The character was first introduced in the comic book The Savage She-Hulk #1 of 1980. It was created and written by Stan Lee and cartoon artist John Buscema. From the creation of the comic character, there have been several failed attempts to make it into a movie. The first two times were television projects that did not go far at all. The third time, however, the story of Jennifer Walters was adapted into a live-action motion targeted towards the early 1990s. The production crew went as far as casting actress Brigitte Nielsen as the star of the movie. Even though everything seemed set at the time, and Brigitte Nielsen went as far as taking photos as both She-Hulk and her alter ego, Jen Walters, the movie never materialized. It died off just like the two before it. All that changed with the 2022 release of the MCU/ Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The series reworked the story of how Walters’ blood became contaminated with Bruce’s to give her the powers she has.
How Did She-Hulk Get Her Powers?
In the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series, Jennifer Walters got her powers after Bruce Banner’s blood got mixed with hers after an accident they had. To their credit, the writers made a rather convincing move reworking the story of how Jen got her powers and became the She-Hulk. Rather than getting shot in a mob hit, the opening scene of the series showed Jen and Bruce on a road trip after she convinced him to go with her to a family dinner with her parents.
While on the trip, the cousins got surprised by the sudden appearance of a Sakaarian ship, and Jennifer, who was driving, veered off the road and into a ditch. When she comes to, she drags herself out of the upturned vehicle with bruises all over her body and then attempts to pull Bruce out after her. While she pulls him out, he tries to warn her to get away from him, but it was too late because his blood had dropped onto her injuries and contaminated her blood. She immediately transitioned into She-Hulk, runs off, and then blacks out. By the time she woke up, she was disoriented and a bit confused about what had happened, but she was also in her human form. She-Hulk later stumbles to a bar from where she calls Bruce for help. Bruce would later explain to her that because they share similar genetic traits, she is equally able to synthesize gamma radiation, something normal human beings cannot do.
Why Did Marvel Change the Origin Story of how Jen Walters Got her Powers?
The rework of how Bruce’s blood got into Jennifer’s system is one of the major differences between the 1980 comic book and the 2022 series. After the series aired and fans became curious as to why the producers chose to cut out the mob attack story, Marvel explained that the gangster storyline was not in line with the tone of the kind of movies they make; hence it had to go. Writer Jessica Gao explained that they wanted the film adaptation to focus solely on Jennifer and her story without the distraction of going back in time to explain why the mob attacked her. The aim was to have a quick and straightforward narration of how she got her powers. Hence, the accident scene seemed like the best option. It was a quick fix because it lasted only a few mins, and we were right back in the storyline of the real action.
Who is She-Hulk To Bruce Banner, The Hulk?
The relationship between Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters is the bedrock of She-Hulk’s story. Jennifer Walters and Bruce Banner are cousins. This is the reason why the gamma radiation that affected him could also affect her. The opening scene of the series showed the cousins heading home for a family dinner, and from the friendly banter and exchange between them, it was clear that the two were very close. This became even clearer when he tried to train her and make her transition period less of a hassle than his own was.
About She-Hulk Transformation
She-Hulk’s first transformation after the car accident was a bit of a blur and totally out of her control. However, she would soon get a pretty good hand on it so that she basically bypassed all the dark period Bruce went through before he could control his times of transition. This also meant that she was able to merge her human ego and her hulk personality while retaining all the strengths and abilities of both egos.
When Bruce tries to train her to control her strength as a hulk and the timing of her transformation, he finds that she can transform at will and still be fully conscious of her human ego while at it. Speculations are that Jen is able to do all of these because the amount of radiation she suffered after Bruce’s blood seeped into hers was not as high as what bruce experienced in his own time. If this were really the case, it would also mean that the She-Hulk should not be as strong as Bruce’s Hulk (this remains to be seen). It would eventually trickle down to why Jen is able to hide her hulk identity for a few months and still live her normal life as a lawyer. It would also explain why she was still able to get cases after her true identity as the She-Hulk was revealed.
How Strong is She-Hulk?
Going by what we have seen in the series so far, the true extent of She-Hulk’s powers has not been unveiled. This is mostly because the series has aired for only one season. However, from what we have seen so far, even though she just recently acquired her powers, She-Hulk was quick to get the hang of things when Hulk tried to teach her how to keep her powers in check. Being very smart and intelligent already, as Jen Walters, was an added advantage for the She-Hulk and only enhanced her powers. In the comics, the full extent of She-Hulk’s powers was widely explored. In her human form, Walters is a skilled fighter and a well-trained martial artist. She received her initial training from three very prominent people; the First Avenger Captain America, the Guardian of the Galaxy’s Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer. In her Hulk form, the combat skill she has proved to be an advantage, but she did not let that stop her. In her green form, the She-Hulk’s superhuman strength is a sight to behold because she is strong enough to lift 75 tons. Amazing as this sounds, she is still training to build a higher strength level. At this rate, it is certain that we are yet to see exactly how strong She-Hulk is.
Why is She-Hulk So Small and Not Bulked Up?
The very first and most obvious difference one will notice between Bruce and his Jen’s hulk is the fact that the She-Hulk is much smaller. Since the release of the series, many have often wondered why Jennifer’s Hulk is so small and not very bulked up. In explanation, it was revealed that the difference came about as a result of how they each got their hulk personalities.
Since Jennifer only got a few drops of Bruce’s irradiated blood into her system, it made sense that her hulk would not be as bulked up as that of Bruce, who got a much higher exposure to the gamma radiation that initially made him a hulk. This would mean that her transformation is less severe, and hence, it allows her hulk form to be proportionate with how much contamination she received. To better illustrate this, Marvel chose to depict this distinction using the very notable difference in their hulk sizes. So while She-Hulk is not as bulked up as many expected her to be, she looks much more human, only way bigger. Her size notwithstanding, she is still very strong, and considering how much weight she can already lift, speculations are rife that she is likely to become as strong as Bruce in time. Director/executive producer Kat Coiro had this to say;
She-Hulk Height: How Tall is She-Hulk?
The question about just how tall She-Hulk is has been very pertinent, considering how considerably less buff she is than the green giant himself. This notwithstanding, she is still one of the biggest MCU heroes physically, in terms of abilities, and in overall capabilities. She is also, without a doubt, one of the strongest and biggest female MCU heroes. On different occasions, he has beaten Thor and his hammer, subdued the entire X-Men and even went as far as defeating Iron Man more than once. In the Marvel Cinematic, however, it is an entirely different scenario, especially with Bruce Banner being the more dominant ego. She-Hulk in the Attorney at Law series proves to be very different from Hulk himself, even though they are cut from the same cloth. At just a few months into her new powers, she virtually passed all the training tests Bruce put her through with ease. The fact that she has only her own voice in her head is a chief contributing factor to this. Despite these observations, it would not be accurate to say that She-Hulk is stronger than Hulk himself just yet. Being that she is yet to explore every limit of her power, we cannot know just how powerful she is and whether she is stronger than Hulk himself. What we do know for now is that she can hold her ground against him. However, given his long years of experience in being a Hulk, there is no doubt that he can outmaneuver her for now. His considerably bigger size would also certainly give him an edge over his cousin.
She-Hulk is 6 feet 7 inches tall which, at first, many were disappointed with. However, compared to her alter ego, Jen Walters, who is 5 feet 4 inches tall, She-Hulk is definitely the very big green woman. To further show just how tall she is, her height has been compared to that of Megan Thee Stallion, who made a guest appearance in the third episode of the series. There is no doubt that Thee Stallion is a very tall woman seeing as she stands at 5 feet 9 inches, far above the average height for women in the US. Even at such an incredible height, Megan is still way shorter than She-Hulk. Compared to the height of other female MCU heroes, She-Hulk is still at the top of the board. Although many fans of the MCU agree that the Scarlet Witch is one of its strongest female heroes, she still does not compare in height to She-hulk.
Height of MCU Female Heroes and How they Compare to that of She-hulk:
Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch – 5 feet 7 inches Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel – 5 feet 7 inches Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow – 5 feet 5 inches Daisy Johnson/Quake – 5 feet 9 inches Jane Foster/Mighty Thor – 6 feet 3 inches Sersi – 5 feet 9 inches
