Disney+’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is, by all metrics, a fantastic show, and one of the best Phase 4 offerings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sitcom format and longer episode count allowed the show to play with multiple plot lines and tons of cameos. Tatiana Maslany was a joy to watch in both of her forms. And that finale? Come on. Perfection.
What’s especially great about She-Hulk is that it pays homage to its comic book roots, while still keeping the story and characters fresh. In the comics, She-Hulk is known for all the things that make her great in the series, whether it’s breaking the forth wall, or juggling her law career and superpowers.
But some fans don’t like it! Specifically, male fans who hate the fact that the “M-She-U” (har har) is highlighting more women and people of color in its films and TV series! The horror! As one viewer so helpfully put it when a bunch of trolls review bombed the series on Rotten Tomatoes, She-Hulk is “just a bunch of man hating rubbish.” Sure thing, dude.
What drives these guys up the wall is that She-Hulk does call out a particular kind of man: namely, guys who have temper tantrums over powerful female superheroes. From the pilot to the finale, She-Hulk criticizes toxic masculinity, whether it takes the form of calling your date a “specimen” or launching an online hate campaign against someone whose existence has zero effect on your life. Remember the disgusting, unmitigated bile that Nikki and Mallory found on the Intelligencia website? The real-life haters saw themselves onscreen and couldn’t handle it.
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The most hilarious criticism of She-Hulk, though, is the claim that it’s not true to the comics. First off, there are people who actually read the comics available to correct you. They’ll gladly show you side-by-side comparisons of She-Hulk tearing her way out of the comic and punching out her thumbnail in the Disney+ menu. Secondly, the comic book writers themselves aren’t shy about setting people straight.
And that’s exactly what Marvel writer Dan Slott did over the holiday weekend.
Slott, who has written scores of titles for Marvel and DC, helmed She-Hulk from 2004 to 2007. As he himself points out, he’s written more She-Hulk issues than any other Marvel writer, so maybe he knows what he’s talking about.
One scene that She-Hulk critics hated—hated!—was the scene in which she twerks with Megan Thee Stallion. Whereas Tony Stark having a stripper pole on his private jet is totally fine? (One guy on Twitter tried to argue that it was different because Tony was still a bad person during that Iron Man scene, but somehow I doubt these guys were clucking their tongues disapprovingly at the women dancing for the male gaze on Tony’s jet.)
Of course, haters shall always and forever hate, and Slott was besieged by men arguing that She-Hulk vilifies all men (no, it just holds a mirror up to men like them!) and trying to move the goalposts by claiming that no one ever said it was inaccurate. (Lies, lies, we all saw it!)
Oh well. Despite the review bombing, we all know what a good show She-Hulk is. If you think you know more than Marvel’s writers about what Marvel is and should be, then by all means, keep screaming into that void.
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
Published: Jan 3, 2023 04:00 pm