She-Hulk: How Leap-Frog Could Return and Pay Tribute to His Comic Roots

By Jenna Anderson

Across its eight episodes thus far, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has fleshed out the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a way that it hasn't quite done before, introducing some genuinely weird pulls from Marvel Comics lore. While many of these heroes and villains have been incredibly deep cuts, some have come with their own storied tenure within Marvel Comics, which adds a layer of new potential around their MCU introductions. Chief among them might be Eugene Patillio / Leap-Frog (Brandon Stanley), an amphibian-themed hero who gets caught in the crosshairs of Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) and Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Charlie Cox). While it's unclear exactly when and where Leap-Frog could return following Episode 8 of She-Hulk, one possibility is in sight — and it could pay tribute to his Marvel Comics lineage. 

In Episode 8 of She-Hulk, Eugene was introduced as a frog-loving superhero who sues Luke Jacobson (Griffin Matthews) over seemingly-faulty technology in his supersuit. After the court case, which Jen and Matt are opposing lawyers on, backfires, Eugene decides to kidnap Luke and get him to make him a new suit. Jen and Matt break in to his "Lily Pad" lair and rescue Luke, and Eugene ends up jumping out of a window in an ill-fated attempt to escape. He is then carted off in an ambulance, screaming in pain, before the episode pivots more towards Jen and Matt. While Eugene's exit in the episode is abrupt, the ending certainly left the door open for Eugene to return in some capacity — and Marvel Comics provide a handy inkling of how that could happen.

In the comics, Leap-Frog is actually the code name of Vincent Patillio, a down-on-his-luck inventor who creates a frog costume with enhanced coils that allow him to leap like a frog. After a bunch of fights against Daredevil and a stint in prison, Vincent focuses on his wife and young son, Eugene, and struggles to support his son after his wife's passing. Ultimately, Eugene grows up and decides to carry on his dad's mantle, sporting an even more absurd frog costume and the name of Frog-Man. The catch is that he operates in a more heroic context than his father, and teams up with heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Defenders.

We've gotten somewhat of a twist on the father-son dynamic with the nod that Eugene's father is one of GLK&H's biggest clients — but it's clear that Eugene is a bit of an amalagam of the Leap-Frog and Frog-Man comic iterations. If a future project in the MCU wanted to, it could take the comic-accurate passing of the torch between Vincent and Eugene and make it a moment of growth for Eugene himself, as he decides to turn over a new leaf (or lily pad?) and operate as more of a hero. If he takes on the name Frog-Man and a dorkier frog helmet in the process, all the better.

Do you want to see Leap-Frog return in the MCU as Frog-Man? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law debut Thursdays exclusively on Disney+. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

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