Warning: The following article contains spoilers from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode eight
The latest episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has left MCU fans both elated and well, let’s just say shocked to their very core even though it would be the understatement of the year. But between the high highs and lowest of lows, the episode introduced a character no one had ever expected would enter the MCU – Leap-Frog. Who is this unexpected entry in Jen’s story? Is he destined to play a bigger role in the Marvel universe?
Spoilers ahead.
Well to solve that, we will have to first get introduced to the character’s peculiar debut in the Disney Plus series before we dive into his history in the Marvel comics to find the answers.
Introducing MCU’s Eugene Patilio aka Leap-Frog
Eugene Patilio is the pissed-off client sitting in Jennfier Walters’ office at the beginning of the episode as he heatedly narrates how his suit malfunctioned while he was trying to teach two goons a lesson. Apparently, he activated the hydraulics in the boots attached to his suit in an attempt to take flight but his take-off was cut short when they short-circuited instead and sent him crashing to the ground, with his legs on fire.
As he sustained third-degree burns — not to mention a bruised ego — he seeks to file a lawsuit against the outfit designer Luke Jacobson. Unwilling to take up his case given her association with Jacobson, Jennifer tries to convince her boss but the latter insists that they have kept Mr. Patilio happy — not Eugene but his father, who is only denoted as “Mr. Patilio Sr.”
As Jen explains to Matt Murdock (yes, he is finally here!!), Eugene is not a superhero nor does he have any benevolent intentions to fight against what is wrong and help others. He is just a spoiled brat with rich parents who has access to too much money and no functioning brain cells, something which is eventually proven when it is revealed that he put jet fuel in his boosters, going against the explicit instructions of Jacobson.
He takes another detour down the dumb lane by kidnapping the designer and forcing him to make another suit, with more upgrades than the last one had while planning to create a “Leap Squad.” Yes, the stupidity of Mr. Patilio Jr. has no bounds. When Daredevil and She-Hulk thwart his very witless plan, he jumps out of the window hoping to make a superhero landing but only manages to sustain multiple fractures. Man, Deadpool would have been so disappointed.
Anyway, we do appreciate his hilarious introduction in the series as he serves to bring Jennifer and Matt closer. And for the time being, it appears that’s all he will be useful for in the MCU. But the same doesn’t hold true for the Leap-Frog in the pages of Marvel comic books.
The villainous Leap-Frog and the heroic Eugene Patilio
In the comic books, it was Eugene’s father, Vincent Patilio, who moonlighted as the Leap-Frog. He was initially a villain who faced off against many superheroes but was a major headache for Daredevil. Also, unlike the depiction of the character in the show, he isn’t some rich man who has enough dollars to shell out for his son’s shenanigans. The Patilios barely managed to make ends meet in the comics.
He was an inventor who had many creations but they were never approved by the patent office. But one day, when he made the biggest invention of his life — leaping coils powered by batteries that allowed him to leap to impossibly great heights — he decided to turn to a life of villainy. In establishing his career as an ingenious criminal, he worked for groups like Emissaries of Evil, Defenders (the villainous bunch not the heroes), and even joined Justin Hammer – the industrialist who was one of Tony Stark’s many foes.
While committing many of his crimes, he came across Daredevil and thwarted the superhero multiple times, outrunning and outwitting him, unlike the character’s adaptation in the show where he literally had his ass handed to him multiple times. As for the comics, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and later Iron Man eventually defeated him. Vincent soon ended up in jail because of his crimes.
As stated above, the Patilios weren’t well off. After serving his sentence, Vincent worked to financially support his son Eugene’s education but his earnings weren’t enough. Eugene had to work after school to scrape a living while trying to survive the insistent teasing he was subjected to for being the son of a not-so-impressive supervillain.
Unlike the Eugene we just met in She-Hulk, the comic book character aspired to be a hero despite the hardships he went through. He soon found his true passion – he decided to refurbish his father’s status and make his villainous Leap-Frog a symbol of goodness.
He donned the costume, calling himself the Frog-Man. Though he had a clumsy start — his initial victories were accidental — he went on to wage a war against crime despite his father’s displeasure with his inclination toward being a superhero. He wanted to become Spider-Man’s permanent sidekick, but the webbed slinger advised him to instead get together with Spider-Kid and the Toad to make the superhero group Misfits.
Though their association was short-lived, Eugene continued to help other superheroes and defeat villains like the White Rabbit and Flag-Smasher. He later tried to join the Avengers and the Defenders. He ended up becoming a part of the Fifty State Initiative, which technically made him an Avenger.
So far, Eugene in the MCU has shown no signs that his future will even remotely resemble his comic book counterpart’s heroic arc… at least, not yet. MCU is nothing if not forgiving to its villains, so maybe, somewhere down the line, he will drop his clumsy-clown persona? Given his villainous start in the series, it is evident that the on-screen adaptation has ditched Vincent’s story and instead presented Eugene as Leap-Frog. Or maybe, this is just a start for him? Maybe, after getting whooped by Daredevil and She-Hulk, he will learn the error of his ways and switch lanes?
For now, he retains his status as nothing but an Easter Egg, a comic book reference for Marvel loyalists. Only time will tell if the introduction of this unlikely character means anything for the current, multiversal-hued plot at the heart of the MCU.
The final episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is set to air next Thursday on Disney Plus.
