The task was complicated, and we marvelite readers knew it from the beginning: adapting ‘Hulka’, especially the stages of Byrne and Slott, meant create new narratives in the Marvel series, jump into the pool and hope that the public knew how to understand it. And for this, ‘She-Hulk: Lawyer Hulka’ he started dipping his toes shyly with some unusual jokes in the mega-franchise, but the last episode of its first season has left no hostages and has literally broken everything.
From here there is 9th episode spoilers from ‘She-Hulk: Lawyer She-Hulk’. If you don’t want Jen coming to your house to tear up your X-Men comics, you’d do well not to continue reading if you haven’t seen it.
She-Hulk smashes (the fourth wall)
When ‘She-Hulk: Lawyer Hulka’ began, I recognize that I wasn’t his biggest fan: His personality was watered down and the breaking of the fourth wall seemed forced, more like a simple addition at the last minute than an intrinsic part of who he is. However, throughout the season all doubts have been disappearing. In fact, episode 9 is everything I dreamed this series would be, in true John Byrne style.
Even if you don’t like metalinguistic humor or characters being aware of the fiction they live in, you have to admit that the idea of this episode is brilliant. In fact, it draws directly from that comic in which Jen breaks the panels to go directly to talk to her writer, only in this case on a very large scale: Never before has the UCM been able to laugh so much (and so well) at itself… even crossing times with that fantastic initial mask.
From the exit to the Disney+ menu to the conversation with KEVIN (with a direct question about the X-Men) going through the ending change, the third act of this chapter has been simply perfect, has captured one hundred percent the spirit of the comics and the character, capable of writing his own story. He cannot be faulted: he has everything from revelations for the fans of the continuity (the appearance of Skaar) to fine irony and metalanguage game for those who want to see something different in Marvel. Will there be people angry with this episode? Well of course.
They are few, but organized
And it is that ‘She-Hulk: Lawyer Hulka’ has not settled, ultimately, with put a piece of candy in our mouths in the form of a different comedy: If from the first episode he was tempted to make a meta-comment about the toxic fans of the Marvel Universe, in episode 9 he managed to make a sublime parody. It’s clear that the writers’ room has researched forums and watched the most infamous YouTube videos for respond to the prevailing machismo among a certain sector of the UCM by putting a mirror in front of them.
Little more can be done to make certain people aware of their absurd and uncivil behavior than to put them as the bad guys in a series, but probably it’s just going to add layers of rage to the ones they already had beforehand. You may not like the series (it was just missing), but at this point, if you get angry about seeing yourself reflected in what the episodes themselves criticize, it’s your fault. Marvel is actively telling you “If you’re like that, we don’t want you among our followers”. Clearer, the water.
Also, ‘She-Hulk: Lawyer Hulka’ has time to put together a speech about how easy it is to make a bad product putting entertainment as an excuse: What’s better than a final scene that brings together all the heroes and villains of the series, even if it doesn’t make any sense? The taunt to Kevin Feige and his idea of ”perfect endings” is evident, and the fact that he has accepted the blow with sportsmanship says many things about him: the first, that contrary to what many of us assumed at first, he has understood the basis of the character and has allowed some freedom in the scriptwriters. Not so bad.
Emerald face paint
This episode is, for me, one of the best that Marvel Studios has done so far, along with the first of ‘Scarlet Witch and vision’. But … Does a series full of ups and downs compensate for an outstanding episode? It depends on each one: the Hulka series may have been more or less disappointing, more or less angry, but has never been boring. That must be recognized.
His ability to get fifth row characters and his structure between the procedural and the series with continuity has been full of filler, but a filler that, at worst, it’s been nice. Of course, his final stretch, which is normally where Marvel usually fails the most, here has been his great success: the plots have been channeled, the character has been defined and the second batch of episodes promises to be much crazier and funnier.
‘She-Hulk: Lawyer Hulka’ has struggled to find its own tone, but in the end it has succeeded in offering, incidentally, another image of Daredevil to which the Netflix series had us accustomed and a plot that, who knows, may have continuity in the future. It has been an irregular and imperfect journey, full of bumps and moments, but what remains in the end is a precious view of what is to comeespecially if Marvel is able to realize what has gone wrong without having to explain to KEVIN. See you soon, Jen!