[ANTES DE COMEÇAR A MATÉRIA, FIQUE CIENTE QUE ELA ESTÁ RECHEADA DE SPOILERS]
If you haven’t watched the first four episodes of She-Hulk: Defender of Heroesavoid this article as it contains spoilers.
Amazingly, we’re almost halfway through the first season of She-Hulk: Defender of Heroes. And the series is already one of the best of the studio so far. Speaking of “best”, how amazing this fourth episode! When it was announced, the production of the series promised something with a kind of Legally Blonde, which involved not only the right, but also the confusion and challenges of maintaining a relationship. And that’s exactly what the fourth chapter focused on: Jen’s love life.
Enjoy watching:
But before that, we need to talk about the great antagonist of the time: the “magician” Donny Blaze (Rhys Coiro). Right off the bat, the series flirts a lot with a beloved character of the general public, the Ghost Rider. This is because the antagonist’s sound is very similar to Johnny Blaze, who is the most famous incarnation of the anti-hero. As if that wasn’t enough, his “spells” almost all involve fire. Donny was an apprentice to a master of the mystical arts at Kamar-Taj, but he took the retreat like a college party and ended up getting expelled. Not before stealing some magical objects, like the transport ring, which he uses to send poor, talkative Madisynn to another dimension.
About Madisynn’s interdimensional adventure, she says throughout the episode that she was sent to a region full of fire and lava, where she was greeted by a goat who wanted a drop of her blood in exchange for helping her get out of there. Later, in court, she said that she had made a pact with a demon to be sent back, but that she couldn’t tell anyone, otherwise he would consume her soul and that of everyone she loves. So, considering this information, we return to the demon Mephistowhich haunted all speculation wizards for WandaVision and Loki, last year. However, with a more relaxed and connected approach to the affairs of the MCU on the internet, this was probably just an excellent joke from the creative team.
Still talking about Madisynn, the chatterbox ends up becoming best friends with Wong (Benedict Wong), and makes major revelations about the Sorcerer Supreme along the way. The first of these is that free time at Kamar-Taj is something that is really not in short supply. The first time we see the two of them, Wong is watching the Sopranos (and takes some spoilers from the girl). Later, when we see him again, the Sorcerer Supreme is using his free time to watch This Is Us. Wong, a master of mystical arts and series marathons. But speaking more “seriously” about the character, he made several references to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) in the episode. The first one was to talk about the Book of VishantiGreat MacGuffin from the movie Sam Raimi, for Jen. The second was towards the end of the chapter, when Donny’s flying imps began to take over the auditorium, Wong opened a portal to Wundagore Mountain, the throne region of Scarlet Witch, as seen in the movie. Oh yes, Wong’s presence makes She-Hulk comment that this appearance will be enough to keep the series high on Twitter for a week. It’s once again the production making fun of haters who call themselves fans on the internet.
Now focusing on the protagonist, before being convinced that she needs to improve her love life, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is really bogged down at work. On your to-do list, for example, there are some really cool references. The first of these is the surveys for Ms. Pete. Megan Pete is the real name of Megan Thee Stallion. And since she signed a contract with She-Hulk, it’s nice to see that Jen is still working on the case. The other is a legal dispute between Lee and Byrne. Stan Lee and John Byrne created She-Hulk, but the “creator” credits went to Lee, something he did a lot throughout his career, causing other great artists or descendants of these artists to take legal action to resolve this situation. It’s a very interesting easter egg and it would never have happened if Stan were still alive, as it was a sensitive topic for the company, but especially for him.
Putting work aside, Jen decides to create a profile on these dating apps. However, the poor thing struggles to get a measly Like, and when she does, the guy is an asshole who didn’t even pay the bill for the date. Contrary to her ideals, Jen then decides to profile She-Hulk, and the result is substantially different. Right away, she gets a lot of Likes and ends up going on a series of dates. The problem is that the citizens who meet her are also Zé Manés. Of them, it is worth mentioning a nerd fan of superheroes who uses the adjective “Incredible” a lot to describe the actions of She-Hulk. She explains that people end up using this term a lot to talk about her, mainly because of her cousin, the Incredible Hulk.
And even with this series of failures in the dates, Jen ends up finding a guy who is not lightning, but gamma quickly in the heart of Verdona. He has a good job, is strong and handsome, and apparently genuinely cares for her. It doesn’t take long for her to take the initiative and take the bald man to her house. While they’re kissing, Wong appears and summons She-Hulk to help kick Donny’s flying imps, and when she comes back – full of demon blood all over her body -, she continues to kiss the guy from the date, until he picks him up and takes him to the “slaughter”. It’s nice to see a superheroine taking the initiative like this after decades of bland and passive characters in comic book productions. Unfortunately, the next day, the guy finds Jen in her human form and reacts in a terrible way, implying that it was all a fetish with her superpowered form. Love frustrations happen, right?
Closing the episode, the main antagonist of the series, the titania, decides to attack his rival on the battlefield itself: in the courts. But this time, not physically. That’s because the company “Titania” registered (in bad faith, by the way) the She-Hulk brand as its intellectual property, subpoenaing Jen to the courts for a patent infringement case. We know that this case is not that difficult to resolve in court, but the important thing is to bring together protagonist and antagonist for a “differentiated” clash.
The new episodes of She-Hulk: Defender of Heroes debut every Thursday at Disney+.
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