Created by Jessica Gao and directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” is the eighth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is centered around Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), who specializes in cases involving superhumans. But, she ends up becoming a superhero herself, i.e., She-Hulk. She is Bruce Banner/Hulk’s (Mark Ruffalo) cousin. Her best friend and colleague is Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga). Her archenemy is Titania (Jameela Jamil). And throughout the course of the show, we see Walters not only tackling various superhuman legal cases, but also dealing with her dual life as Jennifer and as the She-Hulk.
Spoilers Ahead
She-Hulk Origins
The episode opens with Jennifer preparing her closing speech for a case against a firm named GLK and H in front of Nikki and Dennis Bukowski (Drew Matthews). Then she turns to us, the audience, to say that we aren’t going to enjoy the show if we don’t know about her origins. So, she sends us into a flashback where Jennifer and Bruce are driving around together. Their main topic of discussion is whether or not Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) died a virgin. Bruce has made a prototype of a power inhibitor that allows him to stay in human form. But that backfires because when a Sakaarian ship shows up out of nowhere, and Jennifer crashes the car, he starts to bleed out. Drops of his irradiated blood pour into Jennifer’s open wound. And that’s how she becomes the Hulk.
After getting lost in a jungle and almost killing three sexist dudes in front of a bar, Jennifer wakes up in Hulk’s shack/bunker/lab/home in Mexico. Smart Hulk says that that’s the place where he spent all his time integrating his Hulk-Banner identities. Apparently, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) helped him build it. Then, Hulk brings the conversation back to Jennifer and essentially recaps everything that has led to her becoming a Hulk. He explains that they both share a rare combination of genetic factors that didn’t kill them from the radiation. Based on the reveal in the final episode of “Ms. Marvel,” it’s safe to assume that Hulk is saying that they are mutants. Hulk also says that Jennifer’s irradiated blood helped him completely heal his wound (that was destroyed after the Blip).
Smart Hulk Teaches Jennifer How To She-Hulk
When Jennifer asks Bruce to take her powers away from her, he tries to help her understand that this is not something that is going to go away. So, Jennifer has to learn to live with these powers. Jennifer asks Bruce how long it’s going to take for her to figure out how she can peacefully coexist with her Hulk identity. He pulls out a binder to illustrate that it’s a multi-year process. But after putting her through a test, which involves a wall of saw blades inching towards her, Bruce realizes that Jennifer isn’t actually going through all the struggles he went through. Because she doesn’t lose her human persona after becoming the Hulk. Jennifer thinks that she can go back to her life now. However, Bruce brings up the topic of controlling the transformations.
In order to stay calm and not Hulk out at everything, Bruce imparts his knowledge of dialectical behavioral therapy. Then he tests her physical limitations (or lack thereof) and tells her how she needs to live her dual life. But every step of the way, Bruce basically notices that Jennifer is already better than him at this. However, he isn’t ready to accept that. That’s why, the following day, Jennifer bluntly explains to him that since she’s a woman, she has to keep herself in check and maintain her calm because the men around her are always looking for excuses to demean her. And she thinks that that’s possibly the biggest reason why she has quickly learned how to not be so reactionary. When she starts to transform mid-rant, Bruce thinks she has proven her theory wrong, only to realize that Jennifer is transforming voluntarily.
‘She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’ Episode 1: Ending Explained – Jennifer Walters Reluctantly Reveals She Is The She-Hulk
When Jennifer tries to leave Hulk’s abode and go back to her life, he stops her, and they get into a brutal fight that decimates the forest around them and, finally, the bar that Bruce and Tony built “by hand”. As a gesture of apology, she helps him rebuild it. He tells her that she can go back to her normal life, thereby accepting that she’s better at Hulk-ing than him. As she drives out of Mexico, we return to the present day. Jennifer tells us that she hasn’t Hulked out after returning to the USA, and she never has to. She arrives at the hearing for the case against GLK and H. But as she is about to give her closing speech, Titania bursts into the room. So, she is left with no other option but to turn into the Hulk and subdue Titania.
In a mid-credits scene, Bruce reveals that Steve Rogers lost his virginity to a girl in 1943 on the USO tour. And Jennifer celebrates it by yelling, “Captain America *beep*.”
