Jennifer Walters, also known as She-Hulk, is one of the biggest Marvel superheroes who
has yet to appear in live action but that's about to change. In the near future, this
lawyer turned superhero who gains her powers via a gamma-irradiated blood transfusion from
her cousin, Bruce Banner will be coming to the MCU. The highly anticipated Disney+ series
will star actress Tatiana Maslany in the leading role.
She-Hulk has a long history in the comics. The legendary Stan Lee helped create the character,
alongside artist John Buscema, four decades ago. She-Hulk was originally created for a
very specific reason namely, to make sure Marvel Comics would have the rights to a female
Hulk counterpart. There was concern that the producers of the seventies Incredible Hulk
TV series might create one first.
Now that Maslany is officially She-Hulk, a lot of fans want to know how the character's
distinct appearance will be brought to life. When you look at Maslany, it might not be
immediately obvious to you what the slender 5'4" actress might look like as She-Hulk.
Now, what she'll look like as attorney Jennifer Walters ready to argue a case? That's easy.
But as an angry, giant green superhero? Well, that's a bit harder to imagine.
"Can you tell me what the angry angel looked like?"
Acclaimed fan artist BossLogic has come through with a stellar interpretation of how she could
appear. His depiction of Maslany as She-Hulk manages to incorporate everything you could
want from the character: the muscles, the outfit, and yes, the green skin. It's also
cool that he included an image of Maslany from Orphan Black, in the background, to show
the difference between regular Walters and her superhero counterpart. In fact, the more
you look at BossLogic's image, and think about Maslany's previous works, the clearer it becomes
why she makes so much sense as She-Hulk.
Maslany has a background in both comedic and dramatic acting, for one, which could be extremely
important since, historically, She-Hulk is a comic book character known for her meta
humor, even going so far as to break the fourth wall years before Deadpool started doing it
in comics and films.
“It’s over. Go home.”
Maslany's small size, in real life, will allow her to physically embody the equally small,
insecure side of Walters. But then, as someone who has played various clones in Orphan Black,
she can easily use subtle body language cues to show just how different Walters' personality
becomes when she transforms into She-Hulk.
The character of She-Hulk isn't known for having multiple personalities, but the duality
of her nature is something Maslany is well-suited for, at least as Walters figures out her powers
and what they mean.
She-Hulk has gone through a lot of different incarnations since her debut in the first
issue of The Savage She-Hulk in 1980. The character that Stan Lee and John Buscema created
back then was triggered by rage, much like Bruce Banner, but this depiction didn't last
long. Far more popular was the version of She-Hulk written by John Byrne, wherein Walters
saw her confidence bloom when she became green. This depiction of the character was self-aware,
comedic, and has influenced most other takes in the years since. It's entirely possible
that the Disney+ series will pull influence from those two eras. According to Deadline,
sitcom director Kat Coiro is involved with the show, while Rick and Morty's Jessica Gao
is being eyed to lead the writer's room, all of which implies a comedic focus.
Unlike the Byrne era, though wherein Walters was, for all intents and purposes, permanently
in She-Hulk form it's possible that Maslany won't be green all of the time, or even most
of the time. It's very likely that a big focus will be paid to Jennifer Walters, the lawyer.
In which case, the show may pull some influence from the comic-book-run by writer-attorney
Charles Soule, who put a lot of emphasis on that element, and specifically examined super
heroism through the lens of the law. In one story, Soule featured She-Hulk facing off
against Tony Stark, a conflict which involved her physically battling his security, while
also outsmarting him with her legal mind.
Time will tell exactly how Maslany will look as She-Hulk and we can't wait to see it. Marvel's
She-Hulk is still in the early stages, but it will eventually be available on Disney+.
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