifer Walters
At the end ofShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law’sfirst episode, “A Normal Amount of Rage,” Jennifer is forced to reveal her newfound superpowers to the world during a courtroom brawl withJameela Jamil’s Titania. Though she ultimately saves those in the courtroom, the defense team argues that her heroic antics influenced the jury, and the case is deemed a mistrial, which leads Walters' boss to fire her. She eventuallylands a new job, though it is at a firm that specializes in superhuman defense, and she must practice law in her She-Hulk form.
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Her first assignment is the defense ofEmil Blonsky (Tim Roth), also known as Abomination, who was incarcerated following the events inThe Incredible Hulk. Initially, she is reluctant, given the fact that Blonsky had attempted to kill her cousin Bruce, but her boss tells her that Blonsky signed papers that would negate Walters' conflict of interest. He also tells her that she’ll be fired if she doesn’t take the case.
When she eventually does meet with Blonsky, the terrifying monster is shown to be little more than a zen, middle-aged man who seems to have left his super-serum induced alter ego behind. Unfortunately for She-Hulk, it is revealed at the end of episode two, “Superhuman Law,” that Emil Blonsky is not quite as reformed as he had led his lawyer to believe. Of course, Jennifer’s defense of Blonsky will be quite a bit more complicated than she had previously thought.
What Role Will Sorcerer Supreme Wong Play?
After returning to her home, Walters receives a call from her boss and is instructed to turn on the news, where she sees that Blonsky has escaped his high-tech prisoner cell and is fighting in an underground fight club. MCU fans were quick to recognize the brief clip of the fighting ring, as this scene was previously shown inShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
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In the film, Abomination fights with Wong (Benedict Wong) and is eventually knocked out by his own punch when Wong utilizes a magic portal. Wong then teleports Blonsky back to his cell. The Disney+ series did not reveal how Abomination escaped, though the fact that Wong can teleport him in and out of his cell might be a hint. The character’sShang-Chiappearanceseemed to suggest that he and Wong were friends, which may be why the Sorcerer Supreme is brought on to theShe-Hulkseries and serves as a part of Walters' defense.
The massive villain Abomination is definitely going to be a handful. It is difficult to imagine how his monstrous frame will even fit on a courtroom bench, let alone how they’ll find a suit and tie in his size, should Blonsky choose to remain in his Abomination form. Nevertheless, in order for Walters' to retain her new position, she will need to find a way to argue his innocence, a task that has been made all the more difficult by his recent prison break.
It will be fascinating to see how the character develops throughout the series. Was Blonsky’s apparently reformed nature merely a ruse, or is there a possibility that, given an effective defense by Walters, Abomination will be free to join the series' heroes?
