PLATFORM: Disney+ | REVIEWED: Episodes 1-4
Tatiana Maslany is predictably fantastic as Jennifer Walters (we already knew the actress was more than qualified for the role – have you seen Orphan Black?), the 30-something lawyer-turned-green superhero and protagonist of Disney+’s latest MCU series, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. When Jennifer accidentally gets contaminated with her cousin Bruce Banner’s (a returning Mark Ruffalo as Bruce/Smart Hulk) blood, she’s not exactly thrilled at the prospect of becoming superpowered – especially when it means being let go from her high-flying job with the DA after a minor courtroom incident.
Mercifully, those hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt won’t be going to waste; soon enough, Jen/She-Hulk is back in the law biz as the head of a new division specialising in cases involving superhumans. Her first client? None other than Emil Blonsky/the Abomination (Tim Roth), one of several pre-established MCU characters making an appearance (though, as Jen reminds viewers, “I don’t want you to think this is one of those ‘cameo-every-week’ type shows… well, except Bruce. And Blonsky. And Wong…” plus, as we now know, good Catholic boy Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox)). Seeing She-Hulk interact with these franchise vets is a source of endless delight, and at no point is there any doubt as to whose show this is. The 5-foot-2-inch lawyer commands the screen just as easily as her 6-foot-7-inches alter ego.
As a laugh-out-loud comedy and a very entertaining, completely absurd take on a law procedural (introducing the greatest obstacle ever faced by Marvel’s slew of aliens and inter-dimensional beings: drumroll, please… the American legal system), She-Hulk knocks it out of the park. In style and format, it’s the most comic-booky series we’ve seen from Marvel so far, complete with fourth wall breaks and some mildly goofy, though entirely forgivable, CGI. The show is also wonderfully self-aware (much helped by the direct-to-audience commentary) and well-written, particularly in its deft, pointed observations of women’s real-world, lived experiences in the workplace, dating scene, and city streets.
She-Hulk boldly assumes its unique tone within the MCU, and, though it may experience some minor stumbles as the newly-minted green giantess finds her legs, the half-hour comedy series makes for a refreshingly fun outing to the universe’s lesser-explored corners. Bring on the rest of the season!
SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW is available to stream on Disney+ from the 18th of August, with new episodes released weekly.
