How Does Marvel Classify She-Hulk's Meta Season Finale In The Official MCU Timeline?
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"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" holds a pretty unique place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only was it a change of pace by largely serving as a legal drama with a side of superhero shenanigans, but it also got really meta along the way, with Tatiana Maslany's Jennifer Walters breaking the fourth wall a great deal, not unlike Deadpool. That meta part of the narrative hit its apex in the show's finale, which saw Jennifer breaking out of her show directly into Marvel Studios headquarters to have a word with the writers — as well as Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige (sort of).
Jennifer literally helped to rewrite her own ending, with the finale we had seen earlier in the episode erased for something more optimistic. But how does the MCU timeline classify this very meta moment? We have an answer thanks to "The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline." Written by Anthony Breznican, Amy Ratcliffe, and Rebecca Theodore-Vachon, the recently released book features a bit that addresses the "She-Hulk" finale. In fitting fashion, it seems like Jennifer Walters intervened directly.
In the book, there's a full chunk of text that outlines the "original" finale that the show was giving us. From Jen hulking out and landing in Damage Control prison to losing her job, it's all there. But, much like the show, Jennifer wasn't going to let that slide. So the whole chunk of text was crossed out in red ink. This, in essence, erases it from the timeline, since this is an official release from Marvel Studios.
Sorting out a very meta narrative
Instead, there is an alternate chunk of text that appears near the crossed-out bit that appears to have been written by Jennifer Walters herself. This text mirrors the "new" finale that we got after Jen had it out with Feige and the writers. It reads as follows:
"Jennifer Walters uncovers the Hulking's plot at Blonsky's retreat and has him arrested. There's no need to beat him up – the personal harm he's done to her will be resolved in court, and he has deep pockets for restitution. Blonsky agrees to return to Damage Control custody for violating parole by delivering inspirational lectures as Abomination. Then Matt Murdock arrives, but there's no battle for Daredevil to fight. Walters is just happy to see him again. She invites him to a family picnic where the only thing she has to fight is embarrassment over her parents. Cousin Bruce shows up to surprise everyone by introducing his son, Skaar."
The whole purpose of this book is to sort out 15 years of continuity that spans more than 30 movies and an increasing number of shows. At times, that continuity got a little messy. Dealing with a meta moment like this is something that needed to be tackled, and it seems as though the writers of the book did so in a way that suits what "She-Hulk" was. More than that, it cements which version of the events witnessed in the finale is canon. It was Jennifer's story, and she got a say in how it was told.
"The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline" is available now.