Phase Four was Marvel Studios’ busiest few years to date, with more hours of content produced than the previous three phases combined, as superhero fatigue began to seep in for some. A lot of this has to do with Marvel Studios’ TV plans on Disney Plus, which appear to be in the same spot as the Phase One films over a decade ago.
Whereas The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to kick things off on Disney Plus initially, due to the pandemic, we’ve had Wanda Vision In place. Marvel Studios has delivered a refreshing new narrative with Wanda Vision as the series mimicked sitcoms with a superhero twist.
While Marvel Studios’ Phase Four reception was the most controversial for Kevin Feige and co. to date, one thing is clear; Marvel Studios is looking to push the superhero genre even further. She-Hulk: Lawyer is yet another example of this new direction, and exceeds for what it tries to be, a legal comedy.
Marvel Studios stamping their superhero projects with an outside genre is nothing new and She-Hulk gives audiences the familiar elements they’d expect from the MCU while bringing something new to the table.
She-Hulk is yet another Disney Plus series that introduces a new character to the rapidly growing MCU starring Tatiana Maslany as Los Angeles-based lawyer Jennifer Walters, who happens to be the cousin of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/Hulk. Maslany’s Walters is another wonderful addition to the MCU and fits right in.
Maslany is both charming and relatable in the role, a trait that many MCU characters embody. No matter how mediocre a Marvel Studios story might be, they always deliver when it comes to character, and the MCU’s She-Hulk is no expectation. Maslany also has plenty of fun supporting characters to rub shoulders with, like Ginger Gonzaga, who plays Jennifer’s best friend Nikki Ramos, but she still carries the show on her broad green shoulders.
From the beginning, She-Hulk brings an element that we only saw for one episode of Wanda Vision, which sees Walters breaking the fourth wall, an element that many commonly associate with Deadpool. However, the series was heavily inspired by John Byrne She-Hulk run around and use the wall break to good effect.
In fact, the show’s self-awareness is what makes it so entertaining. It’s not uncommon for a Marvel Studios project to poke fun at itself with bizarre comic book concepts introduced, and some might find comedic moments of She-Hulk repetitive to what we have seen in the past; the show goes one step further in a way that only longtime MCU followers will appreciate.
In addition to Maslany and Gonzaga, the series also brings back a few familiar faces, the first being Ruffalo’s Hulk. We last saw the character during the mid-credits scene for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which raised some questions after seeing Banner in his human form again. Die-hard MCU fans will be pleased to know that we’re getting answers and new questions with Ruffalo’s Hulk, who is one of the few original Avengers still in the MCU.
While we haven’t had a solo Hulk project since 2008 since Universal still owns the rights, it’s great to get more insight into Ruffalo’s daily life through She-Hulk. But a superhero’s slice of life is something that is primarily explored by Walters. It’s one of the brilliant parts of the new MCU show-verse that does something the movies can’t capture. But unlike other MCU shows, She-Hulk doesn’t waste too much time on the origin and dives right into Walters trying to find a new identity with his superpowers.
Another character fans will be excited to see is Tim Roth’s Abomination, who made a brief return in Shang Chi. Marvel Studios had a villain problem for years before solving it in Phase Three, but Roth’s relentless Emil Blonsky still stood out throughout Phase One.
Fans will quickly notice that Blonsky evolved during his imprisonment and became more comedic, much like the Hulk in the MCU. There could be more than the series lets on with Blonsky, and its inclusion matches the lighter tone. She-Hulk is shooting, which fans should probably be prepared for once Daredevil in Chalie Cox’s yellow suit also starts to flip on screen.
Another connection to the larger MCU is the inclusion of Benedict Wong as Wong, the current Sorcerer Supreme of the strange doctor franchise side. Wong is just as charming as ever, and we see him in a very different situation than we’re used to, which makes for some funny comedic moments.
A common complaint with the MCU in the past is how similar projects can be, both visually and tonally. Marvel Studios is clearly trying to silence those qualms with the phase four projects they’ve launched so far, but there will always be segments that stand out.
For She-Hulk, the CGI was a major concern for fans before the series, but the VFX looks perfectly fine in the series. It’s also unprecedented for a series to have an all-CGI character in a lead role, so some grace might be warranted.
However, She-Hulk isn’t quite as cinematic as its Disney Plus predecessors, and it visually resembles a TV show, to the point that some set pieces don’t live up to the MCU’s big-screen visual language. Wanda Vision obviously adopted TV visuals as well, but there was still a cinematic reach to this show and the others as well.
She-HulkThe visual look and structure of feels closer to a Marvel project like ABC’s. Agents of SHIELD that Moon Knight. Instead of telling a long film through a different medium, She-Hulk Really feels like Marvel Studios’ first TV show, which works in its favor and is a nice change of pace.
But it all comes down to what audiences need to do before She-Hulki.e. accept it for what it is and have a good time. She-Hulk could be the most entertaining Marvel Studios series yet that is sure to grab your attention, and there are a few reasons why. From Maslany’s performances to the fun MCU connections that make Marvel Studios projects indispensable. She-Hulk: Lawyer is yet another big swing from Marvel Studios in The Multiverse Sagabut it’s paying off as yet another superhero project that disguises itself as another genre to keep the franchise the most successful of all time.
Rating: 8/10
She-Hulk: Lawyer premieres August 18, with episodes debuting every Thursday on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for all the latest Marvel Studios news on the way Multiverse Sagaand subscribe to the Heroic Hollywood YouTube channel for more original video content.
