The She-Hulk Trailer Features One Heck Of A Marvel Deep Cut
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with unique characters. There are gods, wizards, super spies, ninjas, and robots running around all over the place, causing all sorts of trouble. Now, with the multiverse in play, the possibilities for weird and wild individuals to pop up are exponentially larger. But I don't think True Believers were expecting to see the latest green-clad addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first footage for "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law." And we're not talking about Tatiana Maslany's Jade Giantess, either.
At the 1:23 mark in the trailer for the upcoming Disney+ series, we see what looks like a green and yellow Power Ranger in a fighting stance. The scene cuts away so quickly that you almost miss it, but eagle-eyed viewers can make out this character's uncanny resemblance to a frog. Even for long-time Marvel fans, this is an extremely deep cut, but it can only mean one thing: We're about to meet the MCU's Frog-Man.
Ahead of his live-action debut, courtesy of showrunner Jessica Gao (of "Rick and Morty" fame), let's take a closer look at the amphibious Marvel Comics superhero.
Leaps and bounds
Created in 1982 by J.M. DeMatteis and Kerry Gammill for "Marvel Team-Up" #121, Frog-Man, aka Eugene Patilio, is the son of the supervillain Leap-Frog. After his father's failed life of crime landed him in prison, Eugene started wearing the suit in an attempt to rehabilitate his family image into a symbol of good instead of evil. However, Frog-Man wasn't exactly the most adept hero. On his first outing, he accidentally helped Spider-Man and the Human Torch defeat Speed Demon. Later, he would battle the likes of White Rabbit, Flag-Smasher, and U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. alongside his dad and the Avengers and would again triumph thanks to sheer luck. Of course, that luck would fluctuate; some days he would be teaming with heroes like Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, and Hellcat, but on others, he'd be targeted by Kraven the Hunter or forced to work as a bus boy when superheroics wasn't panning out for him.
Speaking of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Frog-Man is technically an Avenger in the comics, as he was recruited to be a part of the Initiative, which put a team of superheroes in every state. Stationed in Kentucky, Eugene was a part of a group called Action Pack with characters like Vox and Prima Donna. (Although, this Frog-Man was revealed to be a Skrull imposter during the "Secret Invasion" storyline.) While that probably voids the comic book version of Frog-Man's membership, there's still a chance that we could see the MCU Frog-Man get the call from Avengers HQ. Or maybe we'll see him in the upcoming Disney+ series starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn after he crosses paths with Jennifer Walters.
Considering "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is primed to be a comedy, the Fabulous Frog-Man seems like the perfect character to join the cast.
What kind of role could he play?
Comedy seems to be the key word here, since a more dramatic Marvel show probably wouldn't find the time and space for a character as niche and strange as Frog-Man. However, the She-Hulk comics provide the perfect template for this. In the best of them, she's an Avenger by night but a lawyer practicing superhuman law by day, working on cases involving superheroes and supervillains. And while an A-lister will occasionally slip into the courtroom (one famous issue saw Spider-Man sue J. Jonah Jameson for libel), Jennifer's bread and butter involves her rubbing shoulders with the odd corners of the Marvel universe, fighting for and against the heroes and villains who don't have the cash or reputations to sidestep the long arm of the law.
Enter Frog-Man, we assume.
As the title itself implies, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is a legal comedy set in the MCU, with Jennifer trying to balance the demands of being a lawyer while also, you know, being a Hulk. While other heroes need to worry about saving the world, Jennifer Walters needs to worry about getting her clients reduced sentences and what-not. We're deep enough into the Marvel Cinematic Universe that this kind of self-aware comedy feels necessary — a superhero universe can only get so big before the weirdos in costumes start to spill in the margins of "polite" society. With his history of bumbling his way across adventures, the idea that Frog-Man ends up in a courtroom for a crime he may or may not have committed, and needs to call upon one of the MCU's superhuman lawyers, makes total sense.
In fact, what's the point of making a "She-Hulk" TV series if she's not constantly dealing with a parade of bizarre characters who have no business appearing in a proper "Avengers" movie? If we're lucky, Frog-Man is the tip of the iceberg, and this show will be chock-full of C-list Marvel characters awaiting their day in court.
While we don't know who is playing Frog-Man just yet, we'll find out when the show premieres on Disney+ on August 17, 2022.