She-Hulk Calls Back To A Throwaway Line From Avengers: Age Of Ultron In A Majorly Fun Way

After months of hype, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," has finally debuted its first episode on Disney+, introducing MCU fans to its titular, beloved comic book character. She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, is played by Tatiana Maslany, who seems right at home in her new, green skin, and the show instantly delivers much of what made the comic book character so iconic, from venting her frustration with being a career woman to smashing the fourth wall with direct-to-camera monologues.

Much of what made writer Dan Slott's run on the "She-Hulk" comics remains at the heart of the live-action adaptation, including Walters becoming a lawyer for superhumans. But it's still in the MCU, meaning the creators have woven the details of that universe throughout the show's DNA. And one of the most recognizable characters to appear is Walters' cousin, Bruce Banner, who is again portrayed by Mark Ruffalo. Banner takes his cousin under his wing in an attempt to teach her the ropes of being a big, scary Hulk. The training takes up the bulk of Episode 1.

In a moment that will delight MCU fans with deep memories, those training scenes pay off a minor bit of dialogue from "Avengers: Age of Ultron" in a majorly fun and heartwarming fashion.

Years after Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) sacrificed his life to save the universe in "Avengers: Endgame," his presence continues to be felt in the MCU. The first episode of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" fulfills a fantasy Stark once offered to Bruce Banner. In one scene from "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Stark defends his Ultron program to Banner as the two talk scientist-to-scientist about its potential dangers. Banner warns his fellow Avenger that harnessing Ultron to defend the world is "a man-sized 'if'," but Stark retorts, "Our job is 'if.' What if you were sipping margaritas on a sun-drenched beach, turning brown instead of green?" Sure enough, that's exactly what we find Banner, now in his Smart Hulk form, doing in the inaugural episode of "She-Hulk," all on Stark's dime.

After her first experience becoming a Hulk, Banner takes Jennifer Walters to Mexico, where he has a property with an underground laboratory and a beachfront resort topside. Banner explains that, during the Blip, Stark had the facility built for him as a place to work on fusing his Hulk and Banner identities. "He used to joke that it was a loaner, that one day, he'd just swing by and take it back," Banner recalls.

The memory appears to be a bittersweet one for Banner, since Stark is now, of course, dead. And it's not the only memento Banner keeps of his old friend. But the beach house lab is a fabulous payoff to a throwaway line from seven years ago, and a potent reminder that the architects of the MCU are always looking for new ways to connect the constantly shifting pieces of the mega-franchise.