Marvel fans are psyched for this green superhero … but not the one you're thinking of!
"We just started a superhuman law division, and I want you to be the face of it."
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with unique characters.
There are gods, wizards, super spies, ninjas, and robots running around all over the place,
causing all sorts of trouble.
Now, with the multiverse in play, the possibilities for weird and wild individuals to pop up are
exponentially larger.
"The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little."
"The multiverse is real?!"
But we don't think True Believers were expecting to see the latest green-clad addition to the
Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first footage for "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law."
And we're not talking about Tatiana Maslany's Jade Giantess, either.
"With super strength, a winning personality, and a law degree, she's pretty much better
than you in every way."
At the 1:23 mark in the trailer for the upcoming Disney+ series, we see what looks like a green
and yellow Power Ranger in a fighting stance.
The scene cuts away so quickly that you almost miss it, but eagle-eyed viewers can make out
this character's uncanny resemblance to a frog.
Even for long-time Marvel fans, this is an extremely deep cut, but it can only mean one
thing: We're about to meet the MCU's Frog-Man.
And … no, we're not talking about Frog Thor…
Created in 1982 by J.M.
DeMatteis and Kerry Gammill for "Marvel Team-Up" #121, Frog-Man, aka Eugene Patilio, is the
son of the supervillain Leap-Frog.
After his father's failed life of crime landed him in prison, Eugene started wearing the
suit in an attempt to rehabilitate his family image into a symbol of good instead of evil.
However, Frog-Man wasn't exactly the most adept hero.
On his first outing, he accidentally helped Spider-Man and the Human Torch defeat Speed Demon.
Later, he would battle the likes of White Rabbit, Flag-Smasher, and U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M.
alongside his dad and the Avengers and would again triumph thanks to sheer luck.
Of course, that luck would fluctuate; some days he would be teaming with heroes like
Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, and Hellcat, but on others, he'd be targeted by Kraven the Hunter
or forced to work as a busboy when superheroics weren't panning out for him.
All in all, the Fabulous Frog-Man seems like the perfect character to join the cast, especially
since "She-Hulk" is primed to be a comedy.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!!"
"No!! No!!"
Comedy seems to be the key word here, since a more dramatic Marvel show probably wouldn't
find the time and space for a character as niche and strange as Frog-Man.
However, the She-Hulk comics provide the perfect template for this.
In the best of them, she's an Avenger by night but a lawyer practicing superhuman law by
day, working on cases involving superheroes and supervillains.
And while an A-lister will occasionally slip into the courtroom, Jennifer's bread and butter
involves her rubbing shoulders with the odd corners of the Marvel universe, fighting for
and against the heroes and villains who don't have the cash or reputations to sidestep the
long arm of the law.
"This is a legal practice!
It is not the place for morality!"
Enter Frog-Man … uh… we assume.
As the title itself implies, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is a legal comedy set in the MCU,
with Jennifer trying to balance the demands of being a lawyer while also, you know, being a Hulk.
While other heroes need to worry about saving the world, Jennifer Walters needs to worry
about getting her clients reduced sentences and what-not.
We're deep enough into the Marvel Cinematic Universe that this kind of self-aware comedy
feels necessary — a superhero universe can only get so big before the weirdos in costumes
start to spill in the margins of "polite" society.
With his history of bumbling his way across adventures, the idea that Frog-Man ends up
in a courtroom for a crime he may or may not have committed, and needs to call upon one
of the MCU's superhuman lawyers, makes total sense.
In fact, what's the point of making a "She-Hulk" TV series if she's not constantly dealing
with a parade of bizarre characters who have no business appearing in a proper "Avengers" movie?
If we're lucky, Frog-Man is the tip of the iceberg, and this show will be chock-full
of C-list Marvel characters awaiting their day in court.
While we don't know who is playing Frog-Man just yet, we'll find out when the show premieres
on Disney+ on August 17, 2022.
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