20 Tropes 'She Hulk: Attorney At Law' Flipped On Their Head
![20 Tropes 'She Hulk: Attorney At Law' Flipped On Their Head](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/8/5/876585_320x180.jpg)
Disney+ recently released the last episode of She Hulk: Attorney At Law, also also known in some corners of the internet as Why Woman Have Show. And it was… not bad. It didn’t contribute to the destruction of Western civilization by hordes of pink-haired communist feminists and their pronoun gulags, so, you know, we got our hopes up for nothing. In fact, the show has the deeply average quality we’ve come to expect from the MCU TV output — although we have to say its riffing off of tropes was quite entertaining.
In this Pictofact, we take a look at Why Woman Mean to Me by focusing on its tropes: Those we spotted, those it subverted, those that drew a chuckle out of us. And considering our brain is rotting with tropes, this is no small feat. Moreover, everyone knows the show is one big meta-prank: a self-aware, fourth wall-smashing affair inception’ed in layers of other shows. This makes its use of tropes particularly interesting. At its most uninspired, they are just, like, “Yes, we acknowledge the existence of this trope,” but most other times they actually put a spin on it. That is fun, so let’s take a look at it. These are 20 tropes spotted and subverted in You Don’t Get It, Cracked, The Internet Grifters Say I Should Be Angry About This!
Genre
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK GENRE SAVVINESS She-Hulk is obviously a self-aware show. But this also applies to its own genre-or rather, to the genre it should have, if it weren't for Jennifer Walters' objections. She's aware that we expect a superhero show, but she overtly says she wants hers to be a lawyer show. SUPER A SUPE 1-877 I GO GRE REE CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/2/876602.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Fourth Wall
![TROPES SUBVERTED IN SHE-HULK FOURTH WALL-BREAKING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT When She-Hulk tells us the Hulk does not really respect if she wants to return to her normal life, she does a double-take because, chronologically, it is the very first time she has talked to the camera. It's a fourth wall-breaking acknowledgement of the fact of a fourth wall break. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/6/876606.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Reminder: She-Hulk Was The Original Deadpool
ScreenCrush/YouTube
Expectations
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS By now, every piece of media ever has to subvert expectations. But among the constant expectation-subversion, at one point Jen asks, is this what you guys want? The show is not only subverting expectations-it's also asking us if we want our expectations subverted. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/3/876603.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Villain
![CRACKED.COM MARVEL TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE FINAL VILLAIN REVEAL MCU shows usually end with their big mastermind reveal: WandaVision has Agatha, Loki has Не Who Remains, and Hawkeye has Kingpin. In She-Hulk it's HulkKing, except that then the whole gimmick is discarded-by the real final villain: K.E.V.I.N (who is just defeated by good lawyering).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/5/876605.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Mythology
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK MYTHOLOGY REFERENCES Besides throwing meta jokes about the MCU, the entire broader Hulk lore is also being constantly referenced. The intro to the finale obviously calls back to the '70s show, but its title, The Savage She- Hulk, is also an allusion to her earlier comic run. Similarly, Daredevil's presence probably refers to the 1989 TV movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/6/876596.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Recap
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK PREVIOUSLY ON... In episode 3, Jen is attacked, and in episode 7, one of her attackers has come to his senses and joined Blonsky's hippie community. Good for him. But hilariously, when Jennifer sees him she knows we're not gonna remember him, so she asks for a Previously on... recap just to refresh our memory. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/8/876598.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Entitlement
![CRACKED.COM TROPES IN SHE-HULK MALE GAZE (AND ENTITLEMENT) Yes, the twerking scene is cringe. But also, what bothered so many, erm, lonely men was a woman dancing for fun and not for them. In fact, the very same video-outrage cycle later became an actual plot point, meaning that real-life whiners proved the show's point before it even made it.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/4/876604.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Rematch
![CRACKED.COM TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE GRUDGE MATCH During the final episode, it seems for a brief moment that Blonsky went back to his evil ways, resulting in a rematch with the Hulk. Jen soon cancels the classic MCU ending (which in this case makes sense, as Banner and Blonsky have already talked things through, and are cool now).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/9/876599.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Final Boss
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE CORPORATE FINAL BOSS She-Hulk's K.E.V.I.N. is of course a meta send-up of Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige. But as a soulless algorithm-driven A.I., this corporate villain also evokes a different Marvel baddie, Mojo, whose whole thing is being a parody of network executives. K.E.V.I.N - CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/8/9/876589.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Fridging
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK FRIDGING Using a woman's death for character motivation is an infamous comic-book trope, and Jen explicitly wonders if she is going to be fridged as the season finale approaches. This never happens, of course, but we would accept fridging the studio execs responsible for the little time given to FX workers. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/8/8/876588.jpg)
Marvel Studios, DC Comics
Set Piece
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE FINAL SET PIECE By the end of episode 7, the big female lawyer award tournament thingie is announced, and Jen wonders if that is where the final showdown will happen. Then, in episode 8, all hell breaks loose, but it isn't the season-ending fight scene we were waiting for. And finally, in episode 9, it doesn't happen either, as Jen talks to K.E.V.I.N. instead. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/1/876591.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Disneyfication
![CRACKED.COM TROPES IN SHE-HULK DISNEYFICATION Daredevil went from being complex and tortured to being just the most charming, emotionally healthy of single men out there. Yes, the character has been clearly Disneyfied now that he's an official part of the MCU. Either that or-wait, we'll learn in 2030 that Scarlet Witch messed with his head, right?](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/4/876594.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Daddy Issues
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK DADDY ISSUES Early on, Jen says being a vigilante is for billionaires, narcissists, and adult orphans. In the finale, the mocking of superhero daddy issues returns, as she mentions Tony Stark, Thor, Loki, or Star-Lord all having complex baggage with their dads. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/7/876597.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Female Cousin
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE FEMALE COUSIN OF THE HULK The character was named She-Hulk for purely legal reasons, so we kinda forgive the trope of women only being known for their connection to men. Still, the show acknowledges this, and carries the trope to the very last episode, in which Jen continues to be called the female cousin of the Hulk. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/2/876592.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Reminder: She-Hulk Was The Original Deadpool
ScreenCrush/YouTube
Wong and Madisynn
![CRACKED.COM TROPES IN SHE-HULK WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY If you were afraid they were going to try to pull some romantic stuff off between Wong and Madisynn, you weren't alone. Thankfully that didn't happen, and they instead just became buddies who hit it off, vibed together, and enjoyed each other's company (and The Sopranos).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/3/876593.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Blood
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK SUPERPOWERED BLOOD MACGUFFIN The whole using-blood-to-reproduce-the-Hulk-serum plot point already looks familiar by the time it begins rearing its head. Fortunately, instead of rehashing to the same tired old MacGuffin we've seen in The Incredible Hulk, Civil War or the non-MCU Amazing Spider-Man 2, She-Hulk talks to the manager. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/1/876601.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Cut
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK CUT TO BLACK Fun fact: the cut to black at the end of Age of Ultron almost makes Cap say Avengers ass. We're joking here, but the end of She-Hulk's first episode actually uses the comedic potential of the cut to black when Hulk discloses that Cap lost his virginity in 1943, and Jen yells that Captain America fuuu- CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/0/0/876600.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Bar
![CRACKED.COM BAR& GRILL FROM LEGAL TASE TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE SITCOM BAR As a lawyer-centered sitcom, She-Hulk must abide by the law stating that every sitcom must have a local hangout. Hey, we don't make the rules. Therefore, She-Hulk indeed features a thematic bar, cleverly called the Legal Ease. Get it?](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/0/876590.jpg)
Marvel Studios
TV Tropes
The Devolution Of Sitcom Bars (Cheers To Moe's To Paddy's Pub)
Lawyer Shows
![TROPES IN SHE-HULK THE NEUROTIC LAWYER'S LOVE LIFE She-Hulk has many influences, from Fleabag to Legally Blonde and Better Call Saul. In an early episode, a TV set shows Ally McBeal. Ally's messy love life is mirrored in Jen's dates, heartbreaks, and one-night stands (but nobody ever stole Ally's blood for her anxiety superpowers). ON TRIAL CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/8/7/876587.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Meta-Finale
![Featured I AM GROCT GROOT TAK A BA TROPES IN SHE-HULK FOURTH WALL BREAKING FINALE She-Hulk breaks the fourth wall constantly, but the finale goes even even more meta, with Jen jumping into a behind-the-scenes show and talking to the mastermind. This continues John Byrne's comic- book run, but we like to think the show's creators are also big Evangelion and Holy Mountain fans. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/9/5/876595.jpg)
Marvel Studios
Reminder: She-Hulk Was The Original Deadpool
ScreenCrush/YouTube