There was a time when Marvel could do no wrong. Even the duds they pumped out made a lot of money and as a part of the larger MCU, fit in neatly in the continuity. Films like Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 2 weren’t great but they did the job and pushed the studio ahead, culminating in the blockbuster that was Avengers: Endgame. The MCU was every nerdy kid’s dream come true, especially for a more global audience. For a while there, it looked like Kevin Feige was walking on water. But, as it is with the way of the modern world, nothing good ever lasts. Phase Bore *ahem* Phase 4 was, for the lack of a better word, an absolute disaster. The streak of luck had finally come to an end and all that was left were scraps that Marvel had to work with. The comic book division of Marvel was already a roaring dumpster fire and the last thing Feige should have done was to adapt the modern, failed comic book storylines. But that’s exactly what he did and we as fans have been paying for it ever since.
It’s clear that the folks at Marvel lack any real direction, talent and drive and the latest line of failed shows and movies are testaments to that. Loki was utterly forgettable, Ms Marvel has already been relegated to the bottom of the dumpster and Moon Knight was a try-hard failure. So, what else did Marvel have left to pull out of their hats? Why She-Hulk, of course! Revered by comic books fans as a sexy, confident and selfless superhero, Jennifer Walters was, in her own, right an A-list Marvel character. So much so, that the John Byrne run on the Sensational She-Hulk in the 80s is widely considered to be one of the smartest, coolest and most forward-thinking books of its time. But, this is Disney after all, so what we got was a terribly written, contrived, boring, stale, flat-looking, unfunny TV show that utterly eviscerates the character all while alienating fans with modern politics, with the dial turned up to 11. She-Hulk on Disney+Hotstar is not as much a TV show as a cringy diatribe by 40-year-old wine moms who think that twerking is the highlight of feminine power. In an attempt to appeal to modern audiences, the showrunners, directors, writers etc have all but given up on coherent storytelling, compelling and likeable characters, and any semblance of this being a prestige TV show. The jokes fall flatter than an Amy Schumer comedy special and the action is choppy and poorly edited. It looks cheap and you’d think that by now we’ve got a handle on decent CGI but on this show, it looks incredibly bad.
So, what is She-Hulk all about? Well, it really is about nothing. There is no character progression, no story beats that really drive the season home. Is it supposed to be an avant-garde, experimental show that pushes the boundaries? No, She-Hulk is just a terrible TV show that tries to pass off as some meta-examination of fandom or some such nonsense. All the male characters in the show are either: stupid, meek, dumb, or all of the above. They might as well have called the show Laywer-Lady: How Men Suck and Women Rule. The closest in terms of sheer ham-fisted allegory is Lovecraft Country, also known as Racism: The Show. The writers and producers tried to pull in some of the original Marvel fans with ‘cameos’ but even that was a disaster. Like, what is Megan Thee Stallion; Some kind of super-powered horse in the MCU? No, it’s a rapper! And a terrible one at that. They even tried swinging in a Daredevil appearance but that was handled about as subtle as a jackhammer. In the end, She-Hulk is nothing more than a self-insert by Jessica Gao (lead writer) and her band of sad, sack losers who really have no business in the creative industries.
Look, it’s clear by now that Marvel is creatively bankrupt. As a comic book collector and fan from a young age, it was my dream to see these characters onscreen. But alas, all good things must come to an end and what an end it is to the MCU. They dug their heels in THE MESSAGE and have since forced-fed the paying customer a stream of slop and rot. It was a good run, guys. We’ll always have the first three Phases of the MCU but honestly, I don’t think anyone even cares about Phase 5 and what’s coming after. Disney took a multi-billion-dollar franchise and turned it into a million-dollar franchise. It takes real talent to destroy what so many writers, artists and editors have painstakingly built over the last 60 to 70 years. Disney+ is truly where creativity goes to die.
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