Benedict Wong Is Returning as Wong in ‘She-Hulk,’ and He Should be in Everything Else, Too
Everything is better with Wong.
The trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has arrived, and a casting announcement has come with it! According to the announcement, Benedict Wong will be appearing in She-Hulk as one of the best characters in the MCU: Wong. Not only is this appearance awesome in its own right, but it makes one of his previous cameos make a lot more sense!
Wong, the gruff Sorcerer Supreme who lights up every scene he’s in, is truly one of the most underrated heroes in the MCU. We first met Wong in Doctor Strange, when he was a humble librarian at Kamar-Taj who wasn’t afraid to take the cocky doctor down a notch. We saw Wong again in Avengers: Infinity War, when he and Stephen took on Ebony Maw and the rest of the Black Order when Thanos came to Earth in search of the time stone. We saw him again in the final battle of Endgame, and eventually, he made his return as full-fledged Sorcerer Supreme in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where he faced off against Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch.
But before Spider-Man, Wong had an intriguing cameo appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Shang-Chi and Katy arrive at the Golden Daggers Club in Macau after Shawn receives a letter from his estranged sister, Xialing. One of the fights at the club is between Wong and a huge green monster. After Wong wins the fight, he calls the monster Emil as they walk through a portal to a high-tech-looking room. In the end-credits sequence, Wong convenes a conference with Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers to discuss the beacon coming out of Shang-Chi’s rings. (Then he, Shang-Chi, and Katy all get drunk and sing karaoke, which maybe isn’t relevant here, but is one of the best end-credits scenes of all time, so it always warrants a mention.)
Anyone who saw 2008’s The Incredible Hulk recognized Emil as Emil Blonksy (Tim Roth), or Abomination. Abomination was the main villain in The Incredible Hulk, and after his defeat at Hulk’s hands, he was shipped off to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in Alaska called the Vault. Other than a brief chance at freedom in the Marvel one-shot “The Consultant,” Abomination presumably stayed in the Vault until Wong broke him out so that they could make some money fighting at the Golden Dagger. At the end of their fight, the room Wong and Emil travel to via their portal is presumably the Vault.
What is Wong doing in She-Hulk?
In the She-Hulk trailer, after Jennifer’s boss tells her he wants her to be the public face of a superhuman division at their law firm, we get a brief glimpse of Emil in the Vault. Then, at the end, we see him transform into Abomination. Wong doesn’t appear in the trailer, though.
So what might Wong be up to in She-Hulk? Given that his last cameo was with Abomination, Marvel will presumably be fleshing out that relationship a little more. It’s possible that Jennifer will be acting as Emil’s attorney in an effort to get him exonerated and freed (after all, in “The Consultant,” Emil almost became an Avenger before S.H.I.E.L.D. convinced the World Security Council to keep him imprisoned). If that’s true, then Wong might act as an advocate for Emil. After all, Wong is a world-famous superhero in his own right, so he presumably has some clout.
If Wong’s role in She-Hulk revolves around Abomination, then he most likely won’t have a huge part in the series. After all, “Phase 4” is dividing Marvel’s heroes into several separate branches, with Wong belonging to the mystic/supernatural branch and the Hulks belonging to the Avengers branch. So far, we haven’t seen a vast amount of crossover between the branches.
But you never know! Wong could have some significant screen time.
In any case, Wong popping in on random Phase 4 properties is a trend that should continue full throttle. Why? Because Wong is the best, that’s why. He’s the BEST. He’s got a personality like a 100-year-old snapping turtle who has a soft spot for you. He seems to have a stick up his butt, but then listens to Beyoncé in the library and does cage matches as a side hustle. He’s a weird dude, and we love him. Marvel, if you’re listening: Put Wong in everything! We need more Wong!
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres on Disney Plus on August 17.
(featured image: Marvel)
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