She-Hulk episode 2 spoilers follow.
She-Hulk's second episode introduces some pretty big changes for Jennifer Walters. After losing her job, the jolly green giantess finds work at a law firm that specialises in superhuman court cases. The public also gives her a superhero codename, for better or worse.
And then there's the ramifications of that Wolverine Easter egg to consider as well.
But unlike the first episode, Jen won't have her cousin He-Hulk around to help figure all this out. Towards the end of this week's story, Bruce accidentally cuts She-Hulk off mid-call as the Sakaaran spaceship he's commandeering suddenly hurtles away from Earth.
It might not be the best time for Hulk to bugger off, just as Jen starts to figure Hulk-life out, but clearly, there's a pressing issue here that needs to be sorted. Bruce Banner wouldn't just hightail it out of the galaxy for no reason. But what is that issue? And why does he have to go right now?
Back at the start of episode one, Jen and Bruce were busy investigating the case of Captain America's sweet, innocent flower when a spaceship smashed into them, kickstarting the events that would lead to She-Hulk's gamma-infused transformation.
Back in Hulk's secret Mexico base, he mentioned that the craft was actually Sakaaran in nature. A "Class A Courier Craft", in fact. The pair quickly skip that over in favour of more pressing concerns, but as Bruce points out, it's clear that someone from that planet was "trying to deliver a message."
The nature of that message wasn't entirely clear, although given the nature of that attack, it's safe to say that Sakaar has crossed Hulk off its collective Christmas card list.
Remember when we first visited the MCU's Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok? In that movie, we learned that Bruce had been trapped in Hulk form there for two years, fighting as the Grandmaster's greatest champion. Not bad work, if you can get it. Except for all the death and that crucial lack of consent.
Around that time, the Sakaarans revered Hulk's strength to the point of worship, but when Thor showed up, that all changed. One rebellious escape later, the "friends from work" left Sakaar in a mess.
While we don't know exactly which Sakaaran decided to act out their grudge following all this chaos, we have a few guesses. Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster could have sent someone to try and kill Hulk, or perhaps someone else decided to take vengeance on Bruce for all the civil unrest that his escape provoked.
Either way, it's clear that Hulk is now in someone's crosshairs, so he does what any Avenger would do and flies a spaceship straight into the firing range of said crosshairs.
Given Hulk's history with Sakaar, a return for Goldblum's Grandmaster does seem likely, but fans are also wondering if this arc might introduce another, even more important character for Hulk moving forward.
Now, we're going to ask you to suspend belief for a moment and imagine the possibility that Bruce had sex during his time on Sakaar. In Hulk form. Yep, we know some of you have already considered that possibility just for fun, and yes, the physical logistics of that are truly hot? horrifying to behold. However, there's actually a very good reason why this might be true.
In Marvel comics, Hulk fathered a child named Skaar during his time on Sakaar. Not the most inventive name, we grant you, but at least lucky young Skaar inherited gifts from both his father and also his mother, Caiera, who was a local Sakaaran.
Knowing that Ragnarok's Hulk had some personality during his time on the planet, albeit one that was all kinds of pissed off, there's a small chance that he could have fallen in love and impregnated someone like Caiera in the MCU too. Ew, we know.
She-Hulk is set some years after that movie, plus comic book Skaar ages faster than your average human, so it's entirely possible that the product of Hulk's gamma-infused sperm will soon explode onto our screens as an adult in the MCU. And if he's anything like his dad, baby Hulk is probably going to be all kinds of pissed off.
So does that mean Skaar might have been the one piloting that Sakaaran spaceship in the first place? Probably not, as Hulk is now inside it and makes no mention of a random new son to Jen during their call. However, a vengeful, abandoned Skaar could have perhaps sent a ship to get daddy's attention...
Or maybe, just maybe, the MCU's version of Caiera is the one who sent it because she's mad about all the years Hulk skipped out on child support. She-Hulk is a legal comedy, after all, and this Sakaaran arc is clearly going to bite our Hulks in the ass by the end of season one.
What could be more apt for She-Hulk's finale than a jolly green custody battle amongst family? Kind of makes everything else that's happened to Jen seem a bit small now in comparison.
It's probably not a coincidence that Marvel's just announced a new series set on Sakaar titled "Planet Hulk: Worldbreaker" which will come out in November just as She-Hulk ends on Disney+...
Whatever happens, let's just hope the show doesn't forget that Jen should still stand front and centre as the most important character in her own show. Hulk's abrupt exit here seems to acknowledge that, but we don't trust him or puny Banner to keep their messy drama away for long.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law airs weekly every Thursday on Disney+.
Disney+ Stream She-Hulk on Disney+
She-Hulk by Dan Slott Complete Collection Vol. 2
David Opie
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
