The Marvel universe is poised to expand with the introduction of She-Hulk, the superhero alter-ego of lawyer Jennifer Walters.
The trailer for the show, which will premiere on Disney+ on August 17, racked up more than 78 million views on its first day of release, the second-largest trailer debut for a Marvel Studios series after the 2021 show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The series stars Orphan Black actress Tatiana Maslany as lawyer Jennifer Walters, a woman trying to balance her work as the “face of the superhuman law division” at her company, with her 6 foot, 7 inch green-skinned superhero alter-ego.
Mark Ruffalo appears in the show as Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, who helps Walters with her transition into superhero-dom. It also features Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky / Abomination, who first appeared in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, and more recently in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Doctor Strange’s sidekick Wong (Benedict Wong) also stars.
The nine-episode show will also feature The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil as Titania, a character who, according to the comics, becomes Walters’ nemesis.
Who is She-Hulk?
Created by Stan Lee, She-Hulk was first introduced in Marvel Comics in February 1980 in The Savage She-Hulk #1.
In the comics, she is the daughter of Elaine and William Walters. Her mother died in a car crash when she was 17, and her father is a Los Angeles County sheriff.
Is She-Hulk related to the Hulk?
Walters is Bruce Banner’s cousin. In the comics, after crossing paths with Walters’ law enforcement father, crime boss Nicholas Trask sends his henchmen to shoot Walters, leaving her with life-threatening injuries.
On the day she is shot, she is visited by Banner, who had come to tell her about his experiments with gamma radiation, which had created his alter-ego, the Hulk.
Needing a blood transfusion to survive, and with no other matching donors, Banner donates his blood and Walters acquires certain aspects of his superhero condition, albeit in a milder form.
In the television show, it appears Walters was born with Hulk DNA, something Banner helps tease out of her so she can learn to control it.
What are She-Hulk’s powers?
Like Banner, Walters becomes super strong when she transforms. Unlike Banner’s Hulk however, Walters has better control over her emotions.
She doesn’t grow as big as the Hulk, but similar to her cousin, as Banner tells her in the trailer: “The transformations are triggered by anger and fear.”
Is She-Hulk a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers?
The appearance of Marvel universe stalwarts Hulk and Wong in the show suggest Walters will ultimately be pulled into the orbit of her fellow superheroes.
However, Walters insists in the She-Hulk trailer: “I’m not a superhero. That is for billionaires and narcissists. And adult orphans, for some reason.”
In the comics She-Hulk is a member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and S.H.I.E.L.D. In a DC/Marvel crossover, she also worked alongside Wonder Woman.
