She-Hulk: Attorney at Law trailer

[Dire Bare]

Right. I get the last part.

But, on a day-to-day basis, there doesn't seem to be a downside.

Is there a reason to not want to have super strength, be super smart, have a lucrative job offer, be able to drink/party with little repercussions, be considered more attractive, and have celebrity status?

The show has presented very little reason for why Jennifer's struggle with being a Hulk is an actual problem. Maybe that comes later on after the characters have been established.

Jenn's celebrity status as "She-Hulk" isn't what she expected to happen, and isn't what she wanted. She was afraid of being a "hulk", a monster, of being different. Of not being able to pursue her career as a lawyer.

And that is part of what's happening. She gets fired from her job at the DA's office, and is only brought on with her new firm as a "diversity hire". In the real world, when you're hired only because you are a woman, or a person of color . . . you can doubt your own worth, or have others doubt your true worth. That's happening to Jenn at her new firm.

She-Hulk is gaining celebrity status . . . . and that's not always so great, as the story shows us. She has folks stalking and attacking her, she's mobbed by paparazzi making up sensational stories about her. She's loved by some, hated by others . . . and not for who she truly is, but for the celebrity construct of being "She-Hulk" which she has little control over.

From previews we've seen, in later episodes it seems likely that Jenn starts to lean into the more positive aspects of her new celebrity status and even enjoy being She-Hulk . . . but that hasn't happened yet. It's kinda hard to miss, it's the metaphor the show is pushing hard at, equating being super-powered to being a celebrity.

In the real world . . . being famous isn't always great, it's sometimes awful, and most often it's a mixed-bag. Many celebrities have a love/hate relationship with their celebrity status . . . they hate how they are judged and stereotyped, they hate how folks have strong opinions about them (without truly knowing them), they hate the loss of privacy . . . . but the career benefits, the (sometimes) wealth, the access, the adulation of the public . . . . it's truly a mixed-bag of blessings and curses.

 

[trappedslider]

Visual of Wong going off to escape responsibility and or commit another crime

 

[Argyle King]

Jenn's celebrity status as "She-Hulk" isn't what she expected to happen, and isn't what she wanted. She was afraid of being a "hulk", a monster, of being different. Of not being able to pursue her career as a lawyer.

And that is part of what's happening. She gets fired from her job at the DA's office, and is only brought on with her new firm as a "diversity hire". In the real world, when you're hired only because you are a woman, or a person of color . . . you can doubt your own worth, or have others doubt your true worth. That's happening to Jenn at her new firm.

She-Hulk is gaining celebrity status . . . . and that's not always so great, as the story shows us. She has folks stalking and attacking her, she's mobbed by paparazzi making up sensational stories about her. She's loved by some, hated by others . . . and not for who she truly is, but for the celebrity construct of being "She-Hulk" which she has little control over.

From previews we've seen, in later episodes it seems likely that Jenn starts to lean into the more positive aspects of her new celebrity status and even enjoy being She-Hulk . . . but that hasn't happened yet. It's kinda hard to miss, it's the metaphor the show is pushing hard at, equating being super-powered to being a celebrity.

In the real world . . . being famous isn't always great, it's sometimes awful, and most often it's a mixed-bag. Many celebrities have a love/hate relationship with their celebrity status . . . they hate how they are judged and stereotyped, they hate how folks have strong opinions about them (without truly knowing them), they hate the loss of privacy . . . . but the career benefits, the (sometimes) wealth, the access, the adulation of the public . . . . it's truly a mixed-bag of blessings and curses.

Fair enough, but celebrities also don't get to be nigh invincible when they morph into their celebrity personality.

In comparison, Bruce had to struggle against being a Hulk for various reasons. Likewise, Abomination had a personal struggle and a character arc.

What's the weakness of being She-Hulk?

 

[Argyle King]

To me, it feels like "But I just want to be normal"

Fair enough.

Is there any sort of physical or mental downside to the transformation?

At a time when a lot of the audience is struggling, I think it's going to be difficult to garner sympathy for being rich, powerful, and famous.

I enjoy the show. So, I'm not knocking the show. But from both an audience perspective and an in-world superhero perspective, I'm curious what tangible downsides there are to effectively having all of Hulk's powers with seemingly none of the struggles or downsides.

 

[MarkB]

Fair enough.

Is there any sort of physical or mental downside to the transformation?

At a time when a lot of the audience is struggling, I think it's going to be difficult to garner sympathy for being rich, powerful, and famous.

I enjoy the show. So, I'm not knocking the show. But from both an audience perspective and an in-world superhero perspective, I'm curious what tangible downsides there are to effectively having all of Hulk's powers with seemingly none of the struggles or downsides.

I don't think that's the story they're trying to tell.

The "what if suddenly superhero" story is actually one that the MCU's done remarkably little to explore, despite them (very sensibly IMO) having mostly done away with the concept of a "secret identity" right from the start ("I am Iron Man.")

But very few of the movies have ever really touched upon what it's like to have to deal with that on a daily basis. Stark was already a massive public figure with established coping mechanisms, and most of the other Avengers either arrived in present-day America fully formed and/or coped by being isolated in the Avengers compound most of the time, and Peter Parker resorted to extreme measures to keep out of the public eye.

Somebody having to live and work in the world while having a well-known superpowered side is something new and well worth exploring, so I'm glad they're so far focusing upon that, rather than rehashing the same character arc that Bruce Banner went through.

 

[Ryujin]

Fair enough.

Is there any sort of physical or mental downside to the transformation?

At a time when a lot of the audience is struggling, I think it's going to be difficult to garner sympathy for being rich, powerful, and famous.

I enjoy the show. So, I'm not knocking the show. But from both an audience perspective and an in-world superhero perspective, I'm curious what tangible downsides there are to effectively having all of Hulk's powers with seemingly none of the struggles or downsides.

For an introvert, it would be absolute torture.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The show sure was impressed with itself for getting Megan Thee Stallion in it. I found it a bit jarring how self-impressed it was. Not being into celebrities, I have nearly no idea who Megan Thee Stallion is (I mean, I've heard the name, but beyond that...) I had to go "I guess that's her, then?"

This threw me, because I had never heard of her. I was left wondering "is this some superhero from the comics?"

 

[trappedslider]

You know the feeling of "who is she/no clue who that is" is how non-geeks feel 90% when there's a reference that's aimed at the geeky and watching everyone's reaction n here is making me chuckle

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You know the feeling of "who is she/no clue who that is" is how non-geeks feel 90% when there's a reference that's aimed at the geeky and watching everyone's reaction n here is making me chuckle

My wife isn't a geek, and she had never heard of Brenda Dee Horse either.

 

[trappedslider]

My wife isn't a geek, and she had never heard of Brenda Dee Horse either.