She-Hulk Bad Reviews Explained | The Show People Love to Hate

Waves of She-Hulk bad reviews have been flooding the internet ever since the series debut and even more so since the unconventional finale.

She-Hulk has had Marvel fans up in arms.

My brother, a devout Marvel lover, really DID NOT like this series but… I kinda did…

The passionately negative responses to what comes off as a fairly decent and moderately entertaining series is a fascinating phenomenon to me. However, after doing a little digging, it’s not hard to see the truth behind the plethora of fiercely negative reactions to She-Hulk.

And it’s important to preface this article with the knowledge that I am not a Marvel fanatic who reads all the comics and follows all the delicate MCU details. I’m simply a lover of a good story. This greatly affects the way I view She-Hulk versus how the Marvel fandom views it. 

What is She-Hulk About?

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is proclaimed by the creator, Jessica Gao, to be a “half-hour legal comedy.” Not a superhero drama series or a superhero action series – a legal comedy. This is an important definition to keep in mind as we understand the lens through which this film was intended to be viewed.

We follow Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner (the Hulk), as she navigates her new life as a female Hulk after having had her blood contaminated with Banner’s blood during a car crash. 

Reluctant to take on the responsibility of a superhero, Jen returns to her life as a lawyer although now, she’s required to meld her intellectual capabilities with her physical ones as a lawyer of the superhuman law division.

Each 30-minute-ish installment of the series follows Walters as she takes on silly legal trials, explores romantic relationships as a single woman, and grapples with her dual identity. The episodes often include these different elements of Walter’s life to unbalanced degrees, some episodes being more law-oriented, others more dating-focused, and others more superhero-focused. 

Altogether, this series completely defies the classic Marvel structure and introduces a writing style much different than any of the Marvel movies or limited series before it. 

Because of this, many Marvel lovers hated this series. 

I came across so many strongly opinionated YouTube videos passionately berating the structure, writing, and execution of the series and I can’t say I disagree with all of it. There are so many very valid arguments.

There are too many video essays and articles completely annihilating everything to do with She-Hulk so I’ll just summarize the main criticisms from the handful of opinions I tuned in to.

She-Hulk Bad Reviews Explained (and disputed)

Why is She-Hulk so bad? Well, here are the 5 main arguments I’ve seen against the series.

Argument #1: She-Hulk Has Contempt for Its Audience

The overarching villain in She-Hulk is an online-based She-Hulk hate group called Intelligencia. They are believed to represent the sexist Marvel fans who don’t believe that women make competent superheroes and are unworthy of superpowers. She-Hulk makes the fans that are investing their time and money into this story the villains of the narrative.

This has angered many Marvel fans as they’re portrayed as stupid, women-hating, man-babies throughout the series.

Counterargument:

The She-Hulk creators’ critique of its audience has been proven to be completely valid given that so many YouTubers have made multiple videos and have produced catalogs of content revolving around how much they dislike She-Hulk.

So She-Hulk has created online contempt for She-Hulk… sounds like a similar storyline I’ve seen in a TV show before…

Ultimately, the Marvel fandom is responding EXACTLY how the writers expected them to respond. The writers trolled the trolls and beat them to the punch.

If, as consumers, we’re able to take the time to roast people who spend countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears to try to entertain us, then they also have the equal right to criticize the critics. 

Argument #2: The Writers have no confidence in their story

Critics believe that the show’s creators were so unsure of the quality of their story that they made their criticism of their own writing a part of the story to compensate for their insecurity with self-awareness.

In the words of one of the YouTube critics, PSA Sitch – “How about when you’re writing a TV show you just make it not suck?”

Counterargument:

Here’s the thing, being a creative involves a lot of second-guessing, self-critique, and just being concerned with how people will perceive your work. Especially when people already have high expectations for you.

The more people expect out of you, the more self-conscious, anxious, and debilitated you become. So much so that you lose the foundational aspect of creation – having FUN.

It doesn’t always need to be big fight scenes and elaborate plots especially when Marvel has already done that many times before.

When expectations are so high, sometimes, the most daring thing you can do is just let go of what others expect from you and try something different anyways.

That’s what She-Hulk did.

It defied the classic Marvel formula and dared to do something different. Dared to appeal to a different audience. Dared to not take itself so seriously. And honestly, I’m not mad about it. But, obviously, a lot of other people are…

Argument #3: The stakes are too low.

This series decided to include a few villains: Intelligencia, Abomination, and Titania to name a few. However, all of these villains were such an incompetent set of people that there were no real casualties or consequences whenever good and evil clashed.

The lack of high stakes took away from the adrenaline-pumping action Marvel fans are accustomed to and excited for.

Counterargument:

Not going to lie, I liked how easygoing this series was. It was such an easy lighthearted watch. I didn’t have to actually worry about the protagonist dying, only about her feelings getting hurt, and those low stakes are much easier to handle. I’m not always trying to get my blood pressure up during a fight scene. I enjoy laughing at silly Madisynn with two N’s and Emil’s 7 soul mates.

If I wanted to get my heart rate up with some high-stakes, wicked fight scenes, Marvel already has an extensive catalog to choose from for that. 

Argument #4: The CGI is stiff and looks fake

I’ve heard this term more than once when used to describe She-Hulk’s look: uncanny valley; when someone looks almost human but not quite making you feel uneasy at the sight of them.

She-Hulk’s movements look stiff, her skin is so smooth it looks rubbery, and overall, it’s not convincing that she’s real.

Counterargument:

Is She-Hulk Marvel’s best CGI work? No, definitely not. But it was ignorable after some time. Her hair also looked incredible. So full and luscious. Fake, but luscious nonetheless.

Argument #5: Too much gender politics

A lot of critics complained about how “woke” this show strived to be. Unnecessary scenes of women supporting each other in the bathroom, She-Hulk being unreasonably stronger than the Hulk, and also her being better able to control her emotions since she lives in a dangerous patriarchal society that requires her to control her anger every day… just this overall message that women are victims that need to be pandered to.

Along with being woke is the sexual liberation that Jen Walters experiences in She-Hulk. Some found She-Hulk to be too overtly sexual for a franchise that is targeted at kids.

Counterargument:

Maybe because I’m a woman it wasn’t as blatantly obvious to me. Women experience reality differently than men and that’s just factual. I don’t think that acknowledging those differences and bringing that perspective to light is a political movement. It just felt like the show “Girlfriends” to me. A female-led sitcom. And I don’t think that’s what the Marvel audience wants to see.

I think people are tired of hearing about women’s rights honestly that even the mention of it feels extremist.

Also, there is a wide range of Marvel content for different age groups. She-Hulk is rated TV-14. It’s not marketed or designed for kids.

Marvel’s Clever Strategy

Given the nature of these bad reviews, I think there is one main reason why the critiques of this show are so bad: Marvel is trying to appeal to a different audience.

I believe that it is a strategic business move. Let me break it down for you:

According to a study conducted by Morning Consult, a company that analyzes data for intelligent decision-making, more and more people are experiencing Superhero film fatigue meaning they’re getting tired of the same old superhero stories.

Jennifer Walter explicitly addresses this concept during her fourth-wall-breaking chaos of a finale when she lets K.EV.I.N., the show’s AI creator, know that she’s not pleased with the messy yet formulaic ending he wrote for her story.

She expresses her argument by stating that “The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its big spectacles and high stakes plot lines. But it’s often said that Marvel movies all end the same way.”

I can attest to superhero fatigue as once I had a Marvel-watching marathon with my siblings and by the end of it, my brain felt fried and exhausted with the same old action shots and plot structure.

Another interesting study done by Morning Consult showed that the Marvel fandom is not as male-dominated as I thought it was. According to this study, the Marvel fandom is split with 53% men and 47% women. That’s nearly half and half. I was so sure that the Marvel fandom was heavily dominated by men but that’s not the case.

Because of this, Marvel does benefit from creating content that appeals to the female demographic as well given that they are a huge portion of their consumers.

Another result from the study of Marvel demographics shows that the generation that is the biggest consumers of Marvel content are Millennials who are slowly becoming dinosaurs.

As trends change, Marvel needs to ensure that they stay young and current; that they’re able to appeal to each new generation meaning that they may need to include some silly twerk scenes with Megan Thee Stallion or some villain that is a social media influencer.

The final piece of data to support the point I want to make, the majority of Marvel consumers are politically democratic.

That’s probably why these “woke” politics are embedded into the storyline because it is the narrative that most democrats support.

So think of it this way – Marvel is appealing to the audience that it wants to have more of while risking some criticism from the audience that it currently sustains.

Marvel wants it all!

They want to increase their audience and viewership as much as possible and the reality of that is that what one person loves, another person hates. You can’t please everyone at once. That’s a risk that Marvel is willing to take.

Marvel was taking a risk, deciding to highlight a female protagonist in a way that is more Sex and the City than it is The Avengers. Obviously, this is not what their established audience watches Marvel for, but people like me who love rom-coms and interpersonal relationships had a decent time with a more female-centric show.

She-Hulk also fought back against superhero film fatigue and gave us a show from a different genre while still not forfeiting the underlying superhero current that flows through all things Marvel.

At the end of the day, She-Hulk successfully got a rise out of the Marvel fandom and inspired a lot of new conversations. At the end of the day, this is producing great content and outcomes for everyone. She-Hulk is getting attention and critics are getting a lot of views and material for their content.

More Female Superhero Reviews:

• Ms. Marvel Is Bad (the comics are better)
• Black Widow Is Not Good, It’s Goodbye | Honest Review

In Conclusion…

She-Hulk has been the target of scathing reviews from passionate Marvel fans criticizing the writing, the plot, the main characters, and everything in between. Despite the many negative reviews, there is still so much to enjoy from She-Hulk including the novelty it brings to the Marvel universe and a break from the classic Marvel narrative.

Marvel creators strategically included She-Hulk as a method to expand their audience bringing good publicity while simultaneously riling up their established audience and also bringing good publicity (because there’s no such thing as bad publicity).

Ultimately, She-Hulk is a win-win situation for everyone and a novel addition to the MCU bringing levity to often serious plots.

Rating: 6/10

Are the bad reviews of She-Hulk justified? Let me know in the comments below!

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Peace, love, and lots of popcorn,

IMO