"Being a superhero is for billionaires and narcissists... and adult orphans, for some reason." Yes, Marvel's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is going to have some fun with the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that it's streaming on Disney Plus.
Tatiana Maslany stars as Jennifer Walters alongside some familiar faces and MCU mainstays. Here's everything we know about the show and the MCU's newest hero.
When is She-Hulk available?
Episode 1 premiered Thursday Aug. 18 (put back a day from the original Aug. 17 release date). New episodes arrive every Thursday -- here's the full She-Hulk episode release date schedule.
Is She-Hulk any good?
In my She-Hulk review for CNET, I noted the show's savagely smart streak, but, as I wrote there, I couldn't help feeling "it lacks the delicious chicanery of a proper legal drama, the rousing action of a sci-fi show or the heart of even other Marvel shows." Reviews have been mixed but reactions are broadly positive, with the show currently earning a Metacritic score of 67 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% fresh (reminder that this doesn't mean critics think it's an almost perfect show, it means 94% of the reviews leaned more toward good than bad).
She-Hulk cast
You may have seen Maslany in the award-winning series Orphan Black or HBO's Perry Mason. She plays the titular big green superhero who makes her live-action debut in the series.
Also starring is Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, and Tim Roth, who played a rival green monster in 2008's The Incredible Hulk and belatedly returned for last year's Shang-Chi. The cast also includes Ginger Gonzaga, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jameela Jamil.
Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) joins the series to help his cousin, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany).
Walt Disney StudiosIntriguingly there's also a rumor that Jason Segal could join the cast, possibly playing Ben Grimm, better known as the big orange rock dude from The Fantastic Four.
The show's head writer is Jessica Gao, best known for the Emmy-winning Rick and Morty episode Pickle Rick. Kat Coiro, director of episodes of Modern Family and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, is in charge of several episodes.
She-Hulk in the comics
In the Marvel comics, Walters is a lawyer who becomes She-Hulk after receiving an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin -- one Bruce Banner. Luckily for her, she gets Hulk-like powers without losing her intelligence or personality. As a result she's able to get on with her "normal" life in her Hulk form.
She-Hulk was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema in 1980, and first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk No. 1. They invented a female version of the Hulk to stop the people behind the popular Incredible Hulk TV show from getting there first, as The Six Million Dollar Man had done with female-focused spinoff The Bionic Woman.
In 1989, writer John Byrne gave the character a new spin in Sensational She-Hulk. Walters talked directly to the reader, breaking the "fourth wall" between characters and readers. In the series, Maslany's Walters does the same thing, offering asides to the camera.
The trailer
The trailer reveals the show's comedic tone, with Walters spending time worrying about her love life in her 30s.
Released in May, the teaser drew criticism for its apparently dodgy CGI. Bear in mind, however, that trailers rarely use finished effects and that most people saw it on YouTube or social media, where the video will have gone through who-knows-what processing and compression.
Spoiler alert: A second trailer reveals some of the show's MCU cameos...
...including Wong and Daredevil.
She-Hulk is part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, joining Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel in this year's calendar. Other upcoming Marvel shows include Echo, WandaVision spinoff Agatha: House of Harkness and three new animated shows: Marvel Zombies, Spider-Man: Freshman Year and a revival of the much-loved 1990s X-Men cartoon.
