Marvel Just Got Rid of One Of Its Controversial Plot Points
With this week's episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Marvel finally confirms the Sokovia Accords are dead.
It’s only taken them six years, but Marvel has finally revealed that the Sokovia Accords established in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War have been repealed. As reported by The Direct, along with delivering on the long-anticipated appearance of Charlie Cox in the series as Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, this week’s episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law lets fans know the Accords are dead. In fact it’s Murdock who mentions this in the courtroom, during a hearing about–of all things–a product liability lawsuit.
In “Ribbit and Rip It,” the newest episode of Marvel’s She-Hulk, Jen (Tatiana Maslany) is forced into the awkward situation of representing the rich and spoiled Eugene Patilio aka Leap Frog (Brandon Stanley) in his lawsuit against the superhero suit designer Luke Jacobson (Griffin Matthews), who also designed a suit for Jen. Murdock represents Luke, and successfully argues that–because Jacobson exclusively designs for superheroes–Jen’s ask for a list of Luke’s clients would endanger both the clients and their loved ones. “May I remind you that the Sokovia Accords have been repealed,” Murdock says to the judge.
This is a pretty abrupt end to the Sokovia Accords, which were established in Civil War and have been in a kind of limbo ever since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. While anti-Accords heroes like Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) were shown to either still be in hiding or under house arrest as of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, by the follow-up many were shown to be operating in the open with little or no fear of arrest. And yet from S.W.O.R.D. Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg) in WandaVision–in events taking place shortly after those of Endgame–we learn the Accords are still law.
Last month in an op-ed, I argued that Marvel needed to take the opportunity presented by She-Hulk: Attorney at Law to resolve the question of the Sokovia Accords once and for all. Since the series was written and filmed long before I wrote my op-ed I don’t suffer any delusions that the piece held any influence. Regardless, it’s good to finally have an answer.
Though, as usual Marvel does leave some questions lingering; for example when were the Accords repealed and why weren’t Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) arrested regardless for their unrelated crimes?
In most likelihood, any other questions will go without canonical answers and perhaps that’s for the best. With both Rogers and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)–the two central figures of Civil War–no longer active in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige and co. likely have other priorities involving Multiverses and time traveling warlords.
In the meantime the first season of Marvel’s latest Disney+ show is soon coming to a close. The season finale of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law streams next Thursday on Disney+. Sokovia Accords or no, the penultimate episode ends with Jen “Hulking out” in response to a humiliating attack by the Intelligencia, and facing down a lot of very serious-looking armed law enforcement as a result.
