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Warning: Contains SPOILERS for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 8.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s meta-commentary on the MCU surprisingly predicted how the show and She-Hulk herself would be received by a portion of the fanbase. A character who can break the fourth wall in the comics, She-Hulk was the perfect choice to star in the MCU’s first 30-minute comedy series. As She-Hulk heads toward its final episode, it becomes clear that the show was aware of the complaints it would receive and the discussions it would spark – which range from disproven Red Hulk fan theories to toxic sexist comments.
Through the Disney+ platform, Marvel Studios was able to experiment with different storytelling formats for the MCU. Though most of the Disney+ MCU shows have so far followed the six-episode limited series structure, some productions went for a different strategy. One example is She-Hulk, which will end its run with nine 30-minute episodes. She-Hulk has also so far avoided some Disney+ Marvel series tropes, including that of a big villain reveal midway through the show or the hero only getting a new suit at the end of the season.
Still, She-Hulk is being received with a lot of criticism. Similar to what had happened with Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk was review bombed before the first episode even aired, with a lot of the negative reviews complaining that Marvel was trying to replace the Hulk or that the show had some agenda. Curiously, She-Hulk incorporates those types of criticisms into the show’s story, which was obviously written before any fan reaction. She-Hulk also cleverly acknowledges some old Marvel movie tropes, and it even mocked the franchise’s worldbuilding formula.
She-Hulk’s Power Gags Knew “Fans” Would Complain
She-Hulk is the latest example of a female superhero or sci-fi main character being deemed a “Mary Sue” for simply being as powerful or skillful as a previously established male character. Right after She-Hulk’s first episode was released, the scene in which She-Hulk fights the Hulk was criticized for portraying Jen as being as strong as Banner without any training – except that the Hulk himself never had any official combat training before entering the superhero business. She-Hulk was also criticized for having Jen controlling her powers and transformation way too quickly and without training, a complaint that ignores that Jennifer Walter’s “Hulking” process has always been different from that of the Hulk.
Still, She-Hulk knew that those would be recurring complaints and decided to incorporate them as part of the show’s humor. Jen makes fun of Bruce Banner for being able to master the Hulk transformation far quicker than him, and the training sequence from She-Hulk episode 1 makes sure to point out how She-Hulk could very well be stronger than the Smart Hulk. She-Hulk’s powers have in fact been a recurring topic on the show, and while Intelligencia’s ultimate plan for Jen’s blood is still a mystery, it will obviously have some to do with Jennifer’s unique Hulk transformation. When the MCU’s version of the Wrecking Crew tried to steal Jen’s blood, one of them even criticized the lawyer for “showing her powers around”.
She-Hulk Nailed The Toxic Sexism Of Some Marvel Fans
As has been the case for a lot of female-centered superhero movies and shows, She-Hulk has been targeted with vocal online complaints about “forced feminism”, “woke narrative” and similar remarks. Those sorts of complaints have spread out through social media in an alarming way, and when it comes to the MCU, they have led to shows like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk being review bombed and actors being targeted with personal attacks. Through its villain twist, She-Hulk nailed the toxic sexism with which the show is having to deal.
She-Hulk’s main villain throughout the season was the MCU’s version of Marvel Comics’ Intelligencia, which in the comics is formed by some of Marvel’s most intelligent villains but that in the show was given a different spin. Instead of a secret society formed by MODOK or the Leader, She-Hulk’s Intelligencia is an online board for people who want to vent their hate, including against She-Hulk. Any resemblance with real online boards is likely not a coincidence, as some of the Intelligencia members’ posts look scarily similar to a lot of real-life comments aimed at fictional female characters. “Who does She-Hulk think she is” or “She doesn’t deserve to be the new Hulk” are some of the comments seen in She-Hulk’s Intelligencia board, yet are similar to what is found in IMDB reviews for the show.
She-Hulk also indicated how writers, producers, and Marvel as a whole must receive those sorts of toxic criticisms. When asked if the Intelligencia was getting in her head, Jennifer said that she did not care about “what a bunch of people on the internet” said about her. In fact, a lot of the show has been centered around how She-Hulk reacts to being the world’s topic of the month, which also reflects how a big-budget Disney+ Marvel project is received. She-Hulk is now at the center of the pop culture conversation, and as such, it is unfortunately bound to deal with a significant amount of toxicity.
She-Hulk Knew About Marvel Cameo Expectations
When it comes to parodying or mocking the MCU itself, She-Hulk also predicted what fans would expect from the show. Heroes and villains showing up as cameos have been a common trend for the MCU ever since the franchise’s very first movie, and while it is always great to have something like Daredevil showing up in She-Hulk, the anticipation for cameos and easter eggs can sometimes get in the way of the story itself. That was something Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness recently dealt with, as the Illuminati teases led to a lot of speculation regarding the Fantastic Four and the X-Men when the movie was always supposed to be a Doctor Strange story first.
She-Hulk acknowledged those MCU cameo expectations when Jennifer promised in episode 3 that She-Hulk was not a “cameo every week” type of show, only to realize that she had already met Hulk, Abomination, and Wong. Still, Jen made sure to point out that She-Hulk was about her story, and while the cameos did continue, the show remained very self-aware about them. For example, She-Hulk episode 8, which featured Daredevil, teased the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante at the beginning only to reveal that it was actually Leap Frog.
She-Hulk Predicted Your Red Hulk Theories
The “Hulk side” of the Marvel universe is still full of untapped potential in the MCU, therefore it was speculated that She-Hulk could perhaps revisit Betty Ross and the Leader or even introduce Red Hulk. The fact that both Jen’s blood and Bruce’s Hulk research were brought up in the show suggested that She-Hulk would indeed feature Red Hulk, especially now that a Thunderbolts movie is happening. However, not only does She-Hulk seem to have proven the Red Hulk theories wrong, but it also referenced those theories on the show. When asking herself why the episode still hadn’t ended, Jen suggested that there could still be a twist on the way, something like “another Hulk but this one’s red”. Considering that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law wrapped more than a year ago, the Red Hulk theories are yet another reaction that the show predicted.
New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law release on Thursdays on Disney+.
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