She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the most recent Marvel TV series to come to Disney Plus. It’s also the most comedic entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as ambitious lawyer Jen Walters transforms into a super-strong green giant to fight bad guys (and sexism).
In my review of She-Hulk for CNET, I noted the show’s wildly clever streak, but I couldn’t help but feel that it “lacks the delicious swagger of a proper legal drama, the rousing action of a sci-fi show or even the heart of other Marvel shows.” Now that episode 1 is streaming on Disney Plus, what are your first impressions?
Here’s our recap of the series premiere episode and post-credits scene, which explores themes and Easter eggs, mysterious spaceships and Captain America’s love life. Episode 2 follows on August 25th and every Thursday (here’s the full She-Hulk episode release date schedule). Lots of spoilers to follow!
Lawyer show!
The series stars Tatiana Maslany, previously seen on the award-winning sci-fi show Orphan Black, HBO’s Perry Mason and the Broadway Network show. He opens the show by giving a speech about how people who benefit from power also have some responsibility. Hmm, I’m sure there’s a shorter way to say it…
Delivered directly to the audience as the camera pans away from law books and a Ruth Bader Ginsberg bobblehead, the speech is clearly intended to lay out the show’s manifesto, adding nuance to Spider’s famous maxim -Man: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Whether that mission statement will be fulfilled in the series remains to be seen. To be honest, Jen Walters is a lawyer practicing closing argument for a court case, and that’s not a high bar for sincerity. Does she really believe these things? I hope so, because she is the heroine.
Jen again addresses the camera at the end of the scene, establishing the first of the series’ fourth wall breaks as she speaks directly to the viewer. Chronologically, the first breaking of the fourth wall comes later in the episode and earns a double take from Bruce and Jen, a reaction that is pure Fleabag. Maybe there’s more to audience chats than just one-liners?
She-Hulk’s origin story
We first meet Jen when she’s already She-Hulk and then flash back to when she got powers. This prevents us from spending much time with Jen before the powers. Yes, the Cheetos thing with chopsticks and his Steve Rogers theory are fun, but what do these cute details tell us about our main character? If we have no idea who he was before, it’s hard to empathize with how the arrival of superpowers shakes his world. For example, Jen later calls the Avengers a “secret team of government contractors.” Imagine if he was staunchly anti-superhero before he got powers. How difficult it would be!
Anyway, let’s go on a road trip with Cousin Bruce, aka Bruce Banner, aka The Incredible Hulk. His arm has been in a sling since he donned the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame and damaged his hand in the process of undoing Thanos’ broken fingers. Banner was seen with the slingshot in the post-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which came out a million years ago, wait, was that less than a year ago? Lies!
Anyway, it’s the moment in She-Hulk’s origin story, the event that changes her life irreversibly, the moment that will always stand out over her story, when the themes implicit within the character s ‘express in a decisive praxis, and, yes, a The spaceship makes the car crash and Jen puts Brucey’s blood in it.
Wait, is that it? Is this the origin story? Uhhh, okay.
When a bruised and battered Jen collapses in the bathroom of a sports bar, a group of party women are shocked by her condition. But they immediately help him, which feels like the most endearing and truthful moment of the premiere episode. Jen then faces some closing moments, but Bruce confronts her before she can pass for a young upstart.
Where did the spaceship come from?
Strange things find you when you’re a Hulk.” That includes being cut off in traffic by a vehicle that’s definitely not designed for the freeway. The spaceship that caused this Hulk fender-blow was a courier ship from class A Sakaaran, meaning he came from the planet Sakaar where Banner and Thor worked as gladiators for Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster in the movie Thor: Ragnarok, but what message could he bring and who could be trying to get to the Hulk who was once the champion of the arena of that strange planet.
She-Hulk smash (the patriarchy)
Jen wakes up in a mariachi-themed cabin/bunker decorated with Iron Man’s broken helmet. It turns out that while Bruce has imposed Hulk-ness on Jen, she healed his gauntlet-withered arm in return. That doesn’t seem fair, but then it wouldn’t be the first relationship where the woman gives more than the guy. I’m not getting to the subtext, by the way: During the training montage where we learn more about Jen’s abilities, the themes of the series also crystallize.
The series has a lot to say about being a woman, and especially a woman in the public eye. The power fantasy of the superhero genre is often said to appeal to children because it’s about getting bigger and stronger and claiming control of the world. The Hulk story intriguingly complicates this fantasy by explicitly linking physical strength and violence with fear, rage, and pain. By placing Bruce alongside Jen, She-Hulk makes this raging, inarticulate force something explicitly male and contrasts it with the female experience.
Bruce tells Jen that the Hulk is driven by anger and fear. Jen replies that this is the basis of any woman’s everyday emotion. The episode is even called “A Normal Amount of Rage.” Boom: This is She-Hulk’s real origin story.
“When people start seeing you as a monster,” he also warns Jen, “that never goes away.” Considering the series is about a woman who was thrust into fame reluctantly, this line resonates with many women who have been treated cruelly for daring to live their lives in the public eye. Women like Britney Spears, Monica Lewinsky and Pamela Anderson were branded and punished for their behavior, often through grotesque double standards, but have been vindicated in recent years.
I’m always angry
Remember when Mark Ruffalo first played the Hulk in The Avengers? One of the moments that sealed this perfect casting was when he revealed his tragic secret: that he was always angry.
And yet, have we ever seen Ruffalo’s Banner show much worse than wrinkled melancholy? It’s intriguing to see if the arrival of a fellow Hulk causes conflict in Banner. We see a glimpse of this when Bruce knocks Jen off a cliff in a fit of jealousy, but I think it’s meant to be funny (perhaps calling back to the “insignificant god” gag when he punched Loki in The Avengers).
The argument between Jen and Bruce is basically a buildup to the obligatory fight scene. Anyway, I hope the conflict in Ruffalo’s Banner is played out in later episodes. For an uncontrollable rage monster, Bruce Banner has been too likable for too long.
Court in session
And so we return to the trial. Before Jen can make her case, Jameela Jamil crashes into the wall. She plays Titania, a superpowered influence who originally appeared in the comics as a sassy woman who was given superpowers by Doctor Doom during the Secret Wars storyline.
If the TV version follows a similar origin, this makes Titania an intriguing mirror for She-Hulk as a normal woman gifted with great power.
Reluctantly, Jen Hulks out in public for the first time and stops Titania. Hopefully, this doesn’t come back to bite her in the spandex.
Captain America f–!
The post-credits scene in episode 1 sees Jen insisting on her theory about Captain America’s sex life. She’s just pretending to be drunk, because Hulkdom’s main advantage is that chugging beers is all buzz and no beard. Anyway, Bruce confirms that Steve Rogers lost his virginity in 1943 to a USO tour girl. The star-crossed man with a real plan! An attractive blonde autograph hunter catches Steve’s attention at 2:30 in this song from the 2011 film The First Avenger; maybe she was the lucky lady:
She-Hulk random thoughts
- The Hulks are created by lethal doses of gamma radiation, but only when a rare combination of genetic factors synthesizes the gamma radiation into “something else”.
- When Jen breaks Bruce’s glasses, it seems pretty clear that she’s only wearing them to prove that she’s the Smart Hulk.
- Maybe it’s me, but does it ever seem for a second that they’re actually in Mexico? Or even outdoors?
- A bit of synergy between Disney brands with the mention of Pixar. Jen screams the moment Bing Bong jumps off the wagon in Inside Out and, great, I’m crying now.
- Spandex is a Hulk’s best friend.
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