She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (1×01) A Normal Amount of Rage Early Review

Keith NoakesAugust 17, 202290/100n/a5 min
Director
Kat Coiro
Writer
Jessica Gao
Rating
TV-PG
Running Time
35 minutes
Airs
Thursdays
Channel
Disney Plus
Overall Score
Rating Summary
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law delivers a strong premiere that takes the MCU in a different direction on the ample shoulders of Tatiana Maslany.

The television arm of the MCU continues to expand with their first 30ish minute sitcom with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Due to some legal issues, the character of The Hulk/Bruce Banner has been forced to appear in secondary roles across his appearances in the MCU following 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. However, the series expands on the character through his cousin Jennifer Walters who is an attorney in the comics. All things considered, how does the series fit within the MCU as a whole and does the series format work within the MCU as a whole? The series definitely plants some seeds early on as it builds towards the immediate and near future. Meanwhile, the format is certainly different and won’t be for everyone but for the most part succeeds so far in delivering some laughs and fourth wall breaking. The highlight of this first episode is of course the chemistry of Tatiana Maslany as Walters and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk/Bruce Banner as it mostly serves as a prologue. At the end of the day, Maslany more than proves her worth as the lead of the series and the writing keeps things interesting.

The story of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is pretty self-explanatory as it follows LA Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Walters (Maslany) whose life is turned upside down upon gaining the power to turn into a Hulk as a result of a freak accident. A large part of the episode is dedicated to showcasing the relationship between Walters and her cousin Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) as the latter helped her to better understand and control her powers. Little did he know, her case was much different than his therefore his experience essentially had to be thrown out the window. Nevertheless, watching them figure it out together and in the process, develop a rivalry of sorts was a blast to watch. Banner’s methodology was something to behold as it was clear that his cousin’s different perspective needed to be taken into account. While the siblings had a friendly rivalry, they still had time for some lighter moments which were just as strong.

Ultimately with powers came responsibility but as far as Walters was concerned, she was going to focus on helping people as a lawyer rather than as a Hulk. Her best friend and paralegal Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga) knew her secret but little did she know that that secret would be put in the spotlight as an incident thrust her to use her powers to fend off a superpowered influencer named Titania (Jameela Jamil).

Avid viewers should keep watching through the credits as they will be treated to a quick mid-credits scene.


If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.