Everyone knows about the Incredible Hulk.
But what about the Sensational She-Hulk?
Bruce Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters, a.k.a.
She-Hulk, has done everything from kicking around with Marvel's First Family to flying
around the galaxy as a space lawyer.
Let's explore the untold truth of She-Hulk.
Legal legacy
Considering how successful the Hulk has been for Marvel, it stands to reason that they'd
want to fill the green giant's world with some supporting players.
But it actually took the threat of losing the rights to a lady Hulk that pushed the
publisher into actually making it happen.
With the Incredible Hulk TV series blowing up in the late '70s, Marvel started to worry
CBS might try to spin off a female-led series, just like how The Six Million Dollar Man led
to the Bionic Woman.
In order to retain control, Marvel beat them to the punch and created She-Hulk before anyone
could develop the idea.
Though as female versions of existing characters go, no one beats MODAM.
Original fourth-wall breaker
Everyone loves Deadpool, in large part because the anti-hero cracks jokes and talks directly
to viewers about how ridiculous comics can be.
But She-Hulk helped pioneer that concept in the pages of Sensational She-Hulk for 60 issues
in the 1980s — several years before Wade Wilson even first showed up.
The cover of the first issue actually featured She-Hulk holding a copy of her previous standalone
title, telling readers: "This is your second chance.
If you don't buy my book this time, I'm going to come to your house and rip up all your
X-Men."
Sensational She-Hulk wasn't afraid to get weird, and often featured She-Hulk talking
directly to readers as well as her own writers and artists.
When the series was cancelled with issue #60, She-Hulk made good on her promise and came
back for the readers' X-Men comics.
Marvel's fashion icon
John Byrne's Sensational She-Hulk series was never afraid to try out unusual things, and
its acclaimed late 1980s run is known for establishing much of the personality and look
fans have come to love about Jennifer Walters.
Sensational She-Hulk cast the green superheroine as a fashion icon of sorts, drawing comparisons
to Melanie Griffith, occasionally changing up her attire four or five times per issue.
When she wasn't out busting up super villains, she was wearing classic early-'90s styles,
like stylish dresses and pantsuits.
Or, on one particularly strange occasion, nearly nothing, during four full pages of
jump-roping.
You can practically hear the nerds breathing heavily when you look at those pages.
“Ohhhh...loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix.”
As if the books weren't unusual enough, readers only had to turn to the back pages to find
the most unfortunately-named letters pages of all time, considering that the comic was
about a woman with traditionally masculine, Hulky traits.
That fan mail section?
It was called She-Mail.
One of Stan Lee's last great creations
“Greetings true believers.
I’m Stan Lee.”
Throughout the 1960s, comics legend Stan Lee co-created many of the A-list heroes on Marvel's
roster.
He had a hand in Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Black Panther, Hawkeye,
and the X-Men, just to name a few.
But after that remarkable run, Lee didn't create a character for more than a decade
— until She-Hulk.
Lee co-created the character of Jennifer Walters with John Buscema in 1980, and she made her
debut in Savage She-Hulk.
She's one of the last truly successful characters Lee created.
Unless, of course, you count Stripperella.
Which we don't.
And neither should you.
Substitute Thing
She-Hulk has been a member of several different teams over the years.
One of the most interesting?
The Fantastic Four.
Though Marvel's First Family is typically comprised of Mister Fantastic, the Human Torch,
Invisible Woman, and the Thing, She-Hulk joined the roster as the resident strongwoman when
the Thing temporarily left the team.
She started holding down the fort in his absence in Fantastic Four #265.
Even after that first stint came to an end, she eventually worked with the Future Foundation
and teamed up more than a few times with the FF.
Mrs. Man-Wolf
She-Hulk has had love connections with more than a few heroes and villains across the
Marvel roster, but one of the most interesting relationships was her brief marriage to John
Jameson, son of Spider-Man stalwart J. Jonah Jameson.
John has been portrayed as everything from an astronaut to a Man-Wolf over the decades.
But the relationship didn't last.
It's true what they say: relationships between giant, green lawyers and werewolf astronauts
are doomed from the start.
She faced off against Daredevil
They're the two most prominent lawyers in the Marvel Universe, and it's crazy to think
it took until 2014 for She-Hulk and Daredevil to finally face off in the courtroom.
The two met in a case involving Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America — who had lost his
youth and powers.
Writer Charles Soule managed the tricky feat of balancing the dueling attorneys' abilities,
both super and legal.
Cinematic She-Hulk?
While the character never wound up in the live action Incredible Hulk TV series, Marvel
did try to bring her to the silver screen in the late '80s.
The project got far enough along into development for the studio to shoot some concept photos
starring Brigitte Nielsen.
It was even announced as an upcoming project at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991, along
with a would-be sequel to Dolph Lundgren's Punisher movie.
Production fell apart due to a lack of interest, and Marvel's terrible track record in the
90s.
As for Nielsen?
It was certainly an interesting look for She-Hulk: they basically just threw her into a green
bodysuit.
And you know what they say: life imitates art.
Years after her involvement with the project ended, Nielsen found herself in a relationship
not unlike one of She-Hulk's many romantic misadventures...
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