5 She-Hulk comics to read before watching She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Want to meet She-Hulk before her Disney Plus premiere? We've got you covered with five comics to dig into
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law brings the cult-favorite hero into the MCU starting with the Disney Plus series premiere on August 18. And for those who know She-Hulk's comic book history, the clips and trailers shown so far have evoked plenty of comic connections and Easter eggs.
But what if you're not intimately familiar with She-Hulk (sometimes affectionately nicknamed 'Shulkie') and her comic book history?
Well, we've got good news, because here at Newsarama are well-versed in She-Hulk comics as paralegals are in the law, and we've picked out the five She-Hulk comics you should read before watching She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
5. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
The original 1985 Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is an ensemble story with a sprawling cast, but even among the many heroes and villains of the story, She-Hulk stands out as one of the characters who gets the biggest arc in the crossover.
Along with introducing She-Hulk's first arch enemy Titania, who is played by Jameela Jamil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Wars also gives some extended time to She-Hulk and Hulk working together, and brings She-Hulk into the Fantastic Four, taking the place of the Thing on the team for several years.
We're not expecting a full adaptation of Secret Wars on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but the inclusion of Titania, and even a fight scene between Shulkie and the entire villain team the Wrecking Crew (a beat taken straight from Secret Wars) shows that the series' creators know how strong She-Hulk's connection to the story is.
And as a bonus, there's an Avengers: Secret Wars movie coming up which you might also learn some things about.
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4. Savage She-Hulk #1
She-Hulk's first appearance, written by none other than Stan Lee and drawn by legendary Marvel artist John Buscema, doesn't quite introduce the version of She-Hulk that would eventually become her definitive portrayal.
But it does introduce Shulkie's origin as Jennifer Walters, Bruce Banner's cousin, who gains Gamma-powers after a transfusion of Banner's blood - just like what's been established for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
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3. Hulk Vol. 4
As She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters is known as the Hulk who has some of the best control over the balance between her Hulked-out form's strength and her human form's personality and intelligence. But what happens when She-Hulk, becomes, well, more Hulk-like?
Originally published simply under the title Hulk in 2016-2017, while Bruce Banner was seemingly dead, writer Mariko Tamaki's deep dive into She-Hulk's power and psyche turns the title hero gray like her cousin's Joe Fixit alter ego, and forces Jennifer to confront an uncontrollable transformation into a more savage She-Hulk persona.
We may not see that side of her in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but this is an important chapter in She-Hulk's history.
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2. She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido
2014's She-Hulk from writer Charles Soule and artist Javier Pulido relaunched Jennifer Walters' adventures with a somewhat more down-to-earth, but still quirky viewpoint, focusing once again on some of the strange foibles of being a practicing attorney who is also a giant green superhero.
Elements of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law seen in trailers and clips so far also seem to reflect some of this She-Hulk comic's stylish and eccentric take on the character, which is aided by former practicing attorney Charles Soule's own combined understanding of superhero comics and legal practices.
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1. She-Hulk: Single Green Female
If there's one She-Hulk volume that may contribute the most to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, it's writer Dan Slott's long run on the title, in which he pushed She-Hulk's already semi-fourth-wall-breaking style to its limits, casting her as an attorney for down-and-out supervillains.
Later on, she even goes to work for a Multiversal law firm representing clients who violate cosmic laws - leading to a run-in with the Time Variance Authority, who is well known to viewers of Disney Plus' Loki.
Collected in part as She-Hulk: Single Green Female, it's this version of She-Hulk that brought the most to her comic book version's associations with ever more outlandish supervillain crimes, both as an attorney and a hero herself.
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Get the full run down of She-Hulk in the Marvel Universe before her Disney Plus series premieres.
I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)