Things Only Adults Notice In She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is a different kind of Hulk story than you might expect from the MCU. Unlike her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) tends to explore the goofier side of the Marvel universe — a place where people can get snapped away from existence for years, and where "It wasn't me, it was my evil clone" is a valid legal defense. The Disney+ show delivers a lot of fourth-wall-breaking and meta-commentary on the franchise's fandom, while also featuring more overtly comical stories than most of its predecessors.

Then there are the jokes and references that may fly over the heads of younger viewers but are sure cause plenty of raised eyebrows among older audiences. Given its natural irreverence, it should come as no surprise that the MCU's "She-Hulk" series is full of them. From classic TV references and superhuman drinking to two-timing heroes, here are some of the things only adults will notice in "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law."

Jen Walters' chauvinistic ex-coworker Dennis Bukowski (Drew Matthews) is a ridiculous caricature of male toxicity. He refers to attractive women as "it," rates himself "an LA 11," and refuses to let an attractive lawyer represent him since "she might be a future fiancé." Even Gaston from Disney's "Beauty & The Beast" was never this full of himself.

But Dennis is far from the only toxic man Jen has to deal with. From the Wrecking Crew and magician Donny Blaze to Jen's terrible online dates, the show is full of predators, buffoons, and shallow-minded clowns. By the season finale, the shadow organization Intelligencia (originally a group of hyper-intelligent supervillains in the comics) gets revealed as a group of misogynistic "hateful man-babies" obsessed with trolling She-Hulk online and stealing her blood in order to gain Hulk powers. Even worse, the Abomination (Tim Roth), a seemingly reformed criminal, lets the hate group use his lodge as a meeting room.

Even some Marvel characters who've typically been heroes are portrayed in less savory ways. Episode 6 introduces Mr. Immortal (David Pasquesi), who, in the comics, is the leader of the Great Lakes Avengers and struggles with romance since he outlives everyone he loves. In "She-Hulk," he's a selfish philanderer who fakes his death to get out of many marriages. Episode 8 sees the debut of Leap-Frog (Brandon Stanley) — a silly but kind-hearted hero who goes by Frog-Man in the comics — reimagined for TV as an entitled rich kid who kidnaps a costume designer to build his super-suit.

To be fair, though, not all the men in "She-Hulk" are egotistical creeps. Characters like Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Wong (Benedict Wong), Jen's co-worker Pug (Josh Segarra), and her father (Mark Linn-Baker) all help her on her journey.

While Bruce Banner has to deal with society treating him like a monster, something arguably worse happens to Jen when she becomes She-Hulk. People don't take her seriously — like, at all.

Shortly after successfully defending Emil Blonsky in Episode 3, She-Hulk appears on television to set the record straight about herself and her client. Instead, the interviewer informs the viewers that She-Hulk is there to share her diet and exercise secrets. At the end of "She-Hulk," a court reporter asks Jen about her future as a lawyer but ends the interview by asking her about her dress.

These questions are very similar to what Scarlet Johansson went through while promoting the "Avengers" films. During one interview, a reporter asked her co-star Robert Downey Jr. "existential questions" about how he approached his character growth over multiple films, and then asked Johansson about the diet she used to fit into her Black Widow costume. Annoyed, Johansson asked why she was getting "rabbit food" questions — something that new generations of MCU superheroines need to deal with too, apparently.

Jen Walters' love life is a big part of "She-Hulk," with her discovering that a lot of guys are into her big, green alter ego. Despite several terrible first dates, Jen manages to enjoy some romantic nights, particularly with Daredevil himself. But is this such a good thing for her partners?

We know from "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) that Bruce Banner's MCU Hulk blood is deadly enough to give Hulk co-creator Stan Lee a severe case of gamma sickness when he drinks a soda tainted with Bruce's blood. Bruce himself can't engage in intimate relations since that could potentially poison people with his bodily fluids. Since Jen's blood is now saturated with Hulk cells, could that mean that spending the night with her might leave her partners poisoned?

In the comics, She-Hulk has a very active love life, with a long list of romantic partners that includes Tony Stark, Hercules, and kind-of-but-not-really the Juggernaut. Since these men all seem to still be fully healthy, it's possible that Jennifer's irradiated blood is safer than Bruce's, but the rules for her MCU self have yet to be fully determined. Given all of this, it's probably good that one of Jen's dates is an oncologist. He might want to run some tests on himself real soon.

She-Hulk's fourth-wall breaks are a highlight of the show, but sometimes Jen addresses her audience at very inopportune times. Take Episode 3, where she chats with the viewers about all the cameos on her show during her drive to work. As she lists the more popular guest stars (Hulk, Abomination, Wong), she takes her hands off of her steering wheel and turns completely away from the windshield, even though she's clearly speeding along.

Naturally, this is just a cute green screen gag, and no innocent bystanders get mowed down as Jen reminds us of "whose show this really is." Still, considering that she got her powers after a very traumatic car accident, you'd think she'd be more careful — or at least invest in one of those self-driving Stark smart cars that Peter Parker used during his driving test. She-Hulk might be invulnerable, but between falling cities and blipping civilians, your average MCU citizen has enough life-ending threats to worry about. Eyes on the road, Jen!

Jen's fourth-wall breaks are a staple of "She-Hulk," but the season finale takes this MCU meta-narrative to new heights by having her literally rewrite the episode while it's in progress. After coming face-to-face with the Intelligencia and learning that their leader, Todd Phelps (Jon Mass), has acquired Hulk powers from her stolen blood, Jen becomes frustrated by the plotline, which is basically a rehashed version of the MCU's "The Incredible Hulk" movie. She gets even more annoyed when former guest stars Titania (Jameela Jamil) and Smart Hulk pop up for no apparent reason.

Completely fed up, Jen decides to take the show in a new direction by literally smashing her way out of a Disney+ screen and marching into the MCU offices to complain to the show's creators. She goes on to beat up several security guards to meet with K.E.V.I.N. — a robotic parody of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige — and convinces the AI to drop the convoluted plot in favor of a family backyard barbeque scene, leaving many viewers scratching their heads over what they just saw.

Actually, this meta-conclusion does reference She-Hulk's comic book history, particularly John Bryne's "The Sensational She-Hulk" run from the 1990s, in which Jen frequently argues with the comic book's writers, artists, and editor during her stories and smashes through her panels. In "The Sensational She-Hulk" #9, Jen actually decides to take down the villain Madcap by ripping out the comic book page he's drawn on, crumpling it up, and lighting it on fire. She then demands that the artists redraw some of the scenery, prompting the disgruntled penciller to draw a rhino chasing after her. While Jen hasn't done anything like this recently in the comics, her MCU variant seems poised to exploit her meta-powers to the max. Banner's Hulk may cause a lot of destruction, but even his rampages can't compare to the trail of dangling plotlines, shattered fourth walls, and smashed stories left in She-Hulk's wake.