Fans have defended Marvel’s forthcoming She-Hulk: Attorney at Law after the trailer for the TV series was labelled “woke cr*p” on Twitter.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige unveiled the trailer for She-Hulk at the 2022 Disney Upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday (17 May) – three months before the show premieres on Disney+ in August this year.
She-Hulk is the story of Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) cousin Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), who inherits his Hulk powers after receiving a blood transfusion from him.
Unlike her cousin, however, when she transforms into her green, hulked-out avatar, Jennifer is able to retain most of her personality, intelligence, and emotional control. Armed with her new powers, she works as a lawyer specialising in litigation for superheroes.
Shortly after, the trailer was posted online on Marvel’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, some viewers criticised the studio for “woke pandering” with a show about a “female Hulk”.
“What in the woke, progressive, spy kids animation, unnecessary, bad idea, is THIS!?” one comment under the Twitter post read.
“Why not just give a woman an original character written for a woman the first time:” another critic wondered.
Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters in new Marvel show
(YouTube/Marvel Entertainment)
However, fans were quick to defend Maslany’s debut outing as She-Hulk, with many pointing out that the character was created back in 1980– long before “whatever wokeness you are troubled by”.
“What is woke about giving this character a TV series? Does it make you feel threatened?” one person responded to the allegation Marvel was creating content meant to appeal to liberal audiences.
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“‘She-Hulk looks like it’s for girls, ew’ is really not a great take, my bros,” another fan wrote, quipping, “Hopefully, one day your life will consist of more than playing Minecraft and your mom bringing you snacks but with that attitude maybe not lol”
One person pointed out that the character of She-Hulk was created by Disney for “the prestigious reason of establishing a copyright ownership” – not “to appeal to ‘woke’ audiences”.
She-Hulk came into existence following the success of the live-action version ofThe Incredible Hulk, based on the Marvel comic, the first iissue of which was released in 1962.
Given the CBS show’s popularity at the time, Marvel reportedly predicted its creators would “inevitably try to create a female version of The Incredible Hulk”. In order to prevent this, comic book legend Stan Lee created a female Hulk character to ensure the rights to such a character remained with Marvel.
Before getting the TV treatment in 2022, She-Hulk has previously appeared on numerous animated Marvel series and in video games, voiced by actors including Eliza Dushku and Katee Sackhoff.
A She-Hulk film that would have starred Brigitte Nielsen was announced in 1990 but never materialised.
The first episode of She-Hulk will be available for streaming on Disney+ in the UK on 17 August.
