Marvel’s new heroine arrives on Disney+ this Thursday, August 18, 2022 in she hulk. We’ve seen the first 4 episodes and, although we had a fun time, we come out frustrated so far.
she hulk starts this Thursday, August 18 on Disney + and marks the arrival of a new heroine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Jennifer Walters. It’s when her cousin, Bruce Banner, is forced to give her a blood transfusion to save her life that she finds herself endowed with the same powers as him – with a few differences.
The trailer left little room for doubt: she hulk is a comedy. There’s a humorous side to most Marvel work, but the latest productions weren’t shy about thinking outside the box with their own little extra “trick” — like Wanda Vision with its innovative format, Hawkeye focusing on the Christmas atmosphere, Moon Knight by its darkness, Loki by introducing new concepts, Ms Marvel by introducing a refreshing but relevant teenage story.
This new Marvel production, she hulk, does it bring something in turn? After the 4 episodes that we were able to watch, it is currently the most frustrating series in the MCU due to a clearly under-exploited potential and less fine writing than in previous Disney + productions. We expected better, even if everything is clearly not to be thrown away.
It’s not really a legal series
What makes Jennifer Walters unique is first and foremost to be found in her profession as a lawyer. She is the only one so far to endorse this profession since Daredevil (which will appear later in the season). she hulk So revolves a lot around that: Jennifer’s powers have an impact on her career and several stories are linked to legal cases.
In this regard, however, the Marvel series is missing an opportunity: we are far from a legal series. Admittedly, from episode 2, Jennifer is entrusted with a file that involves a bad guy, and certainly, his powers influence his professional universe. But we would have liked to explore super-heroic law in more depth with new original stories (a Suits or one The Good Fight Marvel version). Instead, the series gives pride of place to permanent gags and dashes of humor, deactivating any potentially more interesting situation.
Yes, she hulk is a pure comedy. And the very short episodes, around 30 minutes each, don’t leave much room for more than constant humor. As often with Marvel, the writing is effective in this area: we have a good time. Nevertheless, we can’t help feeling a certain frustration, because episode after episode, the stories do not really bring their stone to the building of the MCU, do not tell anything and do not develop complex human relations. We find ourselves rather with a sitcom inspiration, which does not present stunning originality and which is unfortunately not always very clever in its writing.
Fortunately, there is Tatiana Maslany
The new series of Disney + is not, however, fully missed. Because fortunately, there is Tatiana Maslany. The actress, former owner of the series Orphan Black, is talented. She carries her character convincingly. She takes on the role by adding a huge dose of provocative irony, addressing us very regularly, making fun of the events of the story with well-felt pikes.
Indeed, she hulk breaks the fourth wall: there are a lot of “meta” moments in the series. It is this complicity maintained with the public, as well as the actress taking on the role of Jennifer, which maintains our interest over the episodes.
We expect more from She-Hulk
Although frustration dominates after 4 episodes, there will still be 6 episodes that we have not seen at this point, which will notably contain the arrival of Daredevil and probably a deepening of the character of Jennifer Walters. But the choice of a pure and hard comedy implies a treatment which will remain in spite of everything on the surface.
The Disney+ series still has the merit of introducing a long-awaited character, who benefits from a talented actress and who could have a place of choice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because what emerges all the same from these 4 episodes, it is that Jennifer Walters is much more calm and controlled than Bruce Banner. His ability to make sound decisions and help other members of the Avengers is plain and clear.
We expect more from she hulk and it’s a safe bet that we will have to wait for future appearances, after the series, to perceive all that Tatiana Maslany can offer in this role.
