How She-Hulk Sets Up Daredevil's MCU Reboot
Warning: major spoilers follow for episode 5 of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law."
Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) doesn't want you to forget whose show "She-Hulk" actually is. Sure, it's her name on the marquee — finally free from the trademark of super-influencer Titania (Jameela Jamil) — but "She-Hulk" is still a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the end of the day. That makes the strategically placed cameo a given in the half-hour comedy, and it's hard to deny that those cameos are stealing the show a little bit ... even those that haven't happened yet.
Notably, "She-Hulk" was teasing the return of a fan favorite, Charlie Cox's Daredevil, even before its first episode dropped on Disney+. Don't get me wrong, "She-Hulk" is plenty fun without the Man Without Fear, but the promise of the character's return is an undeniable draw. Even outside of the "She-Hulk" conversation, Daredevil's growing role in the MCU has been a major talking point. Ever since his alter ego, Matt Murdock, popped up in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," we've wondered whether the character is, in fact, the same Daredevil from the Netflix series of the same name. Cox himself has teased that the forthcoming "Daredevil" revival, "Born Again," will stand on its own — so does that mean we're witnessing the birth of a slightly different Matt Murdock?
Marvel Studios have, of course, been plenty content to let fans speculate. With the latest Daredevil tease in the fifth episode of "She-Hulk," however, we're closer than ever to a real, definitive answer.
And it was all yellow
After weeks of playing coy, "She-Hulk" is finally teasing that aforementioned Daredevil cameo in earnest. In the series' fifth episode, Jen finally realizes that she can't continue showing up to work in Men's Wearhouse chic. And thankfully, that puts her into contact with the MCU's answer to Edna Mode, The Drip Broker, aka Luke Jacobson (Griffin Matthews). The designer's got a pretty exclusive clientele — he nearly turns Jen away until she claims Avenger status — but She-Hulk doesn't cross paths with any of them. Not yet, anyway.
Jen returns to try on her new suits at the end of the episode, and while she's behind the curtain, Mr. Drip Broker encounters a box lying out in the open. Inside is a piece for another client: Daredevil. It's the vigilante's signature helmet, now in a fresh shade of yellow-gold.
This pretty much confirms that, when Daredevil does finally appear in the series, he'll be sporting his yellow-and-red suit from the comics. Daredevil's yellow suit is one of the more controversial aspects of his character: Not everyone loves the look, but it exists for a reason. And given that the suit was a mandate for Daredevil's appearance in "She-Hulk," it reveals a lot about what we can expect from the new, improved hero.
'They knew exactly what they wanted the suit to look like'
"She-Hulk" head writer Jessica Gao has spoken a lot about the process of folding Daredevil into the series. The character was one of many that the writers wanted to feature in "She-Hulk" — and though he was thankfully available, Marvel Studios had some contingencies about featuring him. "The one thing that I didn't have control of was the suit," Gao recently told Lifehacker. "They knew exactly what they wanted the suit to look like."
Daredevil's live-action threads have always changed according to the narrative, even in the Netflix series, so it makes sense that the big wigs at Marvel would have a clear vision for his MCU appearance. When he was getting his start in Hell's Kitchen, the vigilante opted for a practical (and frugal) all-black ensemble before upgrading to his more recognizable blood-red suit. Only when his integrity as Daredevil was compromised by an imposter, Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter (Wilson Bethel), did he revert back to his original outfit — and the transition to a yellow suit in the MCU feels like a continuation of that thread.
Matt Murdock managed to thwart Poindexter and Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) by the time "Daredevil" wrapped up its third season, but not before the duo dragged his reputation through the mud. If MCU-Daredevil is truly the same character as Netflix-Daredevil, this yellow suit could be just one of a few attempts to distance himself from the whole affair. It's interesting that Matt has relocated to Los Angeles, as well. Are things still so bad in Hell's Kitchen that Daredevil would travel to the other side of the country for a fresh start?
Daredevil: Born Again
There's also the chance, however, that this yellow suit represents a "fresh start" in a much more literal sense. After all, yellow was a major element of Daredevil's first look in the comics, paired with red gloves to honor his late father. If "She-Hulk" aims to establish Matt Murdock anew, the yellow suit is a good place to start, especially since this will be his first appearance as Daredevil in the MCU.
If you study the helmet closely, though, there's some noticeable wear-and-tear — the kind that represents an established career as a crime fighter. Some of the yellow paint that covers the helmet is already worn off in some places, which means that Daredevil has already gotten into a few scrapes in his new look. In Los Angeles specifically? Maybe not. It's possible the vigilante is on a specific mission, one that's pulled him from his typical haunts in New York, and The Drip Broker was one of but a few tailors qualified to work on his suit.
Unfortunately, it's still a bit too soon to know for sure, but I have a feeling we won't have to wait much longer to find out. It'd be cruel to tease Daredevil fans with such an overt reference to the character if he weren't making his appearance soon.
New episodes of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" stream on Thursdays on Disney+.