Comedy Saved The Hulk — Will It Destroy Him Next?

Somehow, the character whose fault was being “deadly serious” had become the MCU’s secret comedy weapon.  Now if a superhero movie verged on being too solemn?  Throw a Hulk at it.  Problem solved. 

Related: Why Loki Sucks As A Villain (And Keeps Getting Worse)

Mr. Miyagi smash!

Aaaaaaand you can probably see where this is going.  In the past few days, Marvel dropped the first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.  While the MCU has had a lot of success employing templates from other genres — political thriller, horror, romantic comedy, heist flick, buddy movie — to liven up its superhero stories, this is the first one that has tried to pull off “sitcom.”

Based on She-Hulk’s first episode, it ain’t working.  From the awkward breaking of the fourth wall a la The Office to the punchless punchlines about spandex, watching the show is like supporting a nervous friend at open mic night.  You want them to be funny but the laughs are forced and you can’t wait to go home.

The uneven comic tone and TV-budget CGI aside, the bigger problem is what the show is doing to the Hulk.  Or actually, Smart Hulk — a name he didn’t choose for himself, but hey, what are you going to do?

Ruffalo is charming as always, but on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, he’s reduced to an emerald Mr. Miyagi, teaching his cousin Jennifer-san how to wax on and wax off with her new powers.  It’s all played for laughs — Hulk get mad when cousin better at yoga!  Hulk get hit in head with coconut just like Gilligan Island!  Hulk get drunk and win belching contest! (Apparently, being a Hulk lets you get really hammered without yakking all over the carpet. Who knew?)

Doesn’t our gamma-ray guy deserve better than this?  Marvel’s playing a dangerous game here with one of its cornerstone characters.  It’s one thing to find lighter moments with what is essentially a tragic character. It’s another to turn the Hulk into a punchline, a big green goof who smashes himself into (less than) hilarious situations. 

There’s no going back to the Ed Norton version, and doing so would be an equally terrible idea.  But Marvel needs to find that balance between comic and clown.  For future episodes, we recommend more “Hulk smash!” and less “Hulk smashed!”

For more ComedyNerd, be sure to check out:

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Top image: Marvel