She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
I grew up during the height of Hulkamania, and yes, I am purposely misapply the name to the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno version of The Incredible Hulk even if it technically preceded the official start date of the Vince McMahon/Hulk Hogan propaganda machine by about a year. So Hulkamania, for me, meant that I was living a terrifying nightmare. The Incredible Hulk started the year before I was born and ended when I was three. Yet somehow I saw it. I have no fond memories of the show, watching a normal human turn into a giant green monster which I totally believed was real and was out to kill everyone was like watching my nightmares become real. In fact all my earliest nightmares involved superheroes who were evil, make of that what you will. Lou Ferrigno painted green with what was that, a wig, or did they just dye his hair green, was too much for me. To this day the opening credits are triggering. This has led to me never really liking the Hulk. I've seen none of the movies where Hulk stared, I've only seen the ones where he's a secondary character. Friends were like Ang Lee has made a Hulk film, you loved Sense and Sensibility so let's go! And that was a hard no from me. So yes, my decision to watch She-Hulk does seem like an odd one, because she's basically just sexy hulk, which to me is a total contradiction of everything I believe in. And also I'm not the biggest fan of Tatiana Maslany. I'm sorry, I just DO NOT get all the love for Orphan Black. I tried. I really did, but like the accents were too much of the comedic stereotype variety, and not in a good way, not that there's any way cultural stereotypes are good. And they're literally rebooting it, I just can not. And then the trailer for She-Hulk dropped. And oh my, the CGI fail was so hard it was ridiculous. Seriously, what was going on with her hair? Was she underwater? All this goes to show that I had no expectations of this show being in any way watchable so I was more than pleasantly surprised. I couldn't believe that She-Hulk became a show I looked forward to every week. She-Hulk!?! It's funny, it's irreverent, she smashes the forth wall and Daredevil! But what really sold me on it from that first night of watching was how Jennifer Walters was able to instantly control her ability to Hulk out because being a woman means you always are holding the rage in. This show was written for all the women out there who were like, nothing in the Marvel universe has spoken to me, it's too dark, it's too depressing, and it's not written for us. Which is why all the manbabies out there are freaking out over it. I'm sorry, but this show wasn't for you, it never was, it was for me, cheesy CGI that somehow fits the show's aesthetic and all. So in answer to the question posed by the finale title, "Whose Show Is This?" It's mine! Which means I get Wongers and Madisynn! Have any objection and I'll smash you!
Now while I am a big comic book fan I'm not really into the MCU. There are characters I like and characters I could do without. And I'm here with open arms for the X-Men. Just be nothing like the movies that have come before. Though Hugh Jackman is welcome back anytime. And I have a shocking confession, I have never watched nor plan to watch Avengers: Endgame. Which is problematic on many levels because that movie is so important to the building of Marvel's multiverse and the roll out of whatever phase we are now in. We're in Phase Four right? Right? So the truth of the matter is that the more entwined the universe is becoming the less likely I am to engage with it. The only movie I am actually looking forward to is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3... Kind of. I have Chris Pratt issues, as we all should. But there is one show I COULD NOT miss, and that was Moon Knight. Why? Well, Egypt and Oscar Isaac! I adore all things to do with Egyptian mythology and I adore Oscar Isaac, so this show was a no-brainer. I had to watch it. But here was the most amazing and welcome discovery when I started watching it, it stands alone. You don't need to be versed in the MCU lore, you don't need any other experience with anything Marvel. It stands completely on it's own and is marvelous. Everything you need to know about the world is given to you in a way that fully explains it without it feeling too much like exposition or like it's talking down to you. In fact, my father who sometimes has a hard time following the more fantastical shows I watch understood and loved this show. The world is wonderfully complete and is believable. Egyptian Gods have avatars who act on their behalf and Oscar Isaac and his three personalities act on behalf of Khonshu. That's it. Throw in another human who wants to be the avatar for a rather problematic God and you have the conflict for the series. But the real conflict is two of Oscar Isaac's personalities. The main personality, Marc Spector, developed another identity to protect himself from childhood abuse at the hand of his mother. The Steven Grant personality is Oscar at his most dorky, a lovely British mama's boy who is very much Oscar channeling some serious Bruce Campbell awkward Ash Williams energy. As one review said, the chemistry between Oscar Isaac and Oscar Isaac is amazing. If he doesn't win an Emmy for this he was robbed. And are we in an Ethan Hawke Renaissance? Because his role as Harrow was again perfection. I literally can't think of another actor who could have had the presence to match Oscar, but Ethan does it perfectly. In fact, this is a near perfect series, even the music. Oh, I hope we get more, but if this is all, it was done so so right.
