Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.The premiere of Marvel Studio’s newest Disney+ series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, ushers a brand-new superhero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, adding to its ever-increasing roster of heroes. And while you might not be familiar with Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) quite yet, odds are you know her cousin, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo).
Appearing in She-Hulk’s premiere episode, "A Normal Amount of Rage," Bruce shared the screen with Jen as he trained her in the ways of the Hulk. It has been a while since we’ve seen Bruce in a Marvel project (aside from Shang-Chi’s post-credit scene) and his return answers many lingering questions surrounding his Hulk persona. In Endgame, we are introduced to Smart Hulk, which is the merging of both the Bruce Banner and Hulk personalities. However, in Shang-Chi, Bruce is back in human form. As he explains in the opening of She-Hulk he created an inhibitor device that allows him to switch back and forth.
Since we last saw him in Avengers: Endgame, he has had the best of both worlds. It seemed like everything is an “absolute win” for Bruce, but wearing Hulk-sized human clothes, eating tacos, and dabbing for photos with fans made it easy to forget how tragic a life Bruce has lived up until now. While She-Hulk is a fun, comedic entry in Phase 4 of the MCU, it also reminds viewers of Bruce’s early days.
After exposing Jen to his gamma-infused blood and inadvertently turning her part-Hulk, the darkest chapter of Bruce’s life re-emerges as he remembers how traumatizing his adjustment to life with the Hulk was. After spending so many years trying to run from the monster, he can’t imagine his cousin having to go through the same painstaking, life-severing process, and it is the driving reason he is so protective over Jen.
Once adjusted, Jen seems perfectly fine with her new situation, but Bruce falls into a state of panic. He tells her that she can’t go back to her life because one mistake or freak-out is not only life or death for her but for everyone around her as well. Bruce is again reflecting on his checkered past with the Hulk and his own life-or-death experiences. In Avengers, Bruce struggles with the morality of unleashing the Hulk to fight alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes due to the inevitable collateral damage he would cause. He was so removed from the world that he was living off the grid as a doctor in Kolkata to escape the U.S. government. Attempting to lock away the Hulk for good within his subconscious and achieving a solid year without any incidents, things seemed to be okay for Bruce until he was found by SHIELD. The stories he tells to the Avengers about freak-outs or failed exit plans highlight the tragedy of his life, something that all bubbles to the surface in the present day with Jen.
Containing her in a Hulk-fortified cell, Bruce runs tests on Jen to determine her threshold and see what level of stress would trigger her transformation. When a flight or fight situation finally does the trick and Hulkified Jen breaks through her confinement, Bruce panics, finding himself in the perspective of an outsider for the first time. His gut instinct is to do what was done to him countless times before: he lowers his voice and raises his hands slowly (think “sun’s getting real low”), attempting to soothe her. Instead of facing the wrath of a riled monster, Bruce’s actions are met by confusion from a 6-foot-7-inch, green Jen. Much to the surprise of both of them, Jen is able to maintain full consciousness in her She-Hulk form, prompting Bruce to ask if she is sure there isn’t “another hand on the wheel.”
As he mentions in the episode, Bruce spent 15 long years trying to regain control over the metaphorical wheel and has meticulously documented his process. Referring to the Hulk persona trapped in his body as The Other Guy, Bruce was never conscious as the Hulk. Transforming meant surrendering control to an untamed monster. While The Other Guy could do some serious damage as a force for good, the unpredictability of the monster and his knack for taking control at inconvenient moments threw Bruce into the helpless depths of paranoia. In the most severe scenario, Bruce lost control over Hulk for a full two years between Age of Ultron and Thor: Ragnarok where Hulk spent his time as a famed space gladiator. Shortly after his stint on Sakaar, Hulk fought Thanos and lost, beaten into submission by the Mad Titan. This sent Bruce into full control as Hulk refused to emerge entirely leaving him with only his brain (and seven PhDs) to aid in the fight against Thanos.
Flashing forward five years later, Endgame finds Bruce successful in merging the two warring personas. Integrated together as Smart Hulk, the Jekyll-and-Hyde dynamic essentially dissolved and Bruce’s trauma and struggle as Hulk seemingly washed away. For the first time in a long time, there was no mention or discussion surrounding The Other Guy as they were now one and the same. The character essentially became a large, confident, green Bruce Banner. All of Bruce’s traits with a fraction of the Hulk’s strength. At times in Endgame, Smart Hulk was played for a joke and felt very out of touch with the strong, emotional arc that had been built up for the past decade.
While it is necessary that characters evolve over time, it’s also important to remember the events from the journey that got them there. Just because Bruce has finally found balance as Smart Hulk doesn’t mean his trauma should be forgotten or discarded. The PTSD Bruce suffered from just wouldn’t go away that conveniently. Thankfully, She-Hulk circles back to Bruce’s trauma as it is the reason he is so committed to training his cousin. But as Jen points out, her experience is different from Bruce’s. While she respects what he has gone through and acknowledges that she can learn lots about being a Hulk from him, she doesn’t intend to have her life taken away from her.
Jen scathingly recaps Bruce’s last several years for him in a way that makes it clear he has not considered all possible outcomes of his cousin’s new abilities. The way Bruce sees it, Jen needs to isolate herself to protect the ones she is close to until she can control her Hulk alter precisely enough to fight crime and save the world as a superhero. From Bruce’s perspective, his path as Hulk is the only option for Jen. But as she bluntly tells him, he wound up isolated on a deserted beach with no friends or relationships and never reaching out to his family. Bruce argues it's what is necessary to keep the world safe but Jen counters that it isn’t wrong that she chooses to help people as a lawyer. While Bruce’s struggles with his other half are valid and his opinion is earned by his experience, his close-mindedness at the possibility of a different path for Jen puts the two at odds.
Though Bruce still disapproves of Jen’s decision to return to society, he concedes and offers his help to Jen if she ever feels she needs it. While Jen seems fairly confident and capable of handling her She-Hulk persona, Bruce still has some stuff to sort through. Jen wasn’t wrong about Bruce’s current state. He may have found inner peace with Hulk now merged with him as Smart Hulk, but he still has a life to get in order. By the conclusion of the episode, the door is left open for Bruce Banner and the Hulk. While things seem all right for him now, there may be some issues brewing between him and The Other Guy right below the surface. Whatever happens, it is good to know that Bruce’s story isn’t over yet. And the way things are shaping up, Jen may be able to give Bruce some pointers of her own by She-Hulk’s end.
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