She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - Episode 1 - Review

When Marvel announced that they would be bringing She-Hulk to the screen, part of me was very excited, as Jennifer Walters is one of the best characters from the world of Marvel Comics. Another part of me though, was very sceptical that they would be able to do the character justice, especially when it comes to the fourth wall breaking that she does, the first episode managed to alleviate some of those concerns.

Very minor spoilers ahead

The show started off with Jen and her paralegal/best friend Nikki Ramos getting ready to go to trial, for a case that could be a big win for the pair, with a small line being that if the case doesn’t go well, Jen can always Hulk out. I was a little confused for a moment, wondering why she was the She-Hulk at this point, considering that we hadn't seen any transformation, but with the first of many fourth wall breaks, Miss Walters decided to explain what had happened. Now in the comics, Jennifer is the daughter of the local sheriff and someone tries to kill her, forcing her car off the road and before Bruce Banner becomes one with his Hulk self, he provides a blood transfusion. Not expecting anything to go wrong with it, as there was no gamma radiation involved, it shocks everyone when she eventually transforms. Here the show takes that same idea, but treats it a little more freely, Bruce is wearing an inhibitor, a prototype device that has him back in human form, giving his arm from using the Infinity Glove, time to heal. Out of nowhere, a random flying ship appears and causes the pair of them to drive off the road, rolling the car, getting herself out, Jen cuts her arm on the car and when pulling Bruce out, his inhibitor has been pulled from his arm and with it, some of his blood and of course, it gets into her open wound and thus the She-Hulk is born.

From that point on, what we get to see is what happens when Bruce/Hulk tries to impart his wisdom of his many years dealing with the Hulk, with Jen not really wanting to have anything to do with it. While we have seen the Hulk over many years, the one aspect we never got to see much of was his transformation from the angry behemoth to the smart Hulk that we see in Avengers Endgame. So while we still haven’t got the full story of how Bruce and the Hulk became one, these snippets were quite entertaining. What made it more so was the dynamic between the two, seeing two Hulks fighting and trying to one up each other, one from being cocky about their newly found abilities and the other from jealousy, it was just amazing. It really felt like they were more siblings than cousins, there was times when the responses were things that I can recall saying to my own siblings, at least in a general sense, so good was the work done by Mark Ruffalo and Tatiana Maslany.

Speaking off Maslany, there was always going to be a sense of ‘would she be right for the roll’, now going into it, I was aware of her work in Orphan Black, but I hadn’t see any of it. The opening moments between her and Ginger Gonzaga’s Nikki were great, but it was her quirky attitude when she broke the fourth wall and started talking to the camera that made me realise that she could be Jen Walters. By the end of the episode, there was a clear sense that yes she is both characters, not being of a costume or a look, but because there was a nice balance of quirky charm, strong belief and complex vulnerabilities and none them over shadowed the others. While the ending also introduced another character, it wasn’t fully detailed, so those hoping to see Jameela Jamil’s Titania in episode one, will be let down.

Now, something I feel needs to be addressed is the CGI, not because its bad but rather because everyone is criticising it online, and their criticisms are misplaced. For years, we have seen the character of Hulk go through a series of evolutions on screen, from the first Ang Lee Hulk, which was so green, you would think he was a recycling mascot, to the more grounded version from the 2008 Incredible Hulk. Once Mark Ruffalo got the role in Avengers, the facial structure sort of got locked in place and then got refined over the movies since, but for this show, we get introduced to a new look in She-Hulk. It is critical for viewers to understand, this is not a female version of the Hulk, She-Hulk is her own character and yes she has green skin, but that is about the only similarity. The first few shots of She-Hulk that appear in the show are not how you might expect, but by the time the episode ends, you won’t notice that she is CGI. The world of Marvel has been built up and She-Hulk fits right in there, as if the character was always there.

The first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is great, it offers up a fun and fresh take on the MCU, with a character that is the most flawed and yet the most grounded. The dynamic that Tatiana and Mark bring to the screen as the pair of Hulks is wonderful and sets up the tone for what the show is going to be. I have been lucky enough to see more episodes than just this first one and the tone across them is perfect and this first episode is just the beginning. With characters that are more relatable than most, a story of family and acceptance, along with a dash of Marvel heroes, this is a wonderful addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Score

9.0

Review access provided by Marvel

The Pros

+Tatiana Maslany brings a very relatable viewpoint to the MCU

+The dynamic between the two Hulk characters feels so very familiar

The Cons

-The change for Jen to She-Hulk does feel too quick

-The episode feels very self-contained, not really exploring the world the show has available to it