Not gonna lie kiwis, I have been seething for weeks about She-Hulk: Attorney at Law for what has felt (not in small part due to my job) like ages. I wouldn't doubt for a second that Marvel is expecting it to fail as badly as Inhumans if just with a bit more dignity because this time around is supposed to be a 'self-aware' comedy.
If Marvel had given a fuck about Shulkie, they would have given her a series 8 years ago since she roughly sits at the same level of notoriety as The Defenders. But let's not pretend Marvel hasn't been shit at giving its female characters shit to do unless they are Captain Marvel adjacent. If you want a reason to cry then think about Janet Van Dyne.
Tbf, the case can be made that Marvel has intentionally been killing its most fleshed-out female character for years with all the little stunts they have made. She was forced into becoming the Hulk after Civil War 2, Amadeus Cho stole her schtick in the comics and then the MCU brought us Dr. Hulk, she was transformed into an orc with a receding hairline for like 3 years until she was turned back into the shape she has always been perceived to be. Nowadays everyone thinks only Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and meta humour is a staple of Whedonian dialogue. She was literally introduced too late to overcome the skepticism people may have of her just being a glorified passing of the torch.
Nothing about this fucking show works. The poster has Shulkie with a generic bad bitch pose and terminal resting bitch face that every heroine is forced to do. A vibrant character known for breaking the fourth wall offers so much potential for something different. What about a smug smile and a self-deprecating joke like "Finally getting my own show because we didn't have money for a movie"? Yeah, sounds fucking campy but you may say that will be what the writer's room will use as an excuse once they have to paint Maslany's skin green because they pissed off the animators.
The premise better be a fucking prank because I find it baffling that you take a plotline that was generic back in 2005 and present it as what likely will be obligatory watching to understand the upcoming Krasinski Four movie. You have a lawyer with a first-hand experience about what is being a super in a world that is likely trying its hardest to keep up with accords to regulate them and the best fucking plot you have is "she is in her 30s and is single and training to be a superhero". I have been wrapping my head around this for weeks, I even made a freaking list of plot threads I think I don't need to show you right now to prove how lazy it all is.
Let's go by parts. Shulkie’s origin is not complicated and I understand if you want to tweak it a little, but fuck. What about instead of having Jen stupidly accept to voluntarily undergo an experiment for no real gain, she accepts to become a control guinea pig for Bruce to become Dr. Hulk without being fully aware of the consequences because she trusts him? They are established to have a strong link in the comics, so you would give her agency and establish them as loving relatives willing to risk themselves for one another.
Now let's really think about it. Is really love searching the best plot you can give to a female character in the 21st century? After all the first thing stated in the synopsis is that she is single and the trailer makes it abundantly clear that will be a strong point. I'm not saying is bad, I'm saying is generic and I'm almost completely sure the people behind this are the types to scream sexism at anything they don't like. The other pillar of the plot seems to be the glorified cameos and references to the movies that will connect everything together. I'm going to throw the unironic suggestion that having Jen's firm work to establish and build up entities like Damage Control would have been better world-building and more cost-effective.
I am going to say that even though Tatiana Maslany is a good actress she seems a bit miscast IMO (although is probably the horrendous script she had to work with). Shulkie needs to exude charisma, a greater-than-life attitude and have tight comedic timing, not be reduced to a whiny sarcastic towel. Mark Ruffalo sucks but giving Jameela Jamil the role to be your main antagonist takes the fucking cake. Jamil can only play herself and even though a joke about Shulkie is that she has shit villains I don't think that was the intention behind her casting.
The effects look like fucking shit, Disney will submit them next year for Best Picture at the Oscars. Unironically would have been better to cast two actresses and composite them on a fucking green screen. May as well establish visually that Shulkie is the bridge between the SFX heavy blockbuster heroes and the ones that scream "created during the peak of the martial arts craze".
Nothing about this fucking show gives me any hope this won't be shit. Best fucking case it is Harvey Birdman and worst case it is Birdgirl. It isn't even Shulkie, it feels like they forced Ryan Reynolds's Deadpool to star in Legally Blonde and it is fucking directed by the mastermind behind Pickle Rick and I'm Not Starfire. Gao, give me your agent's name, I have a fucking Wattpad profile that is just asking for a Netflix deal.