‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 1 Ending Explained (Including Post-Credit Scene)
This is it! The time for a new story in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally come. Welcome to the Ending Explained for episode one of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the new Marvel Disney Plus show that introduces Jennifer Walters of the Marvel Universe. The show frames itself as a lawyer’s series first and a superhero series second. Getting to know Jennifer as she tries to balance out her newfound powers and the career she has built for herself sounds quite interesting.
The show is created by Jessica Gao for Disney Plus and stars Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, a cousin of Bruce Banner, who in an accident becomes radiated by gamma radiation coming from Bruce’s wound. This transforms her into her own version of the Hulk. A version that retains the powers but manages to never become a separate entity, as happened with Bruce the first time he transformed into the green monster. The show’s first episode does a lot to introduce concepts that will be explored later in the season.
The following paragraphs include spoilers for episode one of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Read at your own risk.
How did Jennifer Walter Become A Hulk?
The first episode quickly introduces us to Jennifer Walters, a lawyer, who is getting ready to make the closing statement on a case she has been working on. At that point, before going to the court, Jennifer breaks the fourth wall and starts talking directly to the audience. This is something that has been part of the comics throughout each one of its runs, and it is one of the main staples of the character. It is very much in line with how Deadpool also breaks the fourth wall, Jennifer does it less often, but it is always there.
The series is set to post Endgame events, and so Jennifer tells us how she visited Bruce after Tony Stark’s funeral to catch up and see how he was doing. This is her origin story and is pretty mundane in comparison with the rest of the other superhero origins. It is nothing flashy, but it is quite interesting. Jennifer and Bruce are driving on a road, and Jennifer explains her theory on why she thinks Steve Rogers, who is thought to be dead after defeating Thanos, died a virgin.
At that precise moment, a Sakaaran spaceship appears in front of them and makes Jennifer crash. Bruce, who was using an inhibitor to remain in Bruce’s form, begins to bleed, and his blood is quite radioactive. Bruce’s blood contaminates Jennifer’s own blood, and she transforms immediately into a Hulk. She later wakes up next to the road with no memory of what happened in the meantime. Her clothes are all messed up, and she is covered in dirt.
Jennifer receives help from a group of women in a bar, but when she is then approached by a group of men looking to know her. Jennifer gets annoyed. She doesn’t want to talk to these men, but they insist. Anger starts building inside Jennifer, and she transforms, ready to attack the men that were talking to her. At that moment, Bruce, in hulk form, crashes into her, saving the men and leaving Jennifer unconscious once again.
How Is Jennifer Different From Bruce When In Hulk Form?
The next morning, Jennifer wakes up on Bruce’s island. The island is isolated from any type of human facility or just people living nearby. The rest of the episode is dedicated to exploring Bruce trying to explain to Jennifer what it means to be a Hulk and how her life has just changed completely. She is now a superhero, she has powers that make her special, and she needs to learn to use them for good. This doesn’t sit well with Jennifer. She just wants to be a normal lawyer, nothing more than that.
Bruce does some experiments, and it is revealed that Jennifer doesn’t have the split personality from which Bruce suffered for so long. She is able to control when she transforms, basically right from the get-go. The show explains that because she is a woman, she is able to control her anger more quickly than a man. Men are allowed to get angry in public, and women aren’t, because if they do, they are treated as hysterical and other things.
So, at least on a mental plane, Jennifer doesn’t have to deal with the disadvantage of having her mind split in two. In terms of physical power, she is very much Bruce’s equal, managing to do basically everything that Bruce does in the same manner, if not better. The show tries to present Bruce as someone who just doesn’t understand Jennifer’s perspective on life and condemns him for it. It is a bit harsh, as it doesn’t take into consideration that Bruce basically suffers from mental issues, and presents those issues as a weakness.
Bruce and Jennifer hulk out and have a little fight before she leaves to resume her life. Bruce reminds her that she is not alone and that she can always call him for help. Then the episode goes back to Jennifer in court. She gets ready to present her closing statement, but the court is interrupted by the introduction of Titania. The reasons why this character is here are unknown, but Jennifer hulks out and dispatches Titania easily enough.
She-Hulk is a post-credit scene for each of its episodes, and in this one, we go back in time to the island. We see Bruce and Jennifer drinking, and Bruce reveals that Steve Rogers wasn’t a virgin. He actually lost it way back during World War II, during one of his promotional tours.
