‘A good time during a hard time’ is exactly what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is giving us today. Superheroes are getting less severe, more fun, and relatable, as shown in the new addition to MCU’s Phase Four, ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.’ Here is everything we know about the superhero legal drama.
She-Hulk is a television series about a socially insecure attorney, Jennifer Walters, whose career and personal life are suddenly upturned by a Hulkish alter ego. The television series was created by Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Jessica Gao and released to Disney+ this year. Gao is also an executive producer alongside president and co-president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito.
The creator of Marry Me (a romance movie featuring Jennifer Lopez and Maluma), Kat Cairo, is also an executive producer with Victoria Alonso and Brad Winderbaum. Kat Cario directed most of the nine episodes, and Any Valia directed episodes 5, 6, and 7. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ first premiered at El Capitan Theatre, Los Angeles, on August 15, 2022. It later premiered on Disney+ on August 18.
She-Hulk Plot
In the first episode of She-Hulk, we begin with ordinary lawyer Jennifer Walters rehearsing her closing lines for a court case. Then in a surprising but satisfying fourth-wall-breaking moment, Jennifer turns to us and tells us the story of how she became a hulk. Jennifer is a cousin of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, and on a road trip with Bruce Banner (Hulk), a car accident leads to the blood of the cousins getting mixed up, and voila, we have a She-Hulk. I’ll leave the scientific explanation to Smart Hulk.
Anyway, after this disorienting experience with Jennifer blacking out, she wakes up in Hulk’s Mexico hideout. Hulk, thinking Jennifer will have the same rough start he had, tries to reach Jennifer on how to control her transformation. But, being a female lawyer with many misogynistic men to navigate, she can control her anger and, in turn, her transformation into a hulk.
Realizing she can control her green alter ego, Jennifer returns to her normal life, refusing to be the superhero Bruce wants her to be. In the last minutes of episode 1, all of Jennifer’s chances of keeping her Hulk form a secret are dashed when Titania, a glamorous superhero/influencer, attacks the courtroom, and Jennifer has to transform to protect people. And that is how She-Hulk is introduced to the public. In episode 2, She-Hulk is seen as a conflict of interest by the DA’s office, and she is fired.
Jennifer is soon hired by another law firm called GLK&H, but on the condition that she becomes the face of the Superhuman Law Division and comes to work as She-Hulk every day. Despite her struggles with accepting her Hulk form, Jennifer accepts.
In episodes that follow, we see She-Hulk working on cases involving superheroes like The Abomination while she tries to make sure the She-Hulk does not trample upon her regular short self. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the story of Jennifer Walters learning to balance being an average woman with being a superhero.
She-Hulk Cast
- Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk
- Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Jennifer’s cousin
- Jameela Jamil as Titania, social media influencer and She-Hulk’s nemesis
- Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki Ramos, a queer paralegal, and Jennifer’s best friend
- Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination, Jennifer’s superhuman client who was also an antagonist in The Incredible Hulk
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, a villain
- Josh Segarra as Pug, a lawyer at GLK&H and Jennifer’s co-worker
- Renée Elise Goldsberry as Mallory Book, a lawyer at GLK&H
- Megan Thee Stallion as Herself
- Benedict Wong as Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme
She-Hulk Release Date
After episode 1 of She-Hulk premiered on August 18, 2022, new episodes of the superhero show are released weekly on Thursdays. So far, six episodes have been released, the last of which became available on September 23. Here are the release dates for the three episodes left:
- Episode 7: September 29, 2022
- Episode 8: October 6, 2022
- Episode 9/season finale: October 13, 2022
She-Hulk Ratings
She-Hulk has a low rating of 5/10 and 59% on Google. This is due to its visual effects, which are criticized by the public for being unrealistic and amateur. Some people also say the legal drama series has no major plot that adds to the bigger picture of the MCU. Maybe that is true, but I believe the producers clearly stated that the show is different from the MCU movies and series we have seen in the past.
She-Hulk is supposed to be an amusing and light take on a female superhero whose relatable personal life is as much a part of her as her bulky alter ego. That is the motivation behind the show, and the creators are doing a great job of sticking to that so far and enjoying it, asas seen in the She-Hulk season finale.
I must admit She-Hulk’s appearance was not what I expected, and her fourth wall breaking was so inconsistent it sometimes came off wrong and awkward. However, the show is a fresh and entertaining addition to the MCU. The story itself is more important than some of our unsatisfied ideas of what She-Hulk should look like. She-Hulk’s rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, shows some of us find it perfectly acceptable despite its visual effects and Shrek-like capabilities.
Where to Watch She-Hulk
You can watch every episode of She-Hulk on Disney+.
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