Fresh off the heels of Ms. Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder, the next entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be the action-comedy series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, arriving on August 17.
First appearing in a Marvel comic book back in 1980, in print She-Hulk has become way more than just a female counterpart to Bruce Banner and his Hulk alter-ego.
After a life-threatening injury, lawyer Jennifer Walters receives a blood transfusion from Banner, her cousin, that leaves her with Hulk-like powers. The major difference is that Jennifer retains her personality when transforming into She-Hulk.
Marvel boss Kevin Feige has promised that Walters and her She-Hulk persona will cross over into the MCU’s big-screen outings, and with a history as a member of some of the biggest superhero teams, there’s a bright green future for the fan favourite.
1. She’s one of Marvel’s best connected superheroes
While it remains to be seen if we will see Jennifer Walters join the Avengers in the She-Hulk series, the character is a mainstay in some of Marvel’s most famous superhero teams.
She-Hulk has previously been part of the Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, and A-Force – an all-female team of Avengers.
The currently ongoing series of Avengers sees Walters serve as part of the superhero line-up with Iron Man, Captain America, Ghost Rider, Blade, and Captain Marvel. And a recent story arc, ‘World War She-Hulk’, sees the character abducted and experimented on by the Russian antihero team Winter Guard.
If, as Marvel CEO Kevin Feige has hinted, She-Hulk crosses over into the MCU’s big-screen outings, the door is open for her to appear in a number of team-ups.
2. It’ll boast a tonne of MCU cameos
Even before we get into territory of rumoured cameos, She-Hulk will by far be the most stacked Disney+ series when it comes to famous faces popping up from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Perhaps the most exciting of the cameos is Mark Ruffalo reprising his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk, who will be called upon to give his cousin Jennifer Walters the blood transfusion that will turn her into She-Hulk. It’s likely he will serve as a mentor to Jennifer as she gets to grips with her new powers.
Tim Roth will reprise his role of soldier Emil Blonsky, who was also transfused with Bruce Banner’s blood and transformed into the Hulk-sized Abomination, a creature with super-strength and durability. While Roth was last seen in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, the character of Abomination appeared in CG form in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He duelled against Supreme Sorcerer Wong in that one, and Benedict Wong will also reprise his role in She-Hulk.
But here’s where the MCU timeline gets messy again – at the end of Shang-Chi, Ruffalo appears in human form, but in the trailer for She-Hulk he is back in his Hulk/Banner hybrid appearance.
Fans can expect to see several nicher heroes and villains being defended by Jennifer in the courtroom scenes, with Frog Man (yes) already announced.
Marvel forums have been flooded with speculation that Jessica Jones will cameo in he She-Hulk, with Krysten Ritter reportedly reprising the role of the private investigator for superheroes.
It’s not out of the question that Daredevil will make an appearance, too, although much like in Spider-Man: No Way Home, possibly in his non-superhero form as lawyer Matt Murdock. 3. It should be big on LOLs
Recent entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe have shown that it’s possible to balance superhero stakes and comedy, with Thor: Love and Thunder leading the pack.
In the comic books, She-Hulk is known for her Deadpool-esque quips and fourth wall-breaking. It’s unlikely to be a coincidence that the creative team behind She-Hulk boasts some primo TV comedy talent: including Rick and Morty writer Jessica Gao, and co-directors Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, who have Modern Family, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That on their CVs.
4. It’s longer than your average MCU series
She-Hulk is nine episodes long, a run matched only by WandaVision. All the other live-action MCU series have boasted just six episodes.
But like WandaVision, it’s expected to shorter episode runtimes than other titles like Moon Knight and Ms Marvel – Feige has described She-Hulk as a ‘half-hour legal comedy’.
5. It’s got a controversial villain
There’ll be plenty of villains in the courtroom scenes, and the long-awaited return of Tim Roth as Abomination to long forward to, of course, but best of all is the presence of The Good Place’s Jameela Jamil as the show’s big bad. She’s playing Titania, a street-fighting super-powered villain with the strength to rival even She-Hulk. Oh, and she can withstand bullets, extreme temperatures and blunt force without sustaining injury.
Titania’s recent comic-book appearances have offered her a redemptive arc that’s see her evolve into more of an antihero. The news that Marvel are working on a Thunderbolts movie – their own version of the Suicide Squad – could mean that this Titania is destined for the cinema screen.
The character has already run into flak online, with a first-look image leaving some fans nonplussed. Jamil took to social media to jokingly defend her character’s look. ‘I accept every ounce of shade here,’ she tweeted. ‘But in defence of my excellent hair stylist, this is just my hair after a 14-hour stunt day in Atlanta heat. Just after being upside down. She did a great job on the show I promise.’
First look at @JameelaJamil as Titania in Marvel’s ‘#SheHulk: Attorney At Law.’ pic.twitter.com/t9xBxNtci2
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 8, 2022
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