There are two things you need to know about She-Hulk in the comic before enjoying the live-action series on Disney+. One, that his alter ego Jennifer Walters is actually a relative of Bruce Banner. And secondly, that he is considered one of the funniest, most experimental and boldest characters in Marvel. With the mixture of both things, the series that bears his name and will premiere on August 17, seems to be a production that will break some paradigms. Or at least, most of those that until now had been part of the Marvel platform series.
WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier were dramas, Loki pure science fiction. On the other hand, Hawkeye action and Moon Knight adventure with a complex psychological section. But She-Hulk seems to be more akin to comedy. And not a mocking satire of the world of superheroes — which, by the way, has always been the character in the comic — but something intriguing. In its first trailer, the series made it clear that it will be playing with several traditional elements of its original story. Also that it will go through new places for a Marvel series. Mocking, almost parodic, She-Hulk has all the resources to take all kinds of plot risks and succeed.
But while it may seem like a response to the success of Marvel's increasingly overcrowded superhero universe, She-Hulk has an illustrious comic book history. And it was almost inevitable that eventually, the character would make it to live action. We tell you the three reasons why She-Hulk is perhaps the character that will give a new air to the Marvel series. And without a doubt, one that will make it very clear that in the world of comics, he can still give many surprises.
She-Hulk has a strange origin
The character was born by a strange series of confluences. In 1980, The Incredible Hulk series was a hit on television. So much so that the CBS television network began to consider the possibility of retaining the character's license. This despite the fact that Marvel was still the owner of the rights of both Bruce Banner and everything related to the context of him.
But the channel began to work on the possibility of creating a character similar to the original and avoiding the publisher's copyright. One of the concepts that was handled was to directly change the gender of the Hulk and thus create an alternate history. The project began to be carried out in secret, but Marvel heard about CBS's intentions and decided to take matters into their own hands. So the publisher created She-Hulk, which encompassed the possible concept of a female Hulk. She did it under her own title: The Savage She-Hulk, published in February 1980 and signed by Stan Lee.
The story ran for 25 issues and ended in March 1982. But what began as an experiment fueled by a rush to preserve copyright turned into a hit. So after appearing in various adventures in as many story lines, the character had her own series in 1989. The Sensational She-Hulk is in fact the best known version of the character and the one that gave her her distinctive features. Especially his strong personality and strange sense of humor.
A year later, the double issue She-Hulk: Ceremony was published within the same series, which was a resounding success and showed the possibilities of the character. For the first time the possibility of his stories without the addition of his direct link to the Hulk began to be considered. The Sensational She-Hulk reached its 60th issue in 1994 and became the longest story about the character. Also, it was a journey through his own mythology and history. Some of his curious identity — and especially his tendency to break the fourth wall — come from this time.
After the cancellation of this second series, She-Hulk made cameo appearances in significant numbers of Marvel history. From the well-known Marvel Fanfare (1989) to volume 4 of Avengers Unplugged (1996). The character had a remarkable growth, in addition to a particular transformation, which included providing his own enemies and conflicts to the story. In 2002, he appeared in The Thing and She-Hulk: The Long Night and got his own series again, which was canceled in 2005.
She is really related to Bruce Banner
She-Hulk is the alter ego of Jennifer Walters, Bruce Banner's cousin. She is a successful lawyer (hence the name of the series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) and also one with a family related to the law. In the comic, her father is Los Angeles County Sheriff William Walters.
The family has a tragic history in tow. The bailiff is an acknowledged enemy of dangerous criminal Nicholas Trask. The latter tried to assassinate him when Jennifer was 17 years old. A violent event in which Elaine Banner Walters, the wife of the future She-Hulk, was murdered. Jennifer was injured and that's when her story intersects with Bruce Banner's.
The scientist was visiting the family home and was forced to donate blood to save the life of his relative. In the comic, all of the above occurs relatively recently to Bruce's experiments with gamma rays. So what started out as an emergency resource became a way to pass on his abilities to Jennifer. Or at least a less aggressive and much easier to control version.
A power, a link, many jokes
The transfusion caused Jennifer to acquire most of Bruce's powers, albeit in a attenuated, controlled, and more sophisticated form. And while they share the trait that they transform due to their emotions, Jennifer is capable of doing so at will. In fact, one of her most striking features is that her transformation into her green alter ego is painless for Jennifer. Much less, traumatic or violent. In reality, she ends up doing it at will and keeping her ordinary personality intact.
But despite the differences, She-Hulk shares the majority of powers with her illustrious relative. From strength, to agility, reflexes, jumping ability and stamina, Jennifer is the improved and more accurate version of the Hulk. In the comics, she also enjoys the gift of telepathy, which makes her a worthy adversary. Will she keep it in the live action version of her?
She -Hulk is a character whose tone is focused in a much more humorous and light-hearted sense than that of the Hulk. In fact, one of her most recurrent characteristics is breaking the fourth wall. She is also famous for her love life, which the Disney+ series will apparently show to some extent. A curious data? Her story intersects with that of Matt Murdock / Daredevil and also with that of StarFox / Eros, the Eternal played by Harry Styles. Will there be cameos of both in the series?
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Subscribe to Disney+ and save For now, what is obvious is that the Disney + adaptation will retain its extravagant and mocking tone. Which will undoubtedly give the show a completely different tone from the rest of the Marvel series on the platform. Good news for all fans of the popular character on paper.
