She-Hulk is my Mary Sue
Posted by Jennifer Smith
Writing about She-Hulk is, for me, a bit of a dicey proposition. Not because I have mixed feelings on the character — my love for her is pure and true — but because I relate to her a bit too much. I’ve called her my personal Mary Sue before, and that’s the most accurate way I can phrase it. Jennifer Walters is the person I am, and She-Hulk is the person she and I both want to be.
This over-identification started early, when I read the first issue of Dan Slott’s first volume of She-Hulk. The opening scene features quiet young Jennifer Walters at law school, diligently studying in her dorm room alone while next door a racous party blasts the sounds of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping.” Later, she graduates, but her graduation pictures feature only Jennifer and her parents, instead of the cluster of friends posing in most students’ photos.
To a shy college student named Jennifer sitting in her dorm room alone on a Saturday night, reading comics because she had no friends on campus to hang out with and wasn’t interested in partying, it hit almost uncomfortably close to home. And yet the comic, overall, was uplifting — because it immediately contrasted Jen Walters’ lonely law school life with the parties and fun of her life as the gregarious, confident She-Hulk, which she became after receiving an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner. I was instantly hooked on the wish-fulfillment, and I eagerly tore through the rest of Slott’s (brilliant, hilarious, immensely fun) series, and the enjoyable Peter David run that capped it off.
It’s hard to express how important this She-Hulk wish-fulfillment is to me without risking embarrassment from oversharing. I’ve already embarrassed myself in front of creators — by babbling about my over-identification with the character to Colleen Coover, who had drawn her in a short story for a Marvel summer special, and by telling Dan Slott on two separate occasions how cool I thought it was that She-Hulk, in one issue, goes undercover as “Jennifer Smith” — my full name. (The second time I told the story, he actually REMEMBERED me telling it the first time, which I hadn’t thought he would, so it was doubly embarrassing.)
But that’s the thing. She-Hulk appeals to me on a primal level, and expressing that primal appeal inevitably results in me revealing my own hangups and anxieties. I’m no longer the person I was in college — I’ve got lots of friends now, all across the country, not to mention my high school friends at home with whom I’m still close. I’ve grown more confident and well-adjusted and less socially awkward. But at heart, I still see myself as a shy, quiet smart girl with an inferiority complex. And what shy, quiet smart girl wouldn’t fantasize about being a gorgeous, confident, super-strong superhero whose intelligence remains one of her defining features?
That retention of intelligence is perhaps the most important point about She-Hulk. She shares her origin with Spider-Woman — both were hurriedly created in the late 1970s to ensure Marvel would retain the rights to female versions of its two most popular characters. Perhaps as a result, She-Hulk at her inception was literally nothing more than a female Hulk, a savage, unthinking beast. But under the pen of Roger Stern and John Byrne in Fantastic Four, Avengers, and later her own title, She-Hulk transformed into a character with wit and a sparkling personality who, importantly, never lost her cleverness (or her legal skills) while she was hulked-out — a welcome surprise in a fictional universe that rarely acknowledges female characters’ intelligence at all. While she loved punching the daylights out of supervillains and their secret hideouts, she was just as likely to use her brain as her fists to get herself out of a dangerous situation, whether she was being imprisoned by evil government operatives or trying to stop an attack on an outer space truck stop (don’t ask). She even practiced law in her big green form, becoming an Assistant D.A. for some time. (Slott’s later series would be set in a superhuman law firm, continuing the tradition.) She-Hulk could also transform back and forth at will, and was generally happy with her gamma-irradiated condition. By the time Slott started writing about her, She-Hulk and her brutish cousin shared little in common beyond their green skin.
In fact, let’s look at that origin again. A shy, awkward, studious loner is given, through an unplanned exposure to radiation, fantastic superpowers. That loner suddenly becomes more attractive and gains the confidence to approach the opposite sex, have fun, and simultaneously punch and sass supervillains, but never loses that formidable brainpower.
Is it just me, or is Jennifer Walters more of a “Spider-Woman” than a Hulk-Woman? Perhaps that shared corporate origin isn’t such a coincidence.
The fact is, under the right pen, She-Hulk is the female equivalent of Spider-Man, providing the female Peter Parkers of the world with the sort of wish-fulfillment that male Peter Parkers have gotten from comics since 1962. Instead of having to cross the gender barrier to identify with Peter, these geeky female readers can look to She-Hulk, a character no less physically strong and competent who also happens to be female. She-Hulk is the female power fantasy to Spider-Man’s male power fantasy.
This isn’t to say that She-Hulk hasn’t been written problematically over the years — much of Byrne’s run bears the mark of the male gaze and unfortunate objectification, and even Slott’s wonderful run was marred by hyper-sexualized Greg Horn covers that were targeted much more at readers who want to sleep with She-Hulk than readers who want to be her. She also isn’t wish-fulfillment for every female comics fan, no more than Spider-Man is for every male fan. But when She-Hulk is written well, she’s an admirable role model and fantasy for a large subset of nerdy female readers. And when the book remembers never to deny the power and importance of Jennifer Walters — She-Hulk’s conscience, intelligence, and the tempering influence on her more dangerous excesses — it reassures girls and women that the person they already are is as worthwhile as the fantasy.
If you’ve never picked up a She-Hulk comic and you think this kind of wish-fulfillment would at all appeal to you, I encourage you to give it a try. The comics are a little oddball, with fourth-wall-breaking and continuity in-jokes, but they’re perfectly accessible for new readers — which I was, when I first began to read them. Who knows? If enough of us show Marvel what She-Hulk can mean to female readers, and how important she is as a character in the Marvel universe, perhaps they’ll give her ongoing title another shot.
By Jennifer Smith
E-mail: Jennifer@fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: throughthebrush
I love it! The Spider-Man comparison is particularly apt. It’s interesting that there aren’t many female heroes who work that way. Maybe Babs-as-Batgirl, a little (she was a librarian after all) but I don’t recall her being portrayed as particularly socially awkward/nerdy. Somebody who knows Batgirl better than I do would have to answer that. I’ve seen comparisons between Buffy and Spider-Man, and I do think there are a lot of commonalities in the basic premise, Buffy specifically doesn’t have the nerdy background — her stereotype is airhead/social butterfly until her calling makes her have to be more series; she gets the nerdery vicariously through Xander and Willow.
I really like the comparison to Spidey, too. This is a great piece for a character I don’t know that much about. She’s not my character type (and sort of, now I see why, and after all Peter isn’t either) but I really like what you have to say both about Jennifer and yourself.
I was introduced to She-Hulk through a friend. She correctly identified my attraction to intelligent, strong women, and said I’d enjoy them. So when she lent me a few TPB’s and issues, I ended up enjoying them immensely.
@Anika — Yeah, I think Jen and I have discussed that this theory helps clarify why She-Hulk really isn’t a favorite of mine. I mean, I like her and I enjoy the Slott run a whole lot. I’m really glad a character like this exists and wish we saw more of her. But the She-Hulk power fantasy doesn’t speak much to *me* just like the Spidey fantasy never has. Which is weird because I was (am?) a socially awkward nerd; but the women I Mary Sue (Jean, Buffy and grownup, post-redemption Faith) are ones who strike me as intuitive and tactically smart, more than book-smart. The only explanation I can think of is that I had friends in high school who always told me I was book smart but had no common sense; I don’t actually think this was TRUE but I might have a complex about it. (And yeah, I know that there’s not really a dichotomy, just like there’s not REALLY a dichotomy between book-learning and social skills.)
@Caroline My high school friends (and parents, and everyone who’s met me…) said the same thing, but in my case it was TRUE, and since I tend to put more value on book smarts (i.e. what I’m good at) than street smarts (what I’m not), I value that in characters, too.
It’s possible you’re just less narcissistic.
@talkswithwind I’m happy to hear that! She’s not a character who’s on everyone’s radar, so it’s always a treat to discover her.
Jen, I love this piece! The way you weave in your personal experience is really great (also, did Caroline tell you we were just talking about fan over-identification on the emails? Ha!).
She-Hulk is one of my favorite characters and Slott’s take on her — particularly the early stuff — still stands as one of those perfect, amazing runs that had me going, “holy crap, was this written just for *me*”? Not necessarily because I identified with the character (though I do connect to certain elements of her for sure), but because of the way he balanced superheroics with character interplay and personal demons and comedy. Just fantastic.
Speaking of the covers, did you see the Juan Bobillo Civil War variant they did? I actually bought that issue again because I loved the cover so much (and wish all the covers had been like that, showing She-Hulk’s awesome ‘tude!).
(Yes, I was still buying single issues during Civil War. Actually, I think Civil War is what eventually *broke me* in that regard.)
@Sarah Thank you! I agree about the series — my focus here was on the character, but Slott’s run on the book was fantastic from all angles. The fact that he could make it but hilarious and touching (Awesome Andy!) and play with the obscure corners of the Marvel U and its quirks without alienating new readers… it was astounding. I think I need to reread the series again soon, because I’m sure there’s a lot I didn’t get the first time that would be even funnier and more awesome now.
And no, I don’t think I saw the Bobillo variant! Do you have a link to an image online? I’d love to see it — I really liked his art on the book.
@Jennifer Actually, it sounds like I’m equally narcissitic but more deluded. Did I ever tell you about the time my friend had to keep me from telling airport security that I was a vampire slayer?
Also, my favorite part of Slott’s She-Hulk run was when she slept with Tony Stark, so I’m pretty sure I fail feminism on that one.
@Caroline
Hahaha. WHY were you going to tell airport security that?
Also, I never said sleeping with Tony Stark wasn’t part of the wish-fulfillment.
Right but that’s the *only* part that qualifies as wish-fulfillment for me. Ahem.
As for the slayer thing, there are several levels on which I need to explain this:
(1) The truest and most direct reason why — I hadn’t had any sleep the night before driving to the airport way early in the morning.
(2) This was part of an elaborate hypothetical that I was using to argue that TSA was insufficiently equipped to deal with people who had superpowers. “Like, what would they do if I was a vampire slayer?”
(3) I was not ACTUALLY going to say this to TSA. However, my friend was sufficiently concerned that I *might* to seriously warn me against it.
(4) That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I can’t find a fully-finished version, but here’s the preliminary sketch:
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/images/0606/shehulk8a.jpg
She’s holding the issue and saying something like “you better buy my book!” I’ll scan the actual cover if I can find it at home
(Oh and it’s a tribute to that issue you have pictured up top. In case you couldn’t tell.)
@Caroline – Sigrid and I have discussed that my identification type are the people who don’t really understand the society in which they move, which is a wholly different social awkwardness. And my ‘wish fulfillment’ probably falls within the demand that society understand me (and now I sound narcissistic but — Lorna, Carol, Shayera, Wanda, Clarice, Asuka, Alice? Yeah).
@Caroline Suuuuuure. Likely story.
@Sarah Oh, yes, now I remember that! Excellent.
The She-Hulk story that I remember liking most was in Solo Avengers #14. There was something about the conflict between She-Hulk and Titania that was both funny and compelling.
Have you ever read the issue of FF from the 80′s where she takes on a sleazy magazine publisher who tries to publish candid shots of her? I haven’t read it in a long time, but I think that might really count as authorial commentary on male gaze issues with characters like She-Hulk. I’d have to go back and read it again to be sure though.
Awesome character rec! *adds to list to read*
I wonder what it says about me that my Mary Sue types are, like, Scott Summers, movieverse Rogue and Hisako.
@Cavorter Oh, I haven’t read either of those — I’ll definitely have to google them and maybe hunt the back issue bins next time I’m at a con. Thanks for the head’s up!
@handyhunter Thanks! And, see, Scott is one of my Mary Sues, too — as are a lot of characters like him in various media. But he’s male, as are almost all of the others. That’s why She-Hulk is so refreshing for me, because I almost always have to cross the gender line to identify with a character.
That’s why She-Hulk is so refreshing for me, because I almost always have to cross the gender line to identify with a character.
Yes, definitely. It’s such a small thing, and yet greatly significant (on a personal and grander basis).
Yes, to this. I won’t say anything else because I might look absurd.
@Anika There’s a fantastic quote from an Adam Gopnik essay about Lewis Carroll. He says something like, “Men identify with Hamlet because we all think we’re deposed monarchs, and women identify with Alice because they all know that they’re the only sane person in a world full of people who think they are all deposed monarchs.”
[...] e provocativas das quais os desenhistas gostam de abusar. É como uma fã da heroína disse aqui: a objetificação da personagem através de capas hiper-sexualizadas fez com que a She-Hulk fosse [...]