Disney Fans Have A Lot Of Thoughts About Disney's New She Hulk

As the series sets to debut on Disney+, theories and questions about the green girl character run wild.

Elana

• Published in Disney
• January 16, 2020

Disney+ is bringing a whole lot of Marvel goodness to the small screen. An onslaught of announcements have given us, the die hard fans, some serious insight into all the awesome plans Disney and Marvel have in store for us.

While 2020 seems awfully far away, the hype surrounding She-Hulk is awfully large and in charge. I suspect if you aren't super familiar with Marvel history or the character of She-Hulk, you may be struggling to understand why so many people are so excited for this jolly green giant.

Between speculation, character hopes and dreams, and some understanding of the Marvel Universe and history of the She-Hulk character, we can learn a lot about how much potential Disney+ has to work in the way of this totally awesome character.

Whomever has the pleasure of playing Jennifer Walters has yet to be announced but quite a few suggestions have been tossed around from both people who would love to play the part, fan favorites, and even fellow MCU actor votes!

Introduced in the comics in the late 1970's, Jennifer Walters was Bruce Banner's cousin. The character was a shy, petite criminal lawyer and as often cousins do, she had a pretty strong childhood bond to Bruce!

In the comics, Jennifer is shot by a crime boss. Banner goes on to give an emergency transfusion of his own gamma-irradiated blood to save her life.

Prior to the MCU's Endgame, the concept of "smart Hulk" wasn't really a thing, so in contrast to Banner's comic book Hulk, unable to differentiate and control who he was, Jennifer's Hulk abilities that she acquired from Banner's blood transfusion were embraced and her human-like intelligence was retained in her Hulk form.

While anger also triggered Jennifer's transformation, she didn't quadruple in size and go green with blind anger. Jennifer sought revenge for the crimes committed against her and over time grew to love both her super powers and her Hulk-like appearance.

Where once the portrayal of She-Hulk was similar to Banner's Hulk, embracing her green-life presented a unique and fascinating cross-over of class, style, and Hulk. Yet another thing that separated She-Hulk from her other comic-book companions? Her unique happenstance to break the fourth wall. You might recognize that terminology if you're familiar with Deadpool, the other comic-book character well known for such humorous behaviors.

Where Banner's Hulk had a love-hate relationship with the people, Jennifer's She-Hulk was beloved. According to Screenrant:

She-Hulk was a celebrity who was humorously voted Marvel’s “Woman of the Year” in the one-shot Marvel – a Marvel Comics produced parody of Time magazine.

However, things aren't just bubbly in She-Hulk's character arch, there is also a period of time where She-Hulk takes on a darker and more depressing story, including a character that closer resembles the personality and disposition of an angry, darker, and ogre-like Banner's Hulk from the MCU.

Eventually, She-Hulk comes back out of that dark era and back to her easier to control-self, and ultimately there is a ton of room for Disney+ to run wild with a lot of ideas for such a diverse and fun character with so much history behind her. But that doesn't mean that the unique path the MCU took doesn't come with its own baggage to contort the She-Hulk character to fit into.

According to Screenrant:

While exceptions exist, She-Hulk has rarely been portrayed as monstrous in form or attitude. In fact, certain comic book stories state that Jen’s She-Hulk form is based on how she imagines her idealized female form to be.

There is actually a lot of room here for Disney+ to have an easy time managing this character and a budget for her TV series. Banner's Hulk forms required CGI technology, as long as he was in any way his Hulk character, CGI was necessary. But She-Hulk rarely grows over 7 foot tall and is seen regularly wearing normal clothes. She could easily be played with minimal CGI and just great make up special effects.

Additionally, She-Hulk almost exclusively appears in the comics in her She-Hulk form, which means it might make the most sense for Disney+ to cast someone with a naturally muscle-bound physique. If this concerns you, just remember that Chris Evans managed just fine using technology to appear like a small fry and play the bulk of his character in all his natural glory.

Some names that have been thrown around to roll with this theory include former MMA star Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey.

No matter what, if Disney+ wants to nail this character, they'd do best to keep in mind that where Banner's Hulk ran from his abilities, Jennifer's She-Hulk is a symbol of female empowerment. They can do a lot of amazing things with this character and we are super excited to see what they do! 2020 cannot come soon enough.

What do you think about Disney+'s plans to feature She-Hulk in her own series? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section now!

Elana