Every one of us has that one atypical Marvel character that we hold in high regard whilst others roll their eyes. For some, it’s a character like Ant-Man or Squirrel Girl or even Moon Knight but for me, She-Hulk has been than emerald gem on the Marvel lexicon.
For years, I have met so many people who only hear the name “She-Hulk” and immediately scoff. They think she’s nothing more than a female clone of Hulk with nothing else to give her merit, but they have no idea how wrong they are.
To be frank, She-Hulk is just neck and neck with Spider-Man as my favorite Marvel character of all time. I can even label She-Hulk as my favorite female superhero. So with the new She-Hulk: Attorney At Law series on the horizon, I thought I’d go into detail on how She-Hulk has affected me for years.
This is She-Hulk, how I remember her…
A FANTASTIC FOUR CARTOON INTRODUCED ME TO HER
I had known about She-Hulk for quite some time growing up, but I never had much exposure. That all changed when I started watching a short-lived animated series titled Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. Now, I don’t want this article to turn into a review of this series, but I will say that this is arguably Marvel’s most underrated animated series that delivers on an updated version of the Fantastic Four that maintains what made the characters so great in the comics.
One of the episodes titled The Cure focuses on the idea of Ben Grimm AKA The Thing returning to his human form. As a result, the team holds auditions for a replacement and this leads to Jennifer Walters auditioning and becoming the new fourth member of the Fantastic Four as She-Hulk. This idea stems directly from the comics when John Byrne brought his two stories of She-Hulk and Fantastic Four comics together.
Now transformations have always fascinated me; werewolves, Jekyll and Hyde, and gender transformations. It’s always interesting to see anatomy morph and twist into something else and She-Hulk’s transformation in this series was a great one. Tons of detail with really beautiful animation really caught my attention as a child and that was just the beginning because She-Hulk ended up being this sassy yet badass woman who was just as beautiful as she was a kickass hero.
As a young girl, I ended up looking up to She-Hulk. I wished she had struck around for the whole series, but I settled for her being the guest star of my favorite episode of that series. I needed more though; She-Hulk was officially stuck in my brain.
THE DAN SLOTT RUN
I didn’t know where to start since, at this time of my life, I was not big on collecting or even reading Marvel comics. I got lucky and found the Dan Slott comic run of She-Hulk from 2004 and I was hooked.
The mix of genres really captured my attention; it was the life of a superhero yet it was also about the struggles of a single woman and it was about a lawyer all in one. It was a dynamic I had never seen before with a superhero and I found Jen Walters AKA She-Hulk to be such a fun character that I was determined to know more about her and read everything.
I WANTED TO BE HER
As a transwoman, I look back at my fascination with She-Hulk and realize that she was a big part of my secret desire as a teen. Every time I read a comic and saw Jen Walters transform into the gorgeous jade giantess, I imagined myself doing the same.
I wanted to be able to transform into a woman, let alone a She-Hulk. I wanted to be like Jen: having fun, going on adventures, making a name for myself as a woman, and experiencing a new body. I also saw that she always fought for justice and protected those that needed it in both her hero and lawyer life; I saw her as a role model.
Years passed by and I slowly consumed more and more She-Hulk material. I read both of the Dan Slott runs, many of The Sensational She-Hulk run from John Byrne, and I watched The Incredible Hulk animated series which featured She-Hulk as a co-star of the series after a while, and after that, I was fully obsessed with the character.
I WROTE ABOUT SHE-HULK FOR YEARS
When I first began to work as a writer online, I had been adamant about wanting She-Hulk in the MCU since Phase Two began. I started writing theories and pitches about how She-Hulk could be introduced in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, who could play her, and what she would look like.
There was even a time when I genuinely considered writing my own reboot of She-Hulk for a modern age and submitting it to Marvel to become a professional comic book writer. I was only in my teens at the time so I realized soon enough that it would never happen. However, that didn’t stop me from writing ABOUT her.
Even to this day, I have written different articles about She-Hulk for ScreenRant in preparation for the new series on Disney+, teaching those who have never read the comics about the awesomeness that is Jen Walters.
Being able to talk about She-Hulk as part of my job is one of the greatest pleasures I’ve ever had. So, She-Hulk has even influenced the direction of my career to a degree!
MY VIEWS ON SHE-HULK TODAY
My love and appreciation for this character have only grown over the years. I’ve read almost everything involving She-Hulk, even her guest appearances in comics such as Avenging Spider-Man and Heroes For Hire.
As an adult, it is even more fascinating to see how much She-Hulk has evolved and changed. I’ve now grown to love the John Byrne era as much as the Dan Slott era. I love that she used to break the fourth wall and that aspect is returning for the Disney+ series. I’ve read runs like the Charles Soule and Mariko Tamaki runs and found them incredibly underrated.
So many different writers and artists have taken Jen in so many unique directions. One run has her as this fourth-wall-breaking supermodel who fights villains such as the Living Eraser while other runs have her focusing on her job as a lawyer above all else to tell a more grounded story.
She-Hulk is not just a fun character, she’s an example of how a spin-off character can have a legacy of their own, similar to Miles Morales, Robbie Reyes, Scott Lang, and Kate Bishop. I will always love Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk, he’s one of the quintessential Marvel characters. However, I will always prefer She-Hulk because I find her stories to be more engaging in every way.
This is not dissimilar to how I view Blue Beetle from the DC universe. I will always enjoy Dan Garrett and Ted Kord for being the ones who made Blue Beetle into icons in the first place, but Jaime Reyes will forever be the definitive Blue Beetle in my eyes. She-Hulk is that to me: she’s a Hulk spin-off but she has her own unique qualities: she retains her mind (most of the time), she’s a better negotiator since she argues for a living, she’s funny, she’s charming, she can outmaneuver the Hulk, she’s a strong leader when she needs to be, and she has been part of a plethora of superhero teams.
The Avengers, A-Force, The Fantastic Four, Fearsome Four, The Last Defenders, SHIELD, Hulkbusters, and more. Even to this day, her journey as a superhero continues in the comics and I am excited to see what else Marvel does with her.
I’m still following Rainbow Rowell’s current run of She-Hulk and it is so well-written that it honestly is on the same level as Slott and Byrne. She focuses so much on Jen as a person that I honestly wish I was her roommate instead of Janet Van Dyne. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s a seven-foot-tall green woman, the current run is essentially about a woman getting a fresh start and it’s such a joy to read.
I AM SO HYPED FOR THE SERIES
I remember there being rumblings about She-Hulk for years. I wanted her to be introduced in a new sequel to The Incredible Hulk and then get her own film. However, I got the next best thing coming with Tatiana Maslany portraying Jen Walters in the live-action series.
Was she ever my first, second, third, or even tenth choice for Jen? Nope! I watched some Orphan Black and loved what I saw, but never got around to watching that series from the start. That doesn’t mean I’m not excited for Tatiana because the truth is quite the opposite.
That’s the beauty of Kevin Feige and Sarah Halley Finn: they always know how to pick talented actors. I never would have picked Chris Evans to play Captain America back in the day yet he killed it for an entire saga of the MCU. So, now that I’ve seen footage and trailers of Tatiana, I think she is going to do great and make She-Hulk her own just like everyone else in this franchise.
As a bonus, Tatiana is a proud ally of the transgender community and that makes me love her already!
SHE-HULK IS MY HERO
I have difficulty picking just one superhero as my all-time favorite because there are so many that I love. However, I do have a pool of heroes that I say can all compete for the top spot: Batgirl, Spider-Man, Superman, Blue Beetle, Ghost Rider, and many more, including She-Hulk.
Jen Walters is someone who has everything I need when I want to read a comic or watch an animated series or binge a live-action series. If I need a smile or a laugh, She-Hulk provides witty humor and fun adventures to make me feel better. If I’m looking for heartfelt drama, I can see the genuinely heart-touching relationship she has with characters; her sibling-like love for Bruce Banner, or how she’s willing to fight governments and empires for her friend Jazinda.
I can also relate to the fact that she may be a superhero and a lawyer but she’s not some flawless character. She makes mistakes, goes through character progression on her adventures, and has dealt with a lot of trauma over the years and handles it much differently than her cousin does.
In my opinion, She-Hulk has yet to have a disappointing run. Each one provides something interesting, unique, or simply fun to read; making her one of the most prolific spin-off characters to come from comics.
She’s a character that I admire and aspire to. Very rarely can I say that I view a fictional character as an inspiration, but She-Hulk is one of those times. I want to be the fun-loving woman with a good heart like her and overcome all of my own traumas and issues. So, I take some pages from Jen throughout my adult life and try to be a better person every day.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE WRITERS
I wish Stan Lee was still among us so I can thank him personally for the original creation of this character back in 1980 with Savage She-Hulk. Without him, the character would not have the legacy that she does today. However, I can thank others that have contributed to the She-Hulk and helped her evolve over the last forty years.
Thank you, John Byrne, Dan Slott, Rainbow Rowell, Charles Soule, Mariko Tamaki, Peter David, Al Ewing, G. Willow Wilson, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, Harrison Wilcox, and every other writer who has made this character an important figure in my life. You’re all very talented writers and have credit for helping shape me into the woman I have today.
You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!
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