Marvel’s fourth phase, and the first phase in the Multiverse Saga, is almost coming to an end with the release of the latest limited series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. 

The show takes place in Los Angeles where we are introduced to the main character, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) who is cousins with Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), otherwise known as The Hulk. 

After being in a car crash with Bruce, Jennifer’s wounds were contaminated with his blood. The gamma radiation from his blood seeped into hers resulting in a life-changing turn; she was now a Hulk. While the pilot episode is mostly taken up by this backstory, the rest of the series follows the life of this 30-year-old single woman who’s a lawyer and now finds herself being a superhero. 

From the very beginning, we see this new storyline where the hero doesn’t really want to be the hero. Throughout the beginning of the story, we watch as Bruce begins to teach Jennifer how to be able to control her anger. However, she becomes bored with it rather quickly. While Bruce tries to teach her meditation methods, she already wants to go home claiming that she can handle it and that she wants to get back to her normal life. This is new because in other Marvel movies we’ve never seen that resistance to fulfilling the role of a hero. Even when she does begin to use her powers, it was only because she was in a situation where she was obligated to. By breaking this trope, Marvel is able to establish that the show will be unique from the start. 

Even though Jennifer was “turned” from the radiation in Bruce’s body. Jennifer’s body doesn’t react in the same way. Unlike Bruce, Jen doesn’t have a rage-filledn alter ego. She can turn into the Hulk version of herself whenever she pleases and only comes out involuntarily if she is very angry or feeling strong emotions. We see that Jennifer can handle her emotions better than Bruce as a result of how she has to act in the real world, not only as a woman but as a woman who practices law. This resonates with the audience. Highlighting the idea that a woman can’t show her emotions before being seen as “dramatic” or “weak.” 

As the show progresses, viewers are taken through the challenges Jennifer faces on a daily basis as she tries to find a balance between her love life, her work life, her personal life, and now her superhero life. After her public fight with Titania (Jameela Jamil), keeping her identity secret was no longer an option. This imposes new challenges because not only does everyone know who she is, but also now she has the responsibility of being an actual superhero while being a lawyer all under the public eye. “It does feel like a weight has been lifted. But now there’s a new weight,” she confided to her father after the incident. 

She gets hired at a new prestigious firm where she’s required to be in her “She-Hulk” form and is also now seen as the face of the superhero division. Her love life is also looking better, but only when she sets up a “She-Hulk ” dating profile. She then is able to take advantage of this new version of herself where now she’s seen and she’s loved. 

Her new powers got her a new job and now a more exciting love life, yet when it comes to the actual heroic aspect of it, she still doesn’t fully accept the responsibility of it. She sort of goes along with it simply because she has to. However, as a consequence, insecurity starts to build that people only like her because she’s She-Hulk now. She goes through a moment of self-reflection when she deals with this insecurity. It appeals to viewers who can also be struggling with loving the authentic versions of themselves. And overall makes her character more relatable. Tatiana Maslany does a wonderful job with this role, making a lovable and strong character I couldn’t help but keep watching. 

Some notable honorable characters that appeared throughout the series were Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Abomination (Tim Roth), and the beloved Wong (Benedict Wong). Abomination who often appeared on screen helped Jennifer separate her personal life from her work life. She was able to put aside the personal issues that she had with him for the sake of her job and eventually they built a friendship that was fun to watch especially when they introduced Man-Bull (Nahan Hurd) and El Aguila (Joseph Castillo-Midyett). Some other characters that we were introduced to were Jennifer’s best friends Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga) and Pug (Josh Segarra). I loved these side characters and I feel added to the overall feel of the show. 

Throughout all of this, perhaps the most defining thing is the lightheartedness of this show. 

In comparison to WandaVision and Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness, there’s a definite jump between the level of darkness from these past projects to She-Hulk. From its scenery to its music, the show has a different feel to it than most other Marvel projects. The show has more of a comedic approach where we see little action and no bigger plot developing as we saw in WandaVision. Now, this could go both ways. Some viewers may like the approach, they might like that this show was different and unique. However, it can also turn away viewers. Especially those who turn to Marvel for the action element of it. Although some of it is included in the show, it’s overtaken by its comedy. 

Another rather important element of this show was that Jennifer continuously talked to the audience, completely breaking the fourth wall in the finale. Jennifer was completely aware of the audience throughout the show and would often talk to the viewers which is a completely new arena for Marvel. Besides glances at the screen, there was never a character that directly addressed the audience, until now. This plays a major role in the finale. This can cause debate among fans about whether it was the best approach, some might be offended while others might love the idea of it.

I enjoyed the show. Although I do wish there was some more darkness to give it a more Marvel feel, I also appreciate how they took a completely different approach. I love comedies in general, so to me, I didn’t mind the comedic approach at all. 

Overall, I rate this show an 8.9/10