You won't see all of the Hulk's origin story in the new episode of Marvel Studios' Legends

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, it’s become more and more challenging to recall well over a decade of world-building. Since the launch of WandaVision in early 2021, Disney+ has helpfully been providing character history recaps with the Marvel Studios’ Legends series. With She-Hulk: Attorney At Law premiering next week, the latest installment is about Bruce Banner, who will be appearing alongside his cousin Jennifer Walters as the titular heroine.

Though the roughly seven minute compilation includes many of the Hulk’s greatest hits, such as his very satisfying takedown of Loki in The Avengers and wielding the Infinity Stones to restore the half of the population taken by Thanos, there’s also a glaring omission: we don’t see just how Banner became the green giant.

The character was introduced into the MCU with 2008's The Incredible Hulk, which dug into his experiments with gamma radiation that gave him superpowers. Banner was originally played by Edward Norton, followed by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers and subsequent projects.

While it might seem like The Incredible Hulk was left out of the Legends episode because it would be confusing to casual viewers or due to reported conflicts with Norton, the answer goes beyond simple editorializing. Due to rights issues, Universal distributed The Incredible Hulk. Though it was produced by Marvel Studios, the movie is not available on Disney+ and is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

Somewhat similarly, Sony holds the film rights to Spider-Man. While Peter Parker has appeared in various team-up stories in the MCU, Disney+ did not release a Legends episode ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home, suggesting that the two studios’ deal is more restrictive with the web-slinger.

When it comes to other Hulk-adjacent heroes, Amadeus Cho, who was recently named as one of The A.V. Club’s top 15 Marvel characters we’d like to see in live action, has been anticipated for years. His mother, Dr. Helen Cho, was introduced back in 2015's Avengers: Age Of Ultron, hinting at the possibility of seeing the Totally Awesome Hulk. While he’ll be seen in the animated series Spider-Man: Freshman Year, it remains to be seen what else Universal’s deal with Marvel Studios will permit.

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law premieres on Disney+ on August 18.