The first trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law has been released, allowing fans to anticipate the next Disney+ series after Ms. Marvel. While many fans have complained about the trailer's puzzling CGI, others are excited to see Jennifer Walters' introduction to the MCU. The character is one that comic book fans have been anticipating for years.
However, it can be easy to write off Walters' character as just a gender swap of Bruce Banner, but she's much more than that. The character of She-Hulk, while deeply connected to the Hulk, has her own history and legacy. These eight differences will remind fans how unique Jennifer Walters is in the comics.
Updated August 24, 2022, by Blaise Santi: The first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law has finally premiered on Disney+, featuring Tatiana Maslany in the titular role opposite Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. Before diving into Jennifer Walters’ work and social life following her transformation into She-Hulk, she spends the whole episode adapting to her new powers with her cousin, Banner. This episode allows for further exploration into the differences between She-Hulk and Hulk, as seen in the comics. Some differences between the two characters, however, stretch beyond the limitations of the comic book page. These additional contrasts between Jennifer Walters and Bruce Banner involve their history as much as their lore.
11 Created By Stan Lee
Hulk's first comic appearance was in 1962, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. According to Lee, Marvel wanted to recreate the success of The Thing from Fantastic Four, with inspiration from Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. The character was originally supposed to be grey, but a coloring error resulted in the Hulk's signature green look.
She-Hulk's creation was more practical than Hulk's. In 1977, CBS began airing a TV adaptation of The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. Fearing that CBS would try to introduce a female Hulk, Stan Lee opted to beat them to the punch, which resulted in She-Hulk's debut in 1980, securing Marvel's ownership of the character.
10 Breaking The Fourth Wall
Jennifer Walters' breaking of the fourth wall in She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law draws direct inspiration from the character's comic book origins. As of her second solo series that premiered in 1989, She-Hulk often breaks the fourth wall on the page. This is even true of the first issue's cover, which features She-Hulk ordering the reader to read the comic.
Until now, the only Marvel character to break the fourth wall in the films has been Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. However, Bruce Banner lacks the ability according to the Disney+ series' first episode. Hopefully, Jennifer's fourth wall-breaking will be a recurring feature of her character in future Avengers films.
9 Hulks On-Screen
Bruce Banner has had a long history of appearing in film and TV. Aside from the late 70s show with Lou Ferrigno, there have been several blockbuster Incredible Hulk films throughout the 2000s. The first was 2003's Hulk, directed by Ang Lee and starring Eric Bana. The character was later revived for the MCU in 2008, played by Edward Norton.
Mark Ruffalo eventually took over the role from 2012's The Avengers and onwards. She-Hulk, sadly, has had less luck with live-action adaptations. The character's appeared in many animated films and series set in the Marvel universe, but aside from a failed film adaptation in the 90s starring Brigitte Nielsen, Tatiana Maslany will be originating the role.
8 Science And Law
Bruce Banner is one of the most brilliant scientists in the Marvel universe, rivaling the intellect of men like Tony Stark and Reed Richards. As a doctor in nuclear physics, it's obvious why Banner is the top choice by the U.S. military to aid their studies on gamma radiation. However, Jennifer's origins are unrelated to Bruce's studies.
Although Banner and Walters are cousins, Walters is a lawyer in Los Angeles. However, the two both studied their respective professions at Harvard University before going off on different paths to pursue higher education. Where these two are similar, however, is their ratio of brains to brawn.
7 Their First Transformations
Famously, Bruce Banner first becomes the Hulk when a test of the U.S. military's first gamma bomb goes awry. Bruce narrowly survives, but as a result of the gamma radiation, he transforms into a monster whom General Thaddeus Ross labels "the Hulk." Whenever Bruce gets angry, he goes into a berserk, green-skinned rage.
Jennifer's superhero origins are vastly different, though they involve Bruce. After she is attacked by crime lords, Bruce is the only family member able to give her a blood transfusion. As a result of being filled with radiated blood, Jennifer becomes able to transform into She-Hulk, though she retains her personality in this new form.
6 Complicated Love Lives
One thing that the She-Hulk series fulfills is She-Hulk's active dating life. In the comics, the single lawyer often finds herself tied up with other characters romantically, including Starfox, Luke Cage, and Hercules. Bruce Banner, on the other hand, surprisingly has a much simpler romantic history than his cousin.
Prior to his transformation into the Hulk, Bruce had a relationship with Betty Ross, the daughter of General Thaddeus. While Betty is his one true love in the comics, MCU Bruce has a long-standing flirtation with Natasha Romanoff. Since Natasha's dead in the MCU, perhaps Smart Hulk is due to find a new romance sometime soon.
5 Relationship To The Fantastic Four
Something Hulk and She-Hulk have in common is their connection to The Fantastic Four. For the former, the quartet are some of his early enemies, leading to a rivalry between the Hulk and the Thing. Walters, on the other hand, becomes an ally of The Fantastic Four early in her superhero career, contrasting Bruce's conflicts with them.
In fact, Jennifer Walters is a member of The Fantastic Four for a brief period after the Thing joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. With them, Walters helped defeat villains like Psycho-Man before she eventually left The Fantastic Four, rejoining the Avengers. However, she always remained an ally of Reed and Sue Storm.
4 The Ability To Change Forms
A key aspect of Bruce Banner's character is the conflict between his human form and the monstrous Hulk. By Avengers: Endgame, Bruce has solved this conflict by merging the two forms and becoming Smart Hulk. However, in the comics, Jennifer Walters is the first to remain trapped in her monstrous form.
After an incident where she fixes a radiation leak on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Walters suffered even further mutation. As a result, she became unable to switch between her She-Hulk form and her original human form. However, like MCU Bruce, Walters embraced this and continued practicing law under her own name.
3 The Hulk Led To The Creation Of The Avengers
It may be surprising to casual Marvel fans that Bruce Banner's lack of control is the reason why the Avengers were initially formed. The Hulk became mind-controlled by Loki, causing Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to team up to free him. Together, the five of them became the original line-up for the Avengers.
She-Hulk, fortunately, has been a frequent member of the Avengers in the comics. She's also been a member of superhero teams like the Heroes for Hire, the Defenders, and the Fantastic Force. However, it's the Hulk's mistakes that spawned the creation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, so the universe has him to thank.
2 Jennifer Was Arrested By The TVA
The Time Variance Authority made a big entrance into the MCU in the Loki series on Disney+. Before that, the bureaucratic organization (called the TVA, for short) appeared infrequently in the comics. Bruce Banner hasn't interacted with this organization in the comics, but Jennifer Walters had a big confrontation with them.
In one comic run, Jennifer time-travels to the past to prevent the death of Clint Barton. Unfortunately, her plan was foiled by the TVA, who arrested her and put her on trial. As part of her trial, Jennifer was shown a future where her actions start the Reckoning War, forcing her to come to grips with her inability to change the past.
1 The Hulk's Other Identities
Bruce Banner has taken on many other identities during his time as the Hulk. At one point, he takes on a job as an enforcer at a casino under the alias Mr. Fixit. He's also been able to transform into different iterations of the Hulk, such as Gray Hulk or Savage Hulk. Jennifer, however, usually only has the one identity of She-Hulk.
One of Banner's most infamous alternate identities is Maestro. This variant of Bruce Banner exists in the future as a despotic dictator who survived a nuclear apocalypse that killed all of Earth's superheroes. Earth-616's Hulk is forced to kill his alternate future self, which only adds to the immense amount of weight Banner carries.