Meet Jennifer Walters: attorney at law, regular civilian, cousin of Bruce Banner (also known as Hulk). Up until a car crash that left her and her cousin wounded, she was just a regular person surrounded by superheroes. Then when Bruce’s blood gets into her system things take a drastic turn. The show She-Hulk revolves around Jen as she juggles life as a seemingly normal civilian with a hulk-sized secret. She confides in her assistant with her secret, but when an unavoidable circumstance arises and she has to reveal her powers to the court she ends up losing her job and as a result crushing her dreams. Because no one cares to hire a superhero for a regular job that does not include fighting bad guys, this displays the downside of being a hero in a post endgame universe. 

Marvel kicked off phase 4 of the cinematic universe with their first Disney+ original WandaVision, a show with a 91% on rotten tomatoes and an 88% on average audience score. This set the bar high for the rest of the shows planned during phase 4, including She-Hulk. The New York Times calls She-Hulk “a loopy half-hour comedy” and that is not too far off. Aside from She-Hulk being a very light-hearted show, it does bear witness to heavy topics such as sexual assault and harassment. “I like that it includes stories about real life situations, sexual assault is very real while many believe that it is the media trying to force an agenda, I can say with all confidence that it’s the truth and it unfortunately happens a lot.” said Valentine Rivas, an avid watcher of the series and student at Curie High School.

But alas, many viewers are distraught over the fact these topics are integrated into the show as a way to portray a societal experience for many women. They call it “too feminist” and  a show “displaying men in a bad light”, but the truth is that this is the reality we live in, and I commend the show for not brushing off such a hard-to-swallow topic in a funny and comedic vibe like the rest of the show. Adding in such a harsh topic in the show opens the eyes of viewers and displays actions that should not be normalized in our society, but sadly is. 

Aside from the scriptural factors of She-Hulk, many had issues with the physical aspects of the show. Carter Murray, student at PEHS expresses his thoughts on this issue proclaiming, “I like it but I wish they had committed to making her buffer  because she barely changes. Bruce triples in size but she just gets tall; It’s more like a green amazon than a hulk. She also looks really awkward in some scenes, like she doesn’t belong.” The difference between regular Jen and Jen in her hulk form is just the fact she is green, taller and has longer hair. There is a great physical difference between her and Bruce in their hulk forms: Jen has the same power as Hulk, but he is a lot bulkier, while she has slimmer arms and legs.

Not only are Jen’s physical characteristics an issue, but so is the visual effects aspect of her appearance. “I hate how animated it looks, it’s very cheap. I am also upset with the fact Marvel is trying to bust out as many shows even if they are rushed.” said Leslie Mendez, cousin of reviewer. The distinct difference between the visual effects on She-Hulk compared to earlier Marvel Disney+ originals is very clearly apparent.

Apart from the harsh critiques, I truly believe She-Hulk is an extraordinary tv show with much promise and interesting aspects, such as the breaking of the fourth wall and the multitude of cameos just from three episodes alone.