The MCU’s newest addition, She-Hulk premiered last night on Disney+, aptly titled, A Normal Amount of Rage, and reviews have come in fast and strong.
The show has a healthy balance of comical entertainment and thoughtful exposition. Given that, the opening question by She-Hulk’s attorney at Law, Jennifer Walters, “What is the responsibility of those in power?” makes it less about being an actual superhero, and instead, paves the premise of what’s to come. Because let’s face it, women aren’t generally all about smash and go. They are more inclined to think, smash and go.
IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes gave She-Hulk glowing reviews, and earned it a 4-star Guardian review. Forget about all of the one-star ratings, and the headlines calling it ‘worse than Ms. Marvel’ – that’s another article entirely, which will be titled, why are She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel getting so much hate online?
She-Hulk introduces Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany, best known for her role in Orphan Black), an up-and-coming Los Angeles lawyer who has worked hard to get where she is. With no time to waste, the show jumps straight into the whys and hows Jen becomes a She-Hulk and takes you straight to the fun stuff. Admittedly, some of the scenes take you to a Shrek place, which would be hard to escape, given Shrek and Fiona are the only green team we have ever seen on screen. And let’s face it, they kinda own it.
It’s through her relationship with her cousin Bruce, and his subtle mansplaining, that she can expect her journey in taming the hulk within to take approx. 15 years. This is something that Jen doesn’t like the sound of and flips the process on its head, showing that she is more than capable of controlling her powers without the aid of Bruce’s well-crafted, albeit lengthy, thesis on the matter.
Because Jen is a woman, it means that a lot of the time, she has, by and large, lived with fear and anger. We see a great example of this when a bunch of guys harass Jen outside a bar. In response, she ‘Hulks’ out immediately, which let’s be honest, IRL that’s what all females want the ability to do.
Sure, it plays on the stereotypical culture of misogyny, and sometimes, especially in 2022, it seems a little outdated, or evokes a “*sigh* here we go again,” but the show is about much more than that. So, we will be back again next week to watch episode two, because what Marvel is referencing is a new paradigm, where balancing yin and yang has never been more at the forefront of change. And Tatiana Maslany has done a splendid job of making She-Hulk likable, and relatable, and given us a little light entertainment when we need it most.
