She Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres tomorrow on Disney Plus. This will be the much-anticipated debut of Jennifer Walters, Bruce Banner’s cousin, who’s also able to turn into a green giant. While Hulk is (usually) a smash-focused brute, She-Hulk has always retained her human intelligence while possessing Gamma-enhanced strength and durability.
Marvel Studio’s take is heavily influenced by Dan Slott’s “Single Green Female” run from the 2000s, focusing on Walters working in a law firm and dealing with court cases involving superheroes. The trailers indicate this is going to be a vehicle for both comedy and political commentary, showing that being able to bench press a tank doesn’t mean you can avoid the dreaded “mansplaining.”
In an interview with The Wrap, She-Hulk head writer Jessica Gao underlined the importance of finding that balance and using the show to reflect reality:
“I really strongly believe that the representation behind the camera has to match the representation in front of the camera. There are life experiences and very lived-in feelings that you can’t really replicate or fake, that you would just not have a knowledge of if you hadn’t experienced something of that level.”
Gao went on to emphasize that she had ambitions to make a female-focused MCU show but wanted to avoid it feeling didactic, saying:
“We always want to be very real about these very female-centric themes and lived-in experiences, but it’s never coming from a place of trying to give a TED Talk on what it’s like to be women for men. That’s never what this was. So that’s never the tone or the vibe of the show. It’s always for women to feel seen, and to feel like they can relate, and feel like they’re getting their little corner of the MCU that is going to tackle issues that are true to them.”
There will inevitably be those in the MCU fandom who will react to a show with “female-centric” themes like a vampire hissing after it’s been doused in holy water. Most fans are enjoying the Disney Plus shows expanding the potential audience for Marvel, and there is anticipation that MCU’s devoted will be able to mention She-Hulk in the same breath as Ms. Marvel and WandaVision. We’ll soon know for sure very soon, as She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will be available on Disney Plus tomorrow.
