“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” was the healthy dose of gamma radiation Marvel needed against the misogyny and monotony they’ve become associated with.
“She-Hulk” is Marvel’s first 30-minute comedy series in the franchise, going against the typical dramatic hour-long, six-episode format their other shows like “Loki” and “Moon Knight” have been following.
She-Hulk’s ability to break the fourth wall in the comics made her the perfect choice to lead this new show format, allowing the show to break up the pattern Marvel has sunk into and directly address the deep misogyny in the fanbase.
Marvel’s fanbase has had an unfortunate history of sexism. “Captain Marvel” was so heavily review bombed before its release that Rotten Tomatoes had to delete over 50,000 reviews that violated their rules.
The same thing happened with “Ms. Marvel” before the show’s first episode had even premiered. “Captain Marvel’s” Brie Larson received death threats from supposed Marvel fans for simply daring to be the first woman in the franchise’s 20-year history to have her own movie.
Spoiler warning for the plot and finale of “She Hulk”
As “She-Hulk” built toward its finale, it becomes clear that the show was aware of how it would be received and what comments and discussions it would spark, from formulaic fan theories to sexist comments.
Episode three of the show showed a collage of sexist comments She-Hulk was receiving after she had revealed her powers to the public. Fans on Twitter pointed out that almost all the comments shown on screen were the same or similar to real comments Marvel had received on its Instagram or Twitter.
Two comments that were pulled almost verbatim were “So we have a (metoo) movement and now all the male heroes [are] gone?” and “Why everything in Marvel gotta be female now?” The word “Marvel” was omitted, and the format was changed slightly, but other than that the quotes were placed intact into the show’s sexist montage.
The show builds to a finale that reveals there has been a secret group of misogynists working against She-Hulk for the entire series, exposing a sex tape of her and working to ruin her life.
The big evil reveal in the end though is that the leader of the group has stolen She-Hulk’s blood and uses it to transform himself into another Hulk. If this sounds familiar and boring to you, you’re right, and She-Hulk didn’t like it either, so she uses her fourth wall breaking ability to stop the show.
Frankly all of Marvel’s recent production in this phase have been very mediocre, regardless of whether it’s about a man or woman. Although movies like “Black Widow” received far more criticism from fans than “Shang-Chi” despite the two movies being incredibly similar in their story.
Every show follows the same exact arc, every movie has felt dissonant and disconnected from the franchise and the characters. The formula Marvel has developed for its productions worked for a while, but it is starting to get tired, something else “She-Hulk” is aware of and brilliantly addresses.
After stopping the show, She-Hulk breaks out of her box in Disney+ and goes to the Marvel headquarters to talk to the writers and change her show. She demands to speak to Kevin, referencing the longtime president and lead of the Marvel universe Kevin Feige. It is then revealed to She-Hulk and the audience that Kevin is just a robot, following a simple formula for what a superhero story should be.
She-Hulk then sits down with the robot and points out how Marvel has followed the same tired format for years and she doesn’t want to be a part of it. So, she returns to her finale, rewritten to simplify the villain to a sexist man with no powers, just insecurities. Just like the villains that can be found in the comments of a Marvel post promoting a female character. Or, found on Rotten Tomatoes review bombing a show they haven’t seen just because they can’t stand the idea of a woman leading it.
“She-Hulk” is the breath of fresh air the MCU needed. In eight short episodes, the series did more for the franchise than any other production in the last two years. “She-Hulk” finally addressed and condemned the misogyny they had previously ignored, as well as addressed their own shortcomings in writing and stories. The show held a mirror to itself and the fans and provokes change on both fronts.
Tracy Mullinax can be reached at [email protected]