The Meaning Behind Iron Man’s Helmet in She-Hulk: Ultron
The first episode of Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law featured a lot of different easter eggs that would delight plenty of Marvel fans. Of course, a good part of the pilot episode involves easter eggs involving Bruce Banner’s life as an Avenger, especially his relationship with Tony Stark, who was a dear friend. We did see him paying homage to Stark through a shrine in his Mexico beach house as we saw an Iron Man helmet. So, what was this Iron Man helmet, and what is the meaning of it?
This Iron Man helmet in She-Hulk is actually an Iron Legion helmet that goes back to the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Hulk used this specific helmet because it was during Age of Ultron when Tony told him that he could enjoy his life sipping margaritas on a beach. Of course, Bruce did have this life in She-Hulk.
It was the fact that Bruce Banner had a shrine that was dedicated to Tony Stark that proved that he was indeed a good friend to Iron Man. He even remembered what Tony told him in Age of Ultron when Iron Man was defending his Iron Legion and Ultron programs. In that regard, this is a callback to a great moment between the two characters.
Was There An Iron Man Helmet In She-Hulk?
The release of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law allowed us to see the introduction of Jennifer Walters into the MCU as the newest green-turning hero. Of course, the series introduces her origin story and how she became She-Hulk, as it occurred in an accident involving her and her cousin, Bruce Banner, while they were on a road trip.
After Jen’s body absorbed a good deal of gamma radiation from Bruce’s blood, she had to be taken to a secure and isolated location by her cousin. That was when Bruce, as Smart Hulk, took her to his beach house in Mexico, where he spent a good part of his life during the events when he was just working on fusing his two different personalities into one.
When Jen woke up and was seemingly just investigating the place while wondering where she was, she stumbled upon a small shrine that seemed to be dedicated to one of the greatest Marvel superheroes of all time—Tony Stark. We all know that Tony is already dead, following the events of Avengers: Endgame when he sacrificed his life after using the Infinity Gauntlet, which proved to be too powerful for his normal human body to handle.
Of course, the most amazing part of this small easter egg moment was the fact that this was not a normal Iron Man helmet. Instead, it was actually a helmet from one of the most pivotal MCU movies in recent memory—Avengers: Age of Ultron.
It is worth mentioning that a lot of the things that eventually happened in the MCU stemmed from the events of Age of Ultron. That was when Ultron was created as an offshoot of one of the programs that Tony Stark created to make sure that the world was a safer place to live in. and that movie also allowed us to see more of the relationship between Bruce and Tony, who have always been quite fond of each other ever since the first Avengers movie.
In that regard, the Iron Man helmet we saw in that shrine was not a normal Iron Man helmet but was actually the head of an Iron Legion, which was the program that Tony tried to launch during the events of Age of Ultron. Essentially, it was an Iron Man helmet but was never a helmet that Tony wore because it was actually a piece of the Iron Legion that we saw in Age of Ultron. And there is probably a deeper meaning behind why Bruce chose this helmet over any of the other Iron Man helmets that Tony Stark once owned.
Why Did Bruce Banner Have An Iron Man Helmet?
As mentioned, the helmet that can be seen in the Tony Stark shrine that Bruce Banner has in his beach house in Mexico was once a piece of the Iron Legion that we saw in Age of Ultron. Now, it is worth mentioning that Bruce could have used any other helmet because he was quite close with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. But he chose an Iron Legion helmet. So, why did he choose this helmet, and what’s the deeper meaning behind it?
The reason why Bruce Banner used an Iron Legion helmet that we saw in Age of Ultron actually has a more heartwarming theme behind it. And it goes back to the close friendship that Bruce shared with Tony.
Back in the events of Age of Ultron, Tony Stark was trying to defend his Iron Legion program by telling people that his Ultron system was more than capable of handling the job of controlling AI-controlled Iron Legion suits to protect the world from danger. Some members of the Avengers were against the program, as even Bruce was not sure about whether or not this was a good idea.
That was when Tony told Bruce, “Our job is ‘if.’ What if you were sipping margaritas on a sun-drenched beach, turning brown instead of green?” Of course, we all know that Bruce never wanted to take on the job that involved protecting the world, but that was the only thing he could do as the Hulk. He had a responsibility to protect the world, but Tony told him that they could give the responsibility to Ultron and the Iron Legion.
While a lot of things happened between then and now, what we do know is that Bruce Banner is now living on a beach house in Mexico, sipping margaritas all day because he now had the luxury to do so, especially after he helped save the world countless times in the past. And the most interesting part is the fact that it was Tony Stark who funded his beach house and allowed him to live a quiet life there.
In fact, Tony often visited Bruce in that Mexico beach house, where they spent a good amount of time together during the five-year gap between Infinity War and Endgame. Bruce even said that Tony helped him construct the beachfront bar where he was able to sip margaritas all day. So, in that regard, the entire beach house, the bar, and the shrine itself were Bruce Banner’s way of commemorating Tony Stark.
