The first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has finally hit, and as with all things Marvel, there are a metric ton of MCU Easter Eggs and references. In fact, She-Hulk might have more MCU of those in just one episode than all of Moon Knight and Hawkeye combined. And in today’s Nerdist News, we break them all down. Including all the ones about her cousin and some of his famous Avengering buddies.
Episode one showed us how Shulkie’s origin differs from the comics, while still keeping the broad strokes. Yes, Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) still got her Hulk powers from her cousin’s blood, but not from a blood transfusion needed thanks to a failed mafia hit. That never really made sense, because same blood type or not, Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) just had to know what his gamma-irradiated blood would do to his cousin, right? The MCU version is ultimately better.
We also learned how Bruce was in human form in Shang-Chi, despite his Infinity Gauntlet-induced injuries in Endgame. (Basically, he built a doohickey). Jen’s first Hulk-out was a tribute to Bill Bixby’s in the 1978 pilot for The Incredible Hulk because when given the chance, you should always give a shout-out to Marvel’s first live-action hit. The foundation of live-action Marvel rests firmly on the broad green shoulders of one Lou Ferrigno. Never forget.
We finally saw the gamma lab Hulk mentioned in Endgame (a “loaner” from Tony Stark). In it, we saw all the memorabilia Bruce has in his adjacent hideaway. We caught such things as Tony’s Iron Legion helmet, and Gladiator Hulk’s helmet, which he wore on Sakaar. Speaking of that planet from Thor: Ragnarok, a Sakaaran starship was what caused Bruce and Jen’s car crash. We still don’t know why it appeared, but we bet it has something to do with Hulk’s kids he sired on the alien world (at least in the comics). No way Kevin Feige is leaving that juicy soap opera twist on the table unused.
We also see the return of Marvel’s patented QR codes hidden within the series. They did this in Ms. Marvel as well. You can catch a glimpse after Jen’s blackout, when she wakes up in the bar, before she goes into the ladies room. It leads viewers to a free digital comic of She-Hulk’s very first appearance, Savage She-Hulk #1. Fun!
The best one of all these references comes in the post-credits scene. Here, Jen got Bruce to admit that Steve Rogers was in fact not a virgin as many believed. He confided in him that he punched his V-card with an unnamed lady after meeting her in a 1943 USO show. At last, the question asked by millions of fans who are obsessed about superhero sex lives (basically, all of us who are overgrown gossipy teens) had their question answered at last.
Based on that fact drop, we have another theory for you. What if the woman in question was the flirty fan who met Steve in The First Avenger? The actress who played her was Laura Haddock, who later played Meredith Quill, Star-Lord’s mom in both Guardians of the Galaxy films. What if Meredith was Cap’s kid he never knew he had, and he’s Peter’s grandpa? A little super soldier DNA might explain why he alone among Ego’s thousands of kids could harness the Celestial powers. We doubt Marvel would ever confirm this, but it’s our current headcanon. And all thanks to a jokey reference in She-Hulk! Was the MCU changed forever? As Stan Lee would say, “stay tuned, True Believers!”
