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🕑 Added 2022-07-24 12:11:27 +0000 UTCUPDATE: My thoughts on the new She-Hulk trailer below the link:
Observations:
The CGI still seems very hit or miss. Whoever cracks the algorithm that finally eliminates that weirdly fluid motion that CG humans seems to have hopefully will make a ton of money. We're getting closer from both ends--milder alterations like young Hank Pym or Nick Fury or less human characters like Rocket or the Egyptian gods in Moon Knight are getting very convincing. Our Hulk friends are in this awkward spot where they're both not normal enough and not abnormal enough to cover up this issue. The TV budget and schedule probably doesn't help. That said, the design looks a lot better than early trailers. Any still from the trailer looks great--it's when they move that things get off. (Also I think Shulkie could stand to be a little greener and a little bigger, but I also notice that Professor Hulk is paler than the Hulk we had through most of the Infinity Saga, so that may be a visual cue for how savage a Hulk we're dealing with, which, in Jen's case, is not very.)
In spite of this restriction, Tatiana Maslany's acting is still shining through, and she is NAILING the modern take on the Sensational She-Hulk--navigating her swerves internally from super awkward to super confident with a wry, snarky sense of humor, and struggling in her legal career despite being a good lawyer. Her reaction to the air horn gag at the beginning is spot on. And her break to the 4th wall a minute into the trailer--and her reaction to it-- is priceless.
It looks like we will get a little more drama concerning the balance between Jen and She-Hulk than was originally suggested by the producers. Probably one of the arcs over the course of the series will be Jen learning to accept and eventually embrace her green side. She may well wind up in the "I prefer to stay green all the time" mindset by the end of the season, but for budget reasons if nothing else I think we'll see more of human Jen then we were expecting early on.
That said, I think--again for budget reasons, as well for storytelling reasons--the shoe burst in the first trailer is probably the most detail we're going to get on the transformation front. We're probably looking at a lot of off-screen or eye closeup type shifts. That's OK with me though as I realize there's a fairly limited subset of the audience who are coming into this looking for just that. A lot of the reactions I've seen from our community is even that shoe scene is more than they expected, and they're happy for that. And from a story telling standpoint, the other methods can be just as effective. Again, I think that gag with the collapsing bed at the beginning is a hoot.
I'm glad to see Mark Ruffalo's Hulk still so active in the MCU! I do think his presence will be limited mostly to the first episode or two as he tries to "train" Jen before she decides to return to lawyering. I do wonder if some or all of this series happens during the blip, which would explain why Bruce's arm is whole. I would love an episode where Jen's assaulted with a barrage of work related crises that delays her from joining the big battle in Endgame. (Maybe she got the call from Wong, who's been in like a third of the Phase four projects so far--he's almost like the new Nick Fury!) I'm expecting some people are put off by the training sequences where Jen seems to be surpassing Bruce on many of the tests he's giving her, feeling like they're artificially downplaying Bruce's abilities to boost the She-Hulk as part of some nefarious feminist agenda, but I'm chalking that to Bruce underestimating Jen and Jen being very competitive. I like the fact that they're treating them as two family members who grew up together and already have almost a brother/sister type relationship. The comics always talk about how Bruce and Jen were so close as kids but it only really ever comes up when it's convenient to the story.
At the end of the day it's great to see the Hulk corner of Marvel getting some more love despite the hang-ups with rights at Universal. The Incredible Hulk movie is IMO one of the most underrated installments of the franchise. I'm glad to see Tim Roth back as Blonsky (with a much improved Abomination form!) as well as Bruce. (Hmm--the last time we saw Blonsky he was teaming up with Wong in fixed cage fights in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Could Wong's appearance be a ploy to bail out his partner in crime?) I'm sorry William Hurt passed away before we got to see him as Red Hulk, as was rumored early on. I'm holding out hope that Betty might turn up in some fashion, either with a Red She-Hulk or Harpy form, wondering why Bruce never reached out to her after his life started to stabilize a little with the Avengers. And it sounds like there will be a ton of fun cameos, including the aforementioned Wong, with characters who don't usually do comedy doing just that. Paul Bettany flexing his comedic muscles in the early episodes of WandaVision was one of my favorite parts of that show.
She-Hulk has always been a kind of "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" type of character. She's got a loyal fan base, but it's never been enough it seems to make an ongoing series last for any length of time. Part of this stems from the fact that her fan base is loyal but divided. Many of the folks here prefer a more traditional Hulk format like in the early savage days... meek Jennifer Walters involuntarily has her wild side unleashed in times of stress. (Or perhaps voluntarily--but still with a shift in demeanor stemming from a loss of inhibition.) People here also tend to prefer a more feminine She-Hulk--buff but not brutish like the more recent experiments with making her more Hulk like in the comics.
For most people though, Jen is the perennially tall, green, sexy, and snarky Sensational style She-Hulk. While there have been variations on this theme between the Byrne, Slott, David, Soule, and current eras, that has been the most persistent version. From what I'm seeing here this show has really captured that vibe, and I can't wait to see what they do with it. For me August 17th can't get here fast enough (Except that means we're in our busiest time at work, but that can't be helped.) I hope you are getting the same sense of excitement for what should be a very entertaining show for She-Hulk and MCU fans alike. Jen was literally created in 1979 with a TV show in mind and has been waiting 43 years for this moment. To echo what her cousin said about himself and the Infinity Gauntlet in Endgame, she was made for this!
Thanks for reading, and also bearing with me while I got my office in shape! Regular programming should resume this week! In the meantime, let me know your thoughts!
(Also--She-Hulk: Attorney At Law toys incoming: https://news.toyark.com/2022/07/24/marvel-legends-series-disney-plus-she-hulk-478762)--count me in!)
Comments
Artaxx
It does make me more excited for this series with the second trailer. I just think they won't touch on the duality of her and her hulk form as much I would want. As far as the CGI goes just making her lip color a darker shade of green would look better than the pale pink they use.
Agent Zero
definitely better than the first trailer
