'She-Hulk' Might Have Teased a Huge Solo Adventure for the Hulk
Warning: This article contains spoilers for She-Hulk Episode 2.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is special among the Marvel shows due to its setting. Jennifer Walters isn’t just a local superhero, she’s also Bruce Banner’s cousin, and as of Episode 2, a lawyer to the super-powered community. That means the show is rife with opportunities for cameos, Avengers-related conversations (like the question of Steve’s virginity), and more. It’s the perfect show to connect recent events taking place within the MCU’s last phase, plus key us into what’s coming next.
With her She-Hulk identity revealed, Jennifer has to search for a new job in Episode 2, since most law firms see her as a liability. She ends up at GLK and H, where her new boss asks her to take on a daunting case: arguing for Abomination’s parole.
The Abomination–real name Emil Blonsky–is an old enemy of Bruce Banner (back when Edward Norton portrayed the big green guy on-screen). The case is a conflict of interest for Jennifer, so of course she calls her cousin to smooth things over. Bruce gives his blessing, but where he is when he takes Jennifer’s phone call is way more important than his thoughts on Abomination.
As Bruce ends the call, the camera zooms out and we see he’s no longer in his Mexico hideout. In fact, he’s no longer on Earth at all. He’s on a Sakaaran ship in space. So, where is he headed? We could find out in She-Hulk, or Episode 2 may have just teased an even greater storyline for Bruce beyond the scope of the show. Here’s what we know.
Bruce Banner Is Probably Headed to Sakaar in ‘She-Hulk’ Episode 2.
In She-Hulk Episode 1, Bruce and Jennifer got into a car crash after a Sakaaran ship intercepted them on the road. The planet Sakaar was the setting for Thor: Ragnarok, where we saw Thor and Hulk battle. Later in Episode 1, Bruce tells Jen the ship was probably trying to send a message, and he needs to figure out what it wants. As of Episode 2, Bruce appears to make good on his comment, most likely headed to Sakaar to tie up any loose ends.
For comic book fans though, Bruce’s trip to the cosmos looks like a teaser for the World War Hulk storyline.
Did Episode 2 Just Tease World War Hulk?
A continuation of the Planet Hulk storyline, World War Hulk is a 2007 comic book miniseries by Greg Pak. In Planet Hulk, Hulk crash lands on Sakaar and overthrows the ruler of the planet, the Red King. Hulk then rules the planet himself, and even takes a wife. The ship he landed in though explodes one day, killing his subjects and his wife. Distraught, Hulk returns to Earth seeking revenge on the Illuminati, who he blames for the tragedy.
World War Hulk has Hulk return to Earth to wreak havoc. He tries to destroy New York City, and even transforms Madison Square Garden into his own gladiator arena before his rampage ends. But at the end of the story, we go back to Sakaar to find Hulk isn’t done with the planet just yet; he has a son, Skaar.
So did the MCU just tease Hulk’s son? We know She-Hulk probably takes place sometime after Shang-Chi, since we later see the Abomination break out of prison and fight in what looks like the same arena from the film. That gives us enough time between Thor: Ragnarok and now for Bruce to have missed a lot on the planet Sakaar.
Of course, the MCU doesn't have to follow the comics verbatim, so it may all just be a simple way to remove Bruce from Jennifer's story for a while, and World War Hulk may not be adapted at all. According to Entertainment Weekly, the show's head writer Jessica Gao says having Hulk appear in every episode wasn't feasible.
"We just wanted to make sure people weren't expecting to see Bruce every single episode hanging out with her, because frankly, we can't afford it," she says.
So when could we get a solo Hulk movie? According to Inverse, Marvel's SEC filings may allude to the company regaining the distribution rights to the Hulk after June 2023 (currently Universal Pictures has the rights, which is why there has been no solo Hulk movie since 2008's The Incredible Hulk). If the rumor is true, She-Hulk could tease Hulk's next adventure before the end of the season. Inverse also reports there are rumors Greg Pak is returning for a new adaptation of World War Hulk, which could line up with an MCU announcement for a live-action version of the story.
She-Hulk still has 7 episodes to go and we’re bound to see Bruce at least once more. Until then, we can only guess at what’s next for the powerful Avenger.
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