Tim Roth’s emotional scene in the latest episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is making Reddit change its stance on the Incredible Hulk villain while also giving distinct Thunderbolts vibes.
In the fifth episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, John Walker is called before a senate hearing after his debacle as the new Captain America. As the senators condemn not only his actions, but Walker himself, he stands at the podium and bellows, “I only ever did what was asked of me, what you told me to be, what you trained me to do, and I did it. And I did it well.” From Walker’s perspective, he was being persecuted for doing his job, apparently oblivious to murdering an enemy combatant in public. That leads to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, or simply “Val,” making the would-be U.S. Agent a tantalizing offer to regain his honor.
Although a mystery at the time, Val’s offer appears to have been to recruit Walker for her team of Thunderbolts. In the comics, this is Marvel’s version of DC’s Suicide Squad, what with superpowered criminals opting for service on the government-sponsored team in lieu of prison time. Rumor has it that Val will be in the movie, so it’s assumed that Walker was her first recruit.
Fast forward to this week’s episode of She-Hulk. A rival law firm recruited Jennifer Walters to head their super-criminal legal cases. Her first client is the Hulk’s classic villain, Abomination. Once again played by Tim Roth (whom we haven’t seen since 2008’s Incredible Hulk), he explains that, like Walker, he did not see himself as the villain since he was following orders set forth by the United States’ government.
Echoing Walker’s words from FATWS, Emil Blonsky explains, “I was sent on a mission to take out a threat, and I thought I was the good guy, you know? I thought I was gonna be, you know, Captain bloody America.”
The similarities between those speeches has Reddit users thinking Blonsky is the next recruit for Val’s Thunderbolts. Jaysoprob_2012 hopes joining the team is Abomination’s chance at redeeming himself.
“I think having abomination remorseful and stick to his regret and having a redemption would be interesting. They could set him up on the thunderbolts and have that team made up of people who think they were the heroes or want to be heroes but didn’t get the chance. Depending where hulks story goes he could end up coming back to earth as an enraged hulk and abomination gets to fight him and this time will be seen as the hero and get the recognition he wants.”
Viper2369 suggests fans give The Consultant a second watch, writing:
“After watching the episode I was looking around in the Disney+ app and came across the one shots. Watched ‘The consultant’ one again and found it very interesting. I’d forgotten how much of it was about Blonsky and how they wanted to push him as the one for the Avenger initiative.”
