She-Hulk Easter Egg Implies A Major X-Men Character Exists In The MCU

"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is already a quite different experience from most other titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where "Ms. Marvel" was a Disney Channel-style show with superheroes, and "Moon Knight" was more of a psychological thriller, this is a sitcom with very self-referential humor that finally allows the MCU to poke fun at itself. 

What other show would have Jennifer Walters ask her Avenger cousin, Bruce Banner, whether his colleague Captain America was a virgin? The second episode even makes fun of 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" with a joke about Edward Norton's recasting. But in the same episode, "She-Hulk" introduced what could very well be just a fun and harmless easter egg to keep fans busy speculating until the next episode, you know, because of the implication. Or, it could mean one of the most popular Marvel characters is already alive and thriving in the MCU.

In the episode, Jen is unveiled as the She-Hulk — she'll come up with a better name, though, don't worry. The incident causes Jen to be fired, and to essentially get blacklisted from every law firm in town. Some don't want her cases to be compromised because juries are fans of her, others simply don't want extra attention, but the damage is the same. Unable to find a job, Jen resorts to looking online for other professions, like working as a Swiss village mascot.

What is interesting is that the website with the listicle also has some curious ads. There's one about a giant statue sticking out of the ocean, finally an acknowledgment of the ending to "Eternals" and its world-changing repercussions that have so far gone silent. 

More importantly, however, is a little headline that says "man fights with metal claws in bar brawl." That could mean anything, of course, but who do we know in the Marvel universe that has metal claws and loves to get in fights at bars? That's right, bub, this could be our first hint that the one and only Wolverine is already out there in the MCU wreaking havoc.

"Ms. Marvel" already showed us that the mutant gene exists in the MCU's Earth-616. Now, we only know that Kamala carries the gene, so it is still possible she is the very first mutant, but it is somehow doubtful Marvel wants to jump forward in time enough time for the gene to spread across the Earth. This leaves two options: either the gene will be introduced and activated via some cosmic rays shenanigans in one of the next big two "Avengers" movies.

The other alternative could solve the issue of why we haven't heard anything about mutants or the X-Men, all while carrying on the thematic heart of the original comics: just say that mutants are already out there but their existence is intentionally obfuscated. After all, it's not like the systematic erasure of minorities from historical records and books is such an outlandish idea. It's not like we aren't seeing history books and ideas banned from schools across the country, and it's not like the achievements of minorities aren't hidden or deleted from history all the time. 

If Marvel really wanted to update the X-Men for the modern time, they could play into timely ideas of censorship and systematic racism to explain why the general population has no idea that mutants exist all around us.

One common argument against just outright saying mutants have existed in the MCU all along is that someone would have heard of these superpowered people that are not in the Avengers. That is a mistake because it both assumes that all news and rumors are credible and there are no gossip blogs or tabloids that exploit urban legends and misinformation, and it also ignores Nick Fury's very first words in this franchise.

"You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe; you just don't know it yet," Fury said when he was introduced in the first "Iron Man." Though, out of the Avengers, the only people with powers to have been active on Earth before Tony Stark were Hulk and Captain America, who is to say there weren't also a bunch of mutants out there, and the homo sapiens in charge hid it from the public? We may have just become part of an even bigger universe, we just don't know it yet.

"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" premieres new episodes Thursdays on Disney+.