She-Hulk’s first episode showcased how the MCU’s two Hulks have quite a few similarities. They’re both big, green, and insanely strong. They maintain a peak physical shape. But at the same time, they’re also very different. Besides the obvious gender difference, here’s every way She-Hulk is different from the Hulk.
The Fourth Wall
Jennifer Walters is also known for breaking the Fourth Wall. Right off the bat, the She-Hulk series began with Jen Walters breaking the fourth wall. This is something that most viewers would have seen in movies like Deadpool 1 and 2 and Prime Video’s Fleabag. It’s where the protagonists constantly address the audience and deliver a little more story details and jokes. But you’d be surprised to know that Jennifer Walters had this ability right from the beginning of her comic run. She actually did it before even Deadpool did it in the books.
In recent times, the MCU has been building up to Deadpool’s arrival by constantly breaking the fourth wall in different ways. Billy and Wanda did it in WandaVision. But it was later revealed that Wanda was talking to Agatha. Then in Doctor Strange 2, she did it again by straight up looking into the camera. Layla sort of did it right when she became the Scarlet Scarab. And now, She-Hulk will continue to do this.
But one interesting thing to note here is that when she was speaking to us, Smart Hulk actually saw her doing that. So it will be quite interesting to learn more about her ability. Is she speaking to us or to someone like the Watcher? Or is she speaking to herself? Can everyone around her hear her and see her break the fourth wall? I guess we will get a surprising answer to this very soon.
No Alter Ego
Episode 1 made it clear that there’s no other person in the driver’s seat when Jen turns into She-Hulk. She does feel a normal amount of rage. But it’s her who is always in control. Bruce was pretty surprised and jealous to see that because he had to work really hard to gain control in his Hulk form. That’s because he and Hulk are two different personalities living in one body.
And he has a split personality, and Jennifer doesn’t know because of his traumatic childhood. In the comics, Bruce Banner’s childhood was akin to Marc Spector’s. Bruce’s father was an alcoholic, and he was very abusive toward him. This wretched guy also killed Bruce’s mother, who loved him very much. So, Bruce’s trauma created a separate personality in his mind. All of his anger and rage towards his father was bottled up in the corner of his brain. And it took a physical form when he was exposed to Gamma radiation.
Control over Transformations
Jennifer Walters can toggle back and forth between her Hulk form and her human form at will. That’s partly because she doesn’t have an alternate personality to wrestle with. Bruce used to struggle to turn back and forth because the Hulk was an alternate personality. And both of them used to fight each other for control. When Hulk didn’t want to come out, then Bruce couldn’t do anything to make him emerge. He had to work in his gamma lab for 18 months to mesh his identities and gain control over his transformation.
She-Hulk’s Super Blood
Banner revealed that Jennifer’s blood is quite special. Her blood synthesizes Gamma in a way that supersedes Banner and even Emil Blonsky. In the wrong hands, it might become the key to making an army of Hulks. But in the right hands, it could also have a lot of healing tendencies. Her blood could play a big role in MCU’s future stories. But because she is so in control and has this super blood, I reckon that she would become a really crucial part of the Avengers moving on.
Strength Levels
The strength levels of She-Hulk are up to the mark of Smart Hulk himself. Even though she seems to be skinny compared to Smart Hulk, she can really match him blow for blow. In fact, she might even be able to go beyond Smart Hulk’s strength levels. But we have noticed that this Smug Hulk persona is significantly weaker compared to the old angry Hulk persona.
The old Hulk was able to toss a giant wolf aside. He stopped the Leviathan with one freakin’ blow! And Smart Hulk was smashed into the rubble by a mere jeep! So, She-Hulk could prove to be stronger than Smart Hulk as she gains more experience. But I bet that she cannot match the power levels of a Rage Fueled Green Goliath. Still, she could prove to be a big asset for the New Avengers team because of her control and strength.
Okay… so these were all the differences between the two Hulks of the MCU. Tell us if you spotted some others as well.
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