I was very hesitant heading into the first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and it turned out better than I expected it to be. The first episode is a great introduction to both the character and a very fun episode that was a pleasure to watch. I also liked that She-Hulk kind of jumped right in, the first episode covered our hero's Jennifer Walters (played by Tatiana Maslany) origin story. The premise of the episode is simple, we see our hero get her powers and learn to master them with the help of her superpowered cousin Bruce Banner (The Hulk). The episode does not set up a villain, or any mystery, but it is a lot of fun, and we see that Jennifer Walters is a great new character. It is funny to me how we feel about the Disney Plus series compared to the movies. In my Thor: Love & Thunder spoiler review I gave the film an okay score, but I felt the film lacked stakes. My disappointment in Thor was because I expected more of the film, but when it comes to the series, I am just happy that they are fun and entertaining. I am sure there are a lot of angry people out there that hate the MCU is adding more strong female characters into the MCU, but I think it is refreshing, and I think Marvel has done an excellent job in casting for these roles. Tatiana Maslany is best known for her starring role in Orphan Black where she got to play a variety of characters. Maslany is wonderful as Jennifer, and I think she can be a leader for the next phase of the MCU.
One of the bigger mysteries for me that I wondered if this show would explore is how Bruce was human in the post-credits scene in Shang-Chi. When we last saw Bruce in Endgame, he was still Smart Hulk, so I was wondering how he became human again. She-Hulk answers the question of how Bruce became human again within the first 5 minutes. Hulk is human because he has created a watch, he wears that allows him to be human again, and his damaged arm (from snapping everyone back) is now healed thanks to Jennifer's blood. We also learned that Bruce has a lab in Mexico that Tony built for him during the blip, and I felt that Hulk was kind of sad. I am not sure where She-Hulk takes place in the timeline (besides being after Endgame), but it appears that Hulk is still isolated. I think Jennifer will Bruce back to the world, and I think her positive outlook on her condition will lead to some good humor between them. I found it hilarious that Jennifer was able to master everything so easily, and Bruce kept getting more annoyed at how easy it all is for her. I am not sure how many episodes Bruce will appear in, but I do think the episode did a great job of making Jennifer a hero. The season will explore how things are not going to be so easy for her now, but Jennifer will have Bruce to guide her to success.
RECAP OF 'A NORMAL AMOUNT OF RAGE'
The first episode opens with Jennifer Walters reciting her closing arguments to her coworkers, she then does a breaking of the fourth wall moment where she talks to the audience. Jenn is taking a trip with her cousin Bruce Banner (Hulk now back in human form), they have an accident when a Sakaarian ship appears in front of them as they're driving. To avoid crashing into the ship they swerve and tumble down a hill, when Jenn helps Bruce out of the car a cut on Bruce's forehead drops blood into a cut on Jenn's arm. Once exposed to Bruce's contaminated blood she transforms into She-Hulk running off into the forest. Jennifer comes to and goes to a local bar where some women see her looking disheveled and offer assistance. Jennifer is outside the bar waiting when some men start to bother her until she transforms into She-Hulk, she begins to go after the men until she is tackled by Hulk. Jennifer wakes up in human form in a strange bed and location. Jennifer explores her surroundings until she finds Smart Hulk working in a lab, Hulk explains what happened to her. Hulk explains that he used her blood to heal his damaged arm. Jennifer is upset, she wants a cure which is something Bruce says does not exist, but he can teach her to control it.
Bruce has made a binder that contains the journey he went on to get Hulk and Banner to merge and live harmoniously. Bruce tells Jenn it will take 15 years, and he begins testing her to see what causes her to change. Bruce puts her in an observation room and sets a trap to attack her, when she changes and breaks out Bruce thinks she is hulking out, but Jenn is just mad. Bruce is astounded that when Jenn changed, she kept her normal personality. Jennifer wants to leave, but Bruce won't let her until she masters transforming. As the pair begin training it is clear that Jennifer is easily mastering all of Bruce's challenges. When Bruce tells Jenn that controlling anger is the most important thing to master, Jenn explains she is great at it already, being a woman in her career and just in this world makes it necessary to control her anger. Jenn proves her point by transforming into She-Hulk and then turning back into Jenn at will which blows Bruce's mind. Jenn tries to leave; she is interested in being a superhero; Jenn wants to have the normal life that Bruce lost. Bruce stopes her, and they begin to fight which ends when they destroy Bruce's bar. Bruce and Jenn make up, and Bruce says it is okay if Jenn wants to go back and be a lawyer.
Jenn in her office is done telling us the story, we go to the courtroom where she starts to deliver her closing arguments when a woman breaks through the wall of the courtroom. The mystery woman (played by Jameela Jamil) attacks the guards, and Jenn transforms into She-Hulk to stop her. The woman is arrested, and Jenn transforms back into herself to finish her closing arguments as the credits start. There is a mid-credits scene where we see Jenn and Bruce at Bruce's bar continuing their discussion from the car about whether Steve Rogers is a virgin. Bruce then tells Jenn that Bruce lost his virginity to a woman in 1943 during his USO tour, which makes Jenn very happy.
PARTING THOUGHTS ON EPISODE ONE OF SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW
The first episode has to be considered a success for Marvel, not only did they hit on the casting, but they made an engaging and entertaining premiere episode. I do think the format of the show will change a bit as the tone of the show is going to be more comedic, and more courtroom focused. While some may find these series lacking stakes, but I am now starting to think the series are aiming for a more enjoyable form of entertainment. The big stakes series is coming, Secret Invasion is due out in 2023 and it sounds like it will deliver some very large stakes. I am not sure who the antagonist of She-Hulk is, but the show does not need a strong one if the tone stays light and fun. Seeing how quickly Jennifer adapted to being She-Hulk was almost comical when compared to the struggles that Bruce faced. The use of Smart Hulk has been a nice addition to the MCU, he does not appear to carry the baggage of Bruce. At seeing how easy Jennifer adapted you could see the frustration of Bruce that he endured so much to get to where he is, and Jennifer has achieved it in days not years. I got a melancholy feel from Hulk in this episode, I felt that Bruce really missed Tony, and every time Tony's name was mentioned I got sad too. The show suggested that her ability to adapt could be related to how she changed versus Bruce. The courtroom aspect of the show was reduced to the final few minutes of the episode, but it did have a 1990's sitcom feel.
One of the aspects of the show that has fans excited is the appearance of Matt Murdock (Daredevil) once again played by Charlie Cox. Daredevil is not the only guest on the show, we will also see Abomination (played by Tim Roth) and Wong. I think we will see a lot more of Matt Murdock than we will Daredevil. I am not sure how all of this will fit together, but I am looking forward to watching how we get there. There will be nine episodes in the series, and that has me excited since some of the six episodes series felt rushed. With the San Diego comic con announcement Marvel has given fans what they were looking for, the direction of the MCU. The announcement will have an effect on how fans enjoy the next few series and films. One of the complaints from fans is that since Endgame the MCU has been lacking direction; we now know the plan, and what is building to. We will see how She-Hulk fits into those plans, there could be some surprises ahead during the series. Wong and Abomination were fighting in the battle cage in Shang-Chi, but they appeared to be compatriots and they left together. I think in the trailer for She-Hulk we see that she will represent Abomination at some point, but I am still not sure how Wong will fit into the show. Matt Murdock fits perfectly into the show, as a fellow lawyer it is believable that Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock would interact.
The series is leaning into comedy, and the showrunner is Jessica Gao who was a writer on Rick and Morty, Silicon Valley and Corporate. The humor in the premiere episode was done really good, and I liked how the show is embracing the breaking of the fourth wall that was a feature of the comic book. I found the revelation that Jenn's ability to master her emotions is because she is a woman, and that she needs to control her emotions to survive her life as woman. It was a poignant moment when Jennifer explained to Bruce how she has mastered her emotions, I am sure some people rolled their eyes, but the line worked for me. I am going to give episode one an 8/10, it was funny, and it kept entertained throughout the entire run time. I think the cast is about to expand in the next episode, and while I really enjoyed the Jenn and Bruce bonding time, I look forward to seeing Daredevil. This was a really fun premiere, and it was an interesting use of a mid-credits scene to be about whether Steve Rogers was a virgin. It is comical that both Tony and Steve loomed large in this episode, but in completely different ways. There was a sadness every time Tony's name came up, but with Steve it was a more comical chat about his sexual history. The lighter tone of the show is something that I believe will carry for the entire nine episodes, it is lighthearted like Ms. Marvel, but will it have more meaning to it, we will see.
Thank you for reading my review of the first episode of She-Hulk, stayed tuned for my review of episode two coming next week.
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