She-Hulk Finally Gets Around To Referencing The '70s Incredible Hulk TV Series
Major spoilers ahead for "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law."
"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" finally did what some of us have been waiting for since the series was first announced: We got our nod to the 1970s "The Incredible Hulk" TV series! In a finale that stuck the landing in a way that many Marvel Disney+ shows haven't been able to manage, this was an extra treat!
I have only the vaguest memories of the 1970s show, other than loving it as a tiny person and thinking that star Bill Bixby was just the coolest. However, I definitely remember the opening sequence for the show, which had its two-hour TV movie premiere in 1977 and ran for 80 episodes beginning in 1978. It had a sort of sad tone, following Bill Bixby's Dr. David Banner, who had been researching how people get superhuman abilities sometimes when they're under great duress. An accident occurs, and he gets a megadose of gamma radiation. He doesn't remember events from when he's the Hulk (played by Lou Ferrigno), and now he's on the run. Very different feel to the show, but oh, the intro — aka Jennifer Walter's (Tatiana Maslany) dream — is a green-tinted delight.
Not only did the dream mirror the series intro almost exactly, but even the voiceover is really close! (Yes, I transcribed it all for you so you can compare.)
The raging spirit that dwells within them
Here is the text for "The Incredible Hulk" intro:
Dr. David Banner — physician, scientist — searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters his body chemistry. And now, when David Banner grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by rage and pursued by an investigative reporter.
[Banner]: "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry".
The creature is wanted for a murder he didn't commit. David Banner is believed to be dead. And he must let the world think that he is dead until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him.
Here's the text for the "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" dream intro:
Jennifer Walters, Esq. Lawyer, millennial, searching for a way to balance a career and her personal life. Then, an accidental dose of gamma-irradiated blood alters her body chemistry. And now, when Jennifer Walters grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by rage and pursued by online trolls.
[Walters]: "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
She is provoked into a rampage that has landed her in prison. And now, she is seen only for the raging spirit that dwells within her.
Shot for shot
The "She-Hulk" bit is almost an exact copy on the original "The Incredible Hulk" opening, and the text wasn't the only thing. Even some of the shots are the same, like the one when they're sitting in the diagnostic chair.
Universal Television/Marvel Studios
Let's break down the similarities, shall we?
They both begin with a red "danger" sign flashing, then a shot of some buttons on an old-timey computer, then each of them in the diagnostic chair.
Jen's dream added shots of her balancing her personal life with a shot of her file on Emil Blonsky and a "date" with Todd (Jon Bass).
There is a shot of a car rolling down a hill in Jen's version and one of her hand as Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) bleeds on her. Both of them have flashes of blood and other assorted things from under a microscope, a skull X-ray, and a lightning bolt.
Each of them fixes a car in the rain, then have the same shot of them with bright green eyes while getting angry.
Universal Television/Marvel Studios
They both have arms that burst out of their sleeves, then they (as Hulk and She-Hulk respectively, with Malia Arrayah and Devon Lewis as the on-set She-Hulk reference) throw the car down the hill.
'You wouldn't like me when I'm angry'
Then comes the famous line I'm sure you've heard, even if you never saw the original series: "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." Now, Dr. David Banner adds the name Jack McGee (Jack Colvin), the reporter who has been following the Hulk around the country when he says this, but the shot ... oh, the shot is brilliant. The image is flipped, but the stance, the blue shirt and jeans, the number of buttons undone, the hands on the leg, and even the building is correct.
Then we get the exact same clip of a house exploding and burning in front of a car. On Jen's side, we see her double freaking out in She-Hulk form in last week's silver gown, as opposed to shots of David Banner hulking out, sadly dressless. Then both of them end up in a cemetery. (Banner was framed for a murder he didn't commit, and that's the murdered person's gravestone. With Jen, it's a blurry shot of a cemetery in the background.)
And then, the final pièce de résistance, the double face shot. David Banner's says "The Incredible Hulk," while Jennifer's says "The Savage She-Hulk."
Universal Television/Marvel Studios
I am in awe. Indeed, this was a brilliant move, particularly how it fits into where Jen is in the finale's first scene. She's been shut into the prison cell that Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) was originally in, blamed for something that wasn't her fault, and at loose ends as to what to do next with her life. That's about as close as you can come to the original with a more lighthearted show like "She-Hulk."
Chef's kiss.
"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is streaming in its entirety on Disney+. You can purchase full seasons of "The Incredible Hulk" on Prime Video.