The Savage She-Hulk From The She-Hulk Finale Explained
Warning: This article contains spoilers for "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" Episode 9
In the season finale of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," viewers saw quite a few unexpected things. Not only did Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk's (Tatiana Maslany), creepy one-time date, Todd (Jon Bass) end up being the HulkKing and the mastermind behind Intelligencia, but he was able to cunningly get his hands on a sample of Walters' blood. We also discovered that — inhibitor notwithstanding — Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) is still turning into Abomination, telling Walters, "I do speaking engagements. Nothing bad, strictly for profit." And to top it all off, after being MIA most of the season, Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) literally drops in to save the day.
But this is She-Hulk's show, and Walters steps in, deciding this is NOT the finale she wants. After realizing the writers are not the ones in control, she fights her way to the "Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus" to plead her case for the ending her character deserves.
But before we get to the chaos of "She-Hulk's" last episode, we're first treated to an entirely new, retro opening credits scene. Complete with voiceover narration and late 70s-early 80s style graphics, it is reminiscent of the original "The Incredible Hulk" series opener. But unlike the cheerful, playful, and beautiful She-Hulk we're used to seeing, we get a much bigger, angrier, and more aggressive She-Hulk (played by Devon Lewis) who looks an awful lot like she could be Lou Ferrigno's twin. As the opening finishes, the title card reads, "The Savage She-Hulk."
Who is the Savage She-Hulk, and does she have origins in Marvel Comics?
Savage She-Hulk was the very first version of the character
For those unaware, the Savage She-Hulk moniker has a much longer and deeper history in the Marvel Comics world, beginning with the very first "She-Hulk" issue, and coming back to the forefront in the "Avengers" comic series that started in 2018. She-Hulk wasn't always the level-headed, intelligent Hulk that Tatiana Maslany portrays her to be in the MCU's "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law." When Stan Lee and John Buscema first introduced She-Hulk in 1980, it was as "The Savage She-Hulk," and Jen Walters's origin story was a bit different than the version introduced in the Disney+ series. In the comics, Walters was shot by the henchmen of a mobster she had a case against, and Bruce Banner, who had just come back into his cousin's life, performed an emergency blood transfusion to save her (via Marvel.com).
While recovering in the hospital, Walters starts to notice that she feels different but assumes it's the result of the medications the doctors and nurses gave her. But when the gunmen come to the hospital again to try and silence her, Jen's rage transforms her into what became known as the Savage She-Hulk. This title lasted for 25 issues, with the first mention coming from a nurse who unknowingly tells Walters, "That female savage was just horrible!"
Savage She-Hulk still shared a consciousness with Jennifer Walters
Fans of both Marvel Comics and the MCU know that Banner's Hulk has always been different. The Hulk has a separate personality from Banner and is consumed with causing destruction and shares no consciousness with him. Yet, despite the comics' title: "Savage She-Hulk," Walters and her Hulk were always the same person, sharing the same consciousness. Even so, Walters still thinks of herself as more of a beast now, referring to herself as "The Savage She-Hulk" in "Savage She-Hulk #2" (via Marvel.com).
During Jason Aaron's run writing the "Avengers" comics in 2018, Aaron tried to make She-Hulk more like Hulk, and it didn't go over so well with fans. "He [Aaron] derailed She-Hulk and keeps doubling and tripling down on it," u/BeeGuileU wrote in part on a Reddit thread about the comics. Unsurprisingly, the character eventually reverted back to the form fans preferred in "Avengers #50" (via Marvel.com), back to the beautiful, funny, and intelligent She-Hulk fans love.