The Big Picture: She-Hulk Shaming

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Robot-Jesus

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hentropy said:
. Is the she-hulk not sexist because it never shows her in near-explicit sexual situations?

she hulk has slept with half the marvel universe. As far as I know this has never been depicted as a bad thing. She's often wearing skimpy clothing, but it's somewhat related to her powers.


Gamma based heros transformed states are a reflection of their mental state. Banner saw his father chop up his mother with an axe on Christmas morning, causing him to suppress all of his emotions, so the Hulk is all of his emotions being released at once. People with less extreme mental issues get less power, but less weirdness. Jennifer Walters was a mousy law student who suffered from anxiety and low confidence, when she transforms all that melts away and the fears that once controlled her can't get to her at all. so she's immune to slut shaming, is a picture of physical perfection, and hangs out with a lot of guys who are similarly a take on physical perfection, all of whom share a deep sense of mutual respect and admiration; I think most people in that situation would be jumping into a lot of beds.
 

Robot-Jesus

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Diddy_Mao said:
I imagine it would be somewhat difficult to adapt She-Hulk into a standalone film.

Not because she's a complicated character, or because of some outdated idea that a female lead action flick won't sell. I just don't know how they would fit her into the current metaplot.

As it stands the MCU is still expanding and pretty much every new story that comes out has to be interconnected in some capacity and I don't see a way to include a standalone She-Hulk film in their current arc.

To be 100% clear, I would love to see a She-Hulk film or television series, I just don't see a way to fit her into the current plans outside of introducing her as a Coulson-esque unifying presence over several films and then launching her into a standalone or small team film.

From a matter of personal preference, I also must admit that her role as Super powered defense attourney has always been my favorite incarnation. It's a unique setting and concept that I don't think gets enough attention...problem is that just because I'd watch a Super hero themed courtroom drama doesn't mean anyone else would.

if the run of Daredevil works out you could do it as a somewhat higher budget spinoff.
 

Imp_Emissary

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If they don't make a She-Hulk movie they should at the very least make a new Hulk movie with her as one of the main characters.

It shouldn't be to hard. Have her start off as her normal lawyer self trying to help her cousin Bruce legally so he can walk around without the military trying to take him in, so he can get some help.

Since we know at least some of the military has got to be secretly part of hydra, we could use them trying to get rid of her, or they could bring in a Hulk villain :)D Like The Leader) trying to get leverage on the Hulk.
Have them try to kill/kidnap Jennifer, but when they try, SMASH! Bruce happens to be hiding out with her at the time.

Bruce hulks up to stop them, but his cousin gets hurt in the cross fire(or rather cross smashing I guess), and he has to take her to the hospital. Later he has to give her some of his blood, then goes to try and find out who did all this while she recovers.

Then near the middle or end, the cousin comes back as She-Hulk to help Bruce. This time, by smashing stuff! :D
They could even use the whole fourth wall breaking thing by having She-hulk have some delusions of grandeur at first when she's in hulk form. Thinking she's always got an adoring audience listening to her.

Thanks for doing this episode Bob. :)

:( I will be very said if She-Hulk doesn't make it to the big screen, or if they don't make another Hulk movie.
 

LaoJim

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Diddy_Mao said:
I imagine it would be somewhat difficult to adapt She-Hulk into a standalone film.

Not because she's a complicated character, or because of some outdated idea that a female lead action flick won't sell. I just don't know how they would fit her into the current metaplot.
I'm not sure I get your concern here. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just not clear about what the problems are.

Surely you have the first act (lawyer gets involved in incident with bad guys, gets superpowers) write itself and then you have the rest of film to do whatever you want with the plot, with baddies/macguffins determined as necessary by the requirements for Avengers 3. As a lawyer she gets to turn up as an easy cameo in anyone else's movie (especially with Iron Man's destructive/criminal behaviour, though of course he's supposed to have grown out of this). There are obvious links with Bruce Banner and you're obviously going to have a Hulk vs She-Hulk battle either in her or his next film.
 

exobook

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the antithesis said:
There was a She-hulk movie in the works back in the 90's when Marvel made crap like the Dolph Lundgren Punisher flick. Some test photos of Brigitte Nielsen in the costume is as far as it got.

Thank god it didn't go into production. Are we sure this isn't a power rangers villain?
 

CelestDaer

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Nothing about Goyer's comment about 'Do you know who Martian Manhunter is? And have you had sex?' That was the part that pissed me off. Just more 'cramming the nerd stereotypes in'...
 

Izanagi009_v1legacy

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Arqus_Zed said:
I thought the whole "slut-hulk" quip came from the fact that she tends to sleep around like crazy.

<spoiler=comic panels>
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/4/40015/1121288-picture_1.png
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/4/40015/1121289-picture_2.png


Then again, I neither know nor care enough about She-Hulk to go into any in-depth analysis.
Again, the double standard of sexual freedom. if a man does it, we typically root for him, if a women does it, she gets insults. the whole "slut-hulk" thing is part of that sadly

Also very sad, the fact that one of the key writers for DC comic movies has no clue about the media and pisses on his audience. might as well get the bomb shelter ready for the inevitable flareup around Batman v. Superman
 

Erttheking

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lazinesslord said:
You know, I always assumed that She-Hulk was a character who exists only as eye candy. All I knew of the character was that despite being a female hulk she still turned into a sexy woman and that cover image of her holding a newspaper to cover herself up so it can be easy to jump on the idea that She-Hulk is a sexist character (although if I were to ever make commentary on the series I would at least bother to do research). It's interesting and nice to learn that that's not entirely the case.
It's kind of the aquaman case, where everyone assumes he's that dorky "This looks like a job for Aquaman" interpretation from the Super Friends where he can talk to fish. Apparently he's been bench pressing whales for awhile in the comics now, but people always remember the Super Friends one, because human beings like to take sterotypes of people as what they really are. It's why Batman was remembered as Bat "shark repellant" man before he started getting his movies.

And this begs the question, why is this so called "comic guru" showing the same level of understanding of a comic character as someone who doesn't read comics and goes off sterotypes?
 

Merklyn236

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Never knew that piece about She-Hulk's comic being self-aware and basically doing Deadpool's schtick before he was doing it. Very interesting.
 

Izanagi009_v1legacy

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CelestDaer said:
Nothing about Goyer's comment about 'Do you know who Martian Manhunter is? And have you had sex?' That was the part that pissed me off. Just more 'cramming the nerd stereotypes in'...
I think more people knew about Martian Manhunter and his story from the Justice League cartoons and so it was less of a reason to do an episode on him. Also, Goyer's comment there has a very obvious conclusion: someone please staple his mouth before it gets worse
 

Robot-Jesus

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the biggest problem would be the character design. A actress who is sufficiently tall, attractive, and buff, would be quite the difficult task for the casting director. I think going full CG would be a mistake. It works for the Hulk, but he's a monster; she hulk has to hang out with normal people, would look weird in CG.
 

Trishbot

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Arqus_Zed said:
I thought the whole "slut-hulk" quip came from the fact that she tends to sleep around like crazy.

Then again, I neither know nor care enough about She-Hulk to go into any in-depth analysis.

They address that in her book, actually...

hentropy said:
I don't really know what to say about that. I didn't even know a she-Hulk existed before the video, and the video didn't really convince me that she's a feminist icon, even if she may not be totally sexist either. Does self-awareness make it less or not sexist?

In anime it's a common trope to have a kickass female protagonist who also happens to be wearing something incredibly skimpy. Take the example of Queen's Blade, a show with a very long list of kickass female characters- but it's also basically porn. Is the she-hulk not sexist because it never shows her in near-explicit sexual situations? Or are the various characters in the Queen's Blade series feminist icons as well?
Allow me to tackle this one.

Bob didn't cover HALF of the reasons She-Hulk is considered an extremely progressive, feminist comic book icon.

For starters, her self-awareness of comic book sexism was also SUBVERTED time and time again, pointing out the double-standards in comics (an example of which I posted above), all while channeling her attractiveness (despite being 7 foot tall and green) into something empowering.

It was, as one female writer stated, a power fantasy for women MORE than a sexual fantasy for boys. Here was a girl in comics that was considered highly intelligent, a self-made career woman and THE best lawyer on the block (sorry Daredevil), all asserting herself in a way that allowed her to seize and OWN her own power and sexuality like few other comic book characters had. To be both beautiful and also to be fearless, to be liberated from shame and ridicule, to feel safe crossing the street at night, to know that nobody would threaten or sexually harass you because they know you'd BREAK them if they so much as wolf-whistled in your direction.

But it also created a character largely known for her wit, intelligence, and humor, as THE funniest character in comics until Deadpool started copying the act SHE started. She was sexy, yes, but readers like myself read her book because she was a legitimately fantastic character that never failed to deliver a dry retort to a bizarre villain or to shrug of a nonsensical crossover with Howard the Duck. Bob mentioned her early books had C-list villains, but that served to add to the charm and, in the follow-up Sensational line, she got her own self-appointed arch-nemesis, Titania, who's only desire was to be She-Hulk's ultimate rival.

Beyond that, while she was attractive, even that was a-typical. Bob didn't talk about it, but one of David Goyer's rather questionable comments was he felt She-Hulk was "chunky" rather than typically sexy (which may explain the casting of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman... I can't BELIEVE that guy is writing Wonder Woman's first live-action theatrical debut...). She towered over most of the male heroes like Iron Man and Captain America. Her body was HARD instead of soft and muscular instead of thin. While her original run had her shredding her clothes when she hulked out (just like Hulk himself), over time she adopted various form-fitting uniforms and, quite recently, simple casual clothes and athletic gear. She'll wear a bikini to the beach, but she's not showing off her goods in battle (and even then, if any heroine has the right to, it's the one with indestructible skin).

Couple that with insanely progressive relationships (her main love interest was a guy more than okay with a girlfriend that could crush him, but he treated her like she was a normal girl regardless), and legitimately insightful explorations of her own balance of heroics, an active money-make job, a love life, a social life, and coping with societal standards that are outdated and unfair, tackling them all head on, and you have a very well-developed, fully-realized heroine in Marvel's library, and quite literally the OPPOSITE of everything David Goyer and co. claimed she was (especially existing for the Hulk to sleep with... since they're COUSINS...). She was popular enough with women that she even has her own female-orientated romance novel with women as the target audience.

Robot-Jesus said:
the biggest problem would be the character design. A actress who is sufficiently tall, attractive, and buff, would be quite the difficult task for the casting director. I think going full CG would be a mistake. It works for the Hulk, but he's a monster; she hulk has to hang out with normal people, would look weird in CG.
My vote goes towards Gina Carano.

MMA fighter, former American Gladiator, built like a mack truck, tall, muscular, curvy, sexy, does all her own movie stunts and fight scenes, has acting experience in several high-budget movies, and looks great in a dress or in street clothes. She was widely favored to play Wonder Woman (she was even dating Henry Cavill at the time), but Warner Bros went with a much thinner, smaller girl instead... so I think Marvel should capitalize on that oversight for their universe instead.

Other than that, yeah, Marvel, get us a She-Hulk film. She's well overdue and she'd be an utter delight in the right director's hands.
 

hentropy

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Robot-Jesus said:
hentropy said:
. Is the she-hulk not sexist because it never shows her in near-explicit sexual situations?

she hulk has slept with half the marvel universe. As far as I know this has never been depicted as a bad thing. She's often wearing skimpy clothing, but it's somewhat related to her powers.


Gamma based heros transformed states are a reflection of their mental state. Banner saw his father chop up his mother with an axe on Christmas morning, causing him to suppress all of his emotions, so the Hulk is all of his emotions being released at once. People with less extreme mental issues get less power, but less weirdness. Jennifer Walters was a mousy law student who suffered from anxiety and low confidence, when she transforms all that melts away and the fears that once controlled her can't get to her at all. so she's immune to slut shaming, is a picture of physical perfection, and hangs out with a lot of guys who are similarly a take on physical perfection, all of whom share a deep sense of mutual respect and admiration; I think most people in that situation would be jumping into a lot of beds.
That's all very interesting, she might be a great character, I just don't see how she's a "feminist icon" as Bob claims.

It just seems like an American artist creates a muscular beauty model and has her wear little clothing, and by your description is at least a little promiscuous, but because she's green and beats up villains she's a "feminist idol."

Meanwhile a Japanese artist increases boob size a bit (sometimes a lot) but is otherwise quite similar, and suddenly it's a hilarious sexist punchline. Those wacky Japanese and their backwards sexism!

Is it just ignorance or a prejudice against artwork from another culture?

I suppose what I'm mostly getting at is that I can see where the guys on the panel are coming from. Making a movie based around She-Hulk, it wouldn't be socially conscious women lining up to go see it, it'll be mostly guys seeing a sexy green lady strut around in next to nothing and beat things up, and as a movie-maker I would probably balk at that as well, the same way someone might balk at making a Queen's Blade live-action movie.
 

KazeAizen

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Robot-Jesus said:
and the fears that once controlled her can't get to her at all.
Is it a bad thing that when I read this I started singing a certain song in my head?
 

Robot-Jesus

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I hate to be the guy to say this, but shes 32. if it's another 3 years before they make the movie she'd be 35. if they include the character in more movies, as that's what marvels bread and butter is, after a few sequels she'd be pushing 40. I'm not saying that women in their forties can't be attractive, but youth is a bigger deal for women than men when it comes to appearance. We can try to pretend it isn't, but a movie studio wont. 10 years ago she would have been perfect, if she was 6'4 she would have walked right off the page.
 

Robot-Jesus

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KazeAizen said:
Robot-Jesus said:
and the fears that once controlled her can't get to her at all.
Is it a bad thing that when I read this I started singing a certain song in my head?

I was going to describe Doc Sampson as a guy who was mentally all together, just thought I wish I was little bit taller
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good
I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat
And a six four Impala


so all the gamma did to him was make him buff and handsom, and turn his hair green. just slightly superhuman.
 

Robot-Jesus

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I was just trying to adress the sexyness angle. As far as a feminist icon goes she's a successful lawyer or punches stuff in her spare time. I don't think there is much beyond her being a power fantasy that has nothing to do with traditional gender roles or the male perspective. It's not supposed to be deep, just a fun action character who isn't wrapped up in patriarchal concepts. Most other women characters are "badass superwoman, but..." She hulk is just a woman who is successful in many areas of life, from the courts to punching bad guys; allowing someone to enjoy such a story without being told they are weak because of gender.
 

Lyvric

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Robot-Jesus said:
I hate to be the guy to say this, but shes 32. if it's another 3 years before they make the movie she'd be 35. if they include the character in more movies, as that's what marvels bread and butter is, after a few sequels she'd be pushing 40. I'm not saying that women in their forties can't be attractive, but youth is a bigger deal for women than men when it comes to appearance. We can try to pretend it isn't, but a movie studio wont. 10 years ago she would have been perfect, if she was 6'4 she would have walked right off the page.
And what if her new blood bad her look younger longer? And how old is Tony/any other older hero? This - matters like this shouldn't but still do. When I'm over 40 I don't want someone to come around and tell me I'm too old to have green super smashing powers or take away mad science! Let's save the world any age or gender...or take it over, mwahahahaha! ;)
 

Kurt Cristal

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As a big fan of Deadpool..... She-Hulk did WHAT? I must obtain these comics! Also, didn't know Spider-Woman was created for the same reasons, I'm in the middle of reading the Marvel Essentials collections for her right now. It's a bit of a hard read being mostly 1970s, but it gets better as it goes. I think I'll skip the early She-Hulk and jump straight into 'Sensational' if it's as good as you make it sound. (Side Note: Comics fans ITT, when/what series DOES Spider-Woman really get good at/during?)

Trishbot said:

They address that in her book, actually...

-long post snip-

My vote goes towards Gina Carano.
-image snip-
MMA fighter, former American Gladiator, built like a mack truck, tall, muscular, curvy, sexy, does all her own movie stunts and fight scenes, has acting experience in several high-budget movies, and looks great in a dress or in street clothes. She was widely favored to play Wonder Woman (she was even dating Henry Cavill at the time), but Warner Bros went with a much thinner, smaller girl instead... so I think Marvel should capitalize on that oversight for their universe instead.

Other than that, yeah, Marvel, get us a She-Hulk film. She's well overdue and she'd be an utter delight in the right director's hands.
Gotta agree with that big long discussion on you had on subversion. What's the source of the comic snippet at the top? I'd like to hear the rest of what Tony Stark has to say, me being an Iron Man fan as well.

And Gina Carano? God yes! Maybe they could even pull off the trick they did with Captain America, where you could use CG on Gina too look smaller/skinnier before her hulk transformation, and her actual body appearance for She-Hulk (plus green makeup). That could be a thing.