Fans of Marvel’s She-Hulk eagerly await her Disney + TV show, set to debut in 2022. However, the upcoming series does raise much speculation over how the Jade Giantess will look in her first live action appearance. Especially considering the standard now set with the Avengers movies, and their version of a Hulk-sized superhero.

While MCU audiences are used to seeing Bruce Banner’s Incredible Hulk as a CGI creation, Jennifer Walters’ She-Hulk is an entirely different character who may benefit from more practical visual effects.

Let’s take a look back at how She-Hulk’s appearance has evolved in the comic books, and then speculate on what this could mean for how the character could be portrayed in her Disney + show.

She Hulk: From Angry Giantess To Woman Of The Year


She Hulk first debuted in Savage She-Hulk #1 (1980). Introduced as Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters was a shy, petite criminal lawyer who shared a strong childhood bond with Bruce. This bond only intensified when Jen was shot by a crime boss, forcing Banner to administer an emergency transfusion of his own gamma-irradiated blood to save her life. The blood transfusion caused Jen to transform into a green-skinned female version of the Hulk who, while less inhibited than Banner’s Hulk, largely retains Jen’s personality, intelligence, and emotional control.

Jen’s original transformation into She-Hulk was triggered by her anger, causing her to mutate into an enraged green giantess. Unlike the Incredible Hulk, however, She-Hulk was not abnormally large, growing to a height just under 7 feet. Her musculature was also more idealized than the monstrous Hulk, giving Jen Amazonian-proportions. Nevertheless, the She-Hulk certainly was more “savage” in her original appearances – running around in only a torn white shirt like a vengeful cavewoman as she took down the criminals that originally shot her as Jennifer Walters.

Over time, however, Jen learned to control her transformations and change into She-Hulk only when she wanted to. Her personality also became more mellow as she found she enjoyed having superhuman strength and being able to cut loose anytime she wanted. She enjoyed her life as She-Hulk so much that Jen eventually developed a mental block preventing her from returning to her human form. This, however, wasn’t a problem as Jen decided she could still live her life as both a criminal lawyer and a superhero.


This led to She-Hulk gaining a major makeover. She began wearing tailored business suits and sexy evening wear instead of her original rags. Her appearance also became much more attractive, with many artists giving her proportions similar to a cover girl. At one point, She-Hulk began breaking the fourth wall in her comic book (years before Deadpool popularized the trope) and began arguing with her editor whenever she wasn’t “drawn right” by a guest artist.

By this point, She-Hulk had distanced herself almost completely from Bruce Banner’s Hulk. Where Banner was constantly on the run and hated his transformations, She-Hulk was a celebrity who was humorously voted Marvel’s “Woman of the Year” in the one-shot Marvel – a Marvel Comics produced parody of Time magazine. In a later comic book series, Jen learned to overcome her mental block and then discovered that she could gain even more superhuman muscle mass as She-Hulk if she worked out as Jennifer Walters before transforming. This led to She-Hulk gaining a physique rivaling female body builders or MMA stars.

At one point, however, She-Hulk’s stories took a dark turn as writers chose to emphasize the horrific side of her powers. Following the events of Civil War II, Jen began transforming into a savage “Grey She-Hulk” much like Bruce Banner’s original grey version of the Hulk. This form was bulkier and more ogre-like than She-Hulk’s previous appearances. Jen also couldn’t control herself very well in this form and was significantly more violent than in her other incarnations. Thanks to some sessions with a self-help author, however, Jen managed to confront her angrier side and revert back to her “normal” green-skinned form.

How Should She Hulk Comics Influence Her Appearance?


While it remains unknown which version of the She-Hulk will appear in her Disney + show, She-Hulk’s comic book history does suggest how the character should be portrayed in live action. While exceptions exist, She-Hulk has rarely been portrayed as monstrous in form or attitude. In fact, certain comic book stories state that Jen’s She-Hulk form is based on how she imagines her idealized female form to be.

Despite her green skin then, She-Hulk usually has human-like proportions and rarely grows over 7 feet tall. Moreover, she dresses in fashionable outfits and takes care to present herself as a professional career woman. This makes her somewhat easier to portray on TV as visual effects artists wouldn’t have to design a completely CGI Hulk like they had to do with Bruce Banner in the MCU movies.

Notably, most of She-Hulk’s comic book appearances have her always appear in her Hulk form rather than constantly shift back and forth between her human and superpowered identities like Banner. This plays up on the idea that She-Hulk is Jen’s “empowered” form, literally and metaphorically, giving her little motivation to become human. (That said, some comic book storylines have shown Jen needs to get in touch with her “regular” human form to be an emotionally well-rounded woman).


This indicates that Disney + may want to cast an actress who already has a She-Hulk-like physique and only use CGI to show her as “normal” Jennifer Walters (similar to the way Chris Evans was shown as a skinny Steve Rogers in the early scenes of Captain America: The First Avenger). Doing this could actually save money as visual effects teams wouldn’t have to replace the actress with a CGI creation in every scene.

In terms of who could play She-Hulk, former MMA star Gina Carano’s name has been suggested by many fans, who enjoy her performance as ex-rebel shock trooper Cara Dune in the Disney + series The Mandalorian. At five feet eight inches tall, Carano is shorter than She-Hulk, however her height could be disguised through camera tricks. Plus, MCU fans may enjoy seeing a Hulk brought to life with practical effects rather than CGI (much like how Lou Ferrigno’s green body painted Hulk became an iconic image for an entire generation of Hulk fans).

Whatever direction Disney + decides to take She-Hulk in, producers should realize the character is a very different hero than her cousin. Jennifer Walters has always been more of a symbol of female empowerment than a woman on the run, and this should be embraced in both her appearance and portrayal.