She-Hulk Episode 3 Slyly References Jennifer Walters' True Origin Story
Contains spoilers for "She-Hulk" Episode 3
Ever since Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), stumbled out of a cave in Afghanistan instead of Vietnam as per his comic book origins (via Tempest), Marvel has tweaked specific details about heroes and their stories to suit the overall vision of its cinematic universe. Doing so has allowed comic book fans to be as shocked as movie fans at some of the significant turning points in the MCU, to brilliant results. In the case of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," thankfully, the same treatment has been applied to Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), and the origin of her green alter ego has dramatically differed from the slightly more intense beginning she had in the comic books.
Among the essential page-turners of Jen's adventures in Marvel comics, "The Savage She-Hulk" #1 sees her be given a dose of gamma-infused blood from her cousin Bruce like in the series but under far more life-threatening circumstances — Jen is hit in a drive-by shooting orchestrated by crime boss Nick Trask. As a result, Bruce gives his cousin a blood transfusion, turning her into She-Hulk and giving her the same powers as her new live-action counterpart. While She-Hulk's MCU origin story echoes that of another on-screen iteration of the Hulk (Bill Bixby), that hasn't stopped the writers of "She-Hulk" from paying homage to her comic book origin story in this week's episode.
Pressing questions in this week's She-Hulk nods to Jen's mafia-hit origin story
As revealed in this week's episode, it's proving difficult for Jen to balance her new job with being the new superhero on the block, as indicated by her first few visits to see her latest client, Emil Blonsky, aka the Abomination (Tim Roth). Besides putting aside her issues with defending the man who once tried to kill her cousin (it's cool, Blonsky sent Bruce a really heartfelt haiku), she gets the added unwanted bonus of an army of news reporters and wild theories about her recently obtained powers.
After leaving Blonsky's hearing, Jen is met with an army of cameras and microphones as well as the cliché questioning of journalists who are somehow all clearly heard despite talking over one another. One stand-out question that doesn't get a reaction from Jen, though, is, "Is there any truth to the rumors you got your powers from a mafia hit gone wrong?" This no doubt got a laugh from avid Marvel know-it-alls since it's a clear wink to She-Hulk's origin story from another time. For now, we can see how this one continues when "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" returns next week.