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Warning: This post contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at LawShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1 raises the possibility the Hulk is a mutant in the MCU. The MCU's version of the Hulk was born in 2005, when Bruce Banner unwisely decided to test his experimental super-soldier serum on himself. Captain America's super-soldier serum used Vita-rays to trigger the mutation, but Banner came up with the idea of substituting those with Gamma radiation. Needless to say, it all went catastrophically wrong.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1 subtly rewrites the Hulk's MCU origin story, however, with Bruce Banner revealing he and his cousin Jennifer Walters share "a rare combination of genetic factors" that allow their bodies to synthesize Gamma radiation. His clear implication is that this genetic disorder is the only reason either survived exposure to Gamma radiation; he notes the little of his blood that mixed with his cousin's would have otherwise been "lethal." It's a fascinating retcon, suggesting there has always been something special about both Bruce Banner and his cousin Jennifer Walters on a genetic level.
It all sounds rather like the MCU's recently-introduced idea of mutants. Ms. Marvel is the MCU's first official mutant, and her origin story feels strikingly similar to that of the Hulk's someone with a rare genetic anomaly who gains powers after being exposed to some sort of radiation (in her case, Noor energy from another dimension). It looks as though, in the MCU, mutants are people with genetic anomalies allowing their bodies to absorb energy and radiation, with superpowers triggered as a result. All of this definitely raises the possibility both Hulk and She-Hulk are mutants in the MCU.
Human Mutates vs Mutants In Marvel ExplainedMarvel appears to be subtly changing the definition of mutants for the MCU. In the comics, there's a pretty sharp delineation between mutants and other superpowered being known as mutates. Human mutates are people like Spider-Man, the Hulk, or Captain America, whose superhuman abilities are artificially created; whether through the use of super-soldier serums or exposure to radiation. In contrast, mutants are individuals born with a genetic anomaly known as an "X gene" that typically triggers around puberty. The activation of this X-gene triggers the emergence of superpowers, physical mutations, and the like.
Crucially, though, there has actually always been some wriggle-room in the definitions. Stan Lee originally assumed there was a link between the emergence of mutants and increasing levels of radiation in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of nuclear weapons testing; that's why he called them "Children of the Atom." Professor X was envisioned as the son of a scientist who worked at a nuclear power plant in Alamogordo, New Mexico, while Beast's father was exposed to radiation during a nuclear accident. There have always been some mutants, such as Magneto's daughter Polaris, who were described as "latent" because their X-genes required a surge of energy to activate them. So far, the MCU's mutants appear to be based on this last idea.
The Hulk didn't say much about the precise genetic anomalies he discovered in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1. Still, everything he's said fits with the pattern established in Ms. Marvel, which certainly makes it possible. What's more, mutants have traditionally been presented as people who are hated and feared for their powers, and a Hulk connection would certainly help establish that status quo.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law releases new episodes Thursdays on Disney+.
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