With a TV show on the streaming service Disney+, a new comic ongoing series at Marvel (and reprints of old stories in new omnibuses), appearances in animated movies and TV shows, and probably some action figures, Jennifer “She-Hulk” Walters is more visible than ever.
Of course, she’s not a new character, and she was always quite hard to miss on the pages of comics—being green sets you apart. She-Hulk was always popular and that led her to have her own series, naturally, but also to join multiple teams like The Avengers, The Defenders, the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, A-Force, and more! A notable success for a character that was primarily created to be trademarked by Marvel.
Stan Lee went to Hollywood, saw green, and created She-Hulk!
At the end of the 1970s, Stan Lee left New York and the comic books to go to Hollywood. There was some supervising to do with the adaptation of Marvel’s story into TV Shows and movies. In fact, one that was quite popular during that time was The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno on CBS. It has been developed by the producer Kenneth Johnson who took liberties with the original material and write his own interpretation of the Green-Skinned Monster.
It worked, and Stan Lee had an idea of what TV execs did and still do with a confirmed success: they launch a spin-off. In fact, Johnson who worked on The Six Million Dollar Man was the creator of its spin-off, The Bionic Woman. For Lee, it was a matter of time before the same thing happened with The Incredible Hulk, a spin-off with a female version of the Hulk.
Stan Lee did then what was necessary to protect Marvel’s intellectual property: he created himself (with the help of artist John Buscema) the female version of the Hulk! She was not going to be an original creation for Universal Television.
The Origin Story of She-Hulk!
Whatever the reason behind her creation, Jennifer Walters first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk #1 (November 1979). Dr. Bruce Banner—aka The Hulk—was on the run and needed some help. So, he decided to visit his kid cousin who, it turns out, became an adult lawyer in Los Angeles. Their family reunion is interrupted by criminals who shot Jen. To save her, Bruce gave her his own blood.
At first, nothing happened, but when the hitmen came to finish the job at the hospital, Jennifer Walters became big, green, and dangerous. She-Hulk was born.
After that first issue, Jennifer Walters having realized that she could become a more powerful version of herself whenever she wanted, decided to use her newly acquired powers to launch her career as a crime-fighting attorney. Unlike her cousin, when she transforms into She-Hulk, she may gain superhuman strength, but she also retains her personality and intelligence.
For a time, Jen could change from her original human form into She-Hulk, but decided at one point to retain her She-Hulk form permanently. Well, it was not really a permanent situation. But it was what she preferred.
Unlike what has been done over the years with other major characters, Marvel’s writers left her origin story mostly untouched. She was not retconned.
That said, the TV Show offered a different version. In the MCU, Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters are on the road when an alien ship surprises them, leading their car off the road. That’s when Bruce’s blood ends up in contact with a hurt Jen, transforming her immediately into She-Hulk.
What About Red She-Hulk?
Jennifer Walters is not the Red She-Hulk. You can read about the Origin Story of Marvel’s Red Monstress before exploring The Hulk Family Tree to know more about the different characters part of the Hulk Universe.
Last Updated on July 3, 2024.