The following article contains spoilers for the She-Hulk finaleThe She-Hulk finale episode sure delivered an unexpected twist for Marvel fans, going as meta as possible to bring the studio’s own boss Kevin Feige to life in the MCU, well sort of. Now, early designs reveal what Kevin might have looked like.
In She-Hulk episode 9, Jennifer Walters fully embraces the comic book persona the character has always been known for to take her four wall-breaking antics to the next level, as the MCU newcomer heads over to Marvel Studios due to having a few gripes with the way her story is unfolding. After storming the writers’ room, Jen confronts K.E.V.I.N., the bleeding edge AI robot that invented and perfected the Marvel formula, an obvious nod to Feige down his signature hats.
However, concept artist Jeff Simpson (@jeffsimpsonkh) recently shared that K.E.V.I.N.'s design wasn’t always the refined piece of machinery that showed up in She-Hulk. Instead, he had a pretty diverse set of ideas for what the robot could be. These include one that the artist calls his Akira-style machine, packed with more organic-looking tissue and all, while other designs take after early computers from the '80s, though the one thing in common they all have is the Marvel Studios hat on top.
She-Hulk showrunner Jessica Gao fought hard for Feige's permission to use this strange cameo, and the hat was a particular point of contention between the two. "The character comes into the real world, and breaks into Marvel. You are a machine and the disbelief you can't suspend is that there would be a baseball hat resting on top of this machine," Gao said to ComicBook.com. Fortunately, Marvel Studios' talented team of artists came up with a more elegant way to slide Feige's hat collection into the design, and it’s safe to say the final version of K.E.V.I.N. looks the part.
Despite receiving unwavering criticism throughout its entire season, She-Hulk gave viewers a wholly different Marvel finale, one whose uniqueness is hard to deny even for those who didn’t care for the show’s humor. Never mind that "Whose Show Is This?" featured a rare instance of Marvel Studios making fun of itself and the very tropes that some fans have grown tired of in Phase Four.
Whether She-Hulk's irony will have some lasting impact on Marvel Studios' philosophy and approach for newer projects remains to be seen, but at least it speaks of a greater level of self-awareness from the writers than some people might give them credit for. Also, She-Hulk is finally asking those tough X-Men questions, so props to her for that.
She-Hulk is available for streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: @jeffsimpsonkh | Twitter