The following article contains spoilers for the finale of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Marvel Studios’She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawhas come to an end, with an intriguing finale that aired on Thursday. The series was loaded with cameos, and Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters had to remind fans throughout that it was in fact her show. The finale worked hard to drive this point home. Jen not only breaks the fourth wall, but also walks into the studio’s office and demanding answers. It was Marvel’s comical way of emphasizing that this was a show about She-Hulk, but perhaps this should be a lesson for future projects.
TheShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawfinale was titled “Whose Show Is This?,” a question that Jen has been posing to viewers from the get go. The series included special appearances fromTim Roth’s Abomination, Benedict Wong’s Sorcerer Supreme, and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, among others. But, while fans enjoyed watching these popular characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and beyond interact with She-Hulk, it was ultimately a comedy, lawyer series where Jen was the true protagonist. Maybe Marvel Studios should learn from the finale’s philosophy, and focus on central characters moving forward.
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Since Phase 4 of the MCU began, the films and series have featured several cameos and crossovers. It all began withWandaVisionwhen Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis andRandall Park’s Jimmy Wooarrived in Westview. Lewis was a part of theThorfranchise, where she worked as Jane Foster’s assistant. Meanwhile, Woo was the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who featured in theAnt-Manfranchise. The series also brought on Evan Peters as Wanda’s supposed twin brother Pietro, teasing a possible crossover with theX-Menuniverse. It became obvious from thereon that cameos and crossovers were going to be a regular theme in Phase 4 of the MCU.
Several other projects have featured popular cameos. Season 1 ofLokiended with the introduction of Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains, whom fans know will become Kang the Conqueror in 2023’sAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.What If…?was a treasure trove of crossover content, with several of the MCU heroes coming together for the different episodes. WhileBlack WidowintroducedFlorence Pugh as Yelena Belova, her story moved forward and collided with Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton inHawkeye. The Abomination and Wong made cameos inShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda crossed paths with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The ultimatecrossover occurred inSpider-Man: No Way Home, when the blockbuster film brought three generations of Spider-Men in the same frame. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland all suited up for a common cause, to save the world from evil. Even though it was possibly the worst-kept secret in the MCU, fans were ecstatic to see the three heroes come together. However, one key point has been forgotten in the process: all these projects are losing focus. While a cameo is appreciated by some fans, the standalone projects are meant to focus on one character, and developing their story.
Marvel Studios has taken marketing campaigns to a whole new level. Before a project is even released, the studio teases what’s to come in multiple posters and trailers. However, these promotional campaigns can potentially backfire, with the audiences placing a lot of importance on the cameos instead of the actual plot. For instance, withShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law, thestudio promoted Daredevil’s appearancebefore the show had even premiered. This led to fans of the Netflix series tuning in week after week, and complaining about how they had to wait two months before finally being able to see Matt Murdock in action.
To deal with such disappointment,the studio took the comical routeof having Jen raise the question about who the show belonged to several times during the season. She would break the fourth wall, reminding audiences that it is a series about a lawyer who has obtained Hulk-like powers, and her struggles of a balancing act between both worlds. The finale emphasizes this with the most meta fourth-wall break that takes Jen onto the Walt Disney Studios lot, into the writers room, and up a secret passageway to finally meet the supposed head of Marvel Studios, an AI machine called K.E.V.I.N.
While the scene was ahilarious jab at studio boss Kevin Feige, the conversation between Jen and K.E.V.I.N. should work as a reality check for the studio itself. Maslany’s titular character convinces the robot to rewrite the finale, and rid the episode of all unnecessary elements that take the focus away from her. For the past few years, many fans and critics have complained about the MCU’s shift in projects. Most films and shows have a build up, a climatic battle at the end, and a cliffhanger to end things off. Throw in a few cameos, and Phase 4 of the MCU is complete. But, perhaps it’s time for the studio to change things up a little.TheShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawfinaleconfirms that the studio is acknowledging the feedback that it has been receiving.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawhad its own issues. Many fans and critics have complained about the lack of an intriguing plot or a cohesive storyline. However, the series finale succeeds in addressing a concern that may have highlighted in the recent past. It is commendable for the finale to address an obvious issue with the MCU. With Phase 4,several new characters have been introducedalready, and there’s a lot more to come in the next few phases. It isn’t necessary for the studio to use each project as a tool to promote or tease what is to come in the future. Perhaps it should follow its own philosophy going forward and allow standalone projects to focus on their central characters. The question that the studio should ask every time it intends to write a cameo into the plot is “Whose Show Is This?”
