Dissecting the various narrative roadblocks that impede the success of a solo Hulk movie is right up there with “Should Batman kill?” In the lexicon of pseudo-cerebral nerd talking points that seem to pop up every couple of years. Ever since the release of 2014’s Guardians of The Galaxy, I know better than to say never, but remain decidedly skeptical regarding the success of a film that features so obtrusively, the kind of tormented hero general moviegoers seem to possess virtually zero interest in (see any adaptation of The Wolfman or both live action Hulk movies for that matter). As far as I’m concerned, the MCU has got it right – play up the Hulk as comic relief and over-the-top action crowd-pleaser with only cursory nods to his tragic cannon.
James Gunn recently expressed interest in directing a film starring the not so jolly green giant, though if Gunns previous works are to be taken into account, it would probably be less of a Hulk movie and more of a darkly humourous cosmic romp that features the character as a Conan The Barbarian-esque observer along for the ride. I’m not saying that couldn’t be in and of itself a faithful adaptation of the material or that it couldn’t work as a movie in its own right. Hell, I’d see that movie before I’d watch another “auteur” try and take a crack at it. But I just feel like everytime this discussion gets rebooted, a key element is usually absent from the discourse.
There’s this green rage monster shaped hole in the current MCU landscape that Banner just couldn’t fill. I totally get Marvel taking another swing so soon after the infamous misstep that was Ang Lee’s Hulk (a movie I don’t actually hate). And for what it’s worth, 2008’s The Incredible Hulk was a fun, if not inconsequential, little action movie. But if we're talking about a movie that has the potential to give us our dose of green and coalise advantageously with the current cinematic dismantling of gender constructs, then She Hulk is a movie that’s begging to get made.
Ignoring for a moment all of the rousing social implications that a successful She-Hulk movie would engender (we’ll come back to that), it just makes sense on a purely logistics level: all the madcap adventures of a Hulk movie sans the Jekyll and Hyde baggage. See, unlike her maudlin cousin, Jennifer Walters can “hulk out” completely at will, and without being taxed an ounce of her mind or personality. Her powers are just that: powers. Not burdens, not allegories for the menstrual cycle, but an unadulterated badass license to punch dudes twice her size into skyscrapers.
She’s a green 6’7 middle-finger to all “the women with special abilities need a man to be able to control them” stories that’s plagued comics since the 60’s. Moreover, said special abilities aren't even ones most commonly associated with femininity, i.e mind control or the… ability to turn in invisible, but instead are starkly masculine. When trouble's afoot, Jen transforms into a green amazonian Superman – what’s more empowering than that? Get someone fun to chew the role like Emma Stone or Elizabeth Debicki, then get to work Hollywood. Oh, and yeah, rest in peace, Chyna.
