We Finally Know What Tatiana Maslany Could Look Like As She-Hulk
Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk, is one of the biggest Marvel superheroes who has yet to appear in live action — but that's about to change. In the near future, this lawyer turned superhero — who gains her powers via a gamma-irradiated blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner — will be coming the MCU, thanks to a Disney+ series, which will star actress Tatiana Maslany in the leading role.
Walters has a long history in the comics, having been the last character that iconic comic book writer Stan Lee helped create, alongside artist John Buscema, as Don Markstein's Toonopedia points out, back when Lee was still the biggest creative force at Marvel. While "Shulkie" was originally created for a very specific reason — namely, to make sure Marvel Comics would have the rights to a female Hulk counterpart, due to concern that the producers of the seventies Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk series might create one first — the character has grown quite a bit since her debut in the first issue of The Savage She-Hulk, dated February 10th, 1980.
Now that Tatiana Maslany is officially She-Hulk, though, a lot of fans want to know how the character's distinct look will be brought to life. And while it's too early for any official images, and will be for a while, one of the internet's favorite fan artists is here to help.
BossLogic has brought She-Hulk to life
When you look at Tatiana Maslany, it might not be immediately obvious to you what the slender 5'4" actress might look like as She-Hulk. Now, what she'll look like as Jennifer Walters? That's easy. But as a giant, muscular green monster person? Well, that's a bit harder to imagine.
Thankfully, famed internet fan artist BossLogic has come through with another one of his master photo manipulations, and his depiction of Maslany as She-Hulk manages to incorporates everything you could want from the character: the muscles, the She-Hulk outfit, and yes, the green skin. It's also very cool that he put up a picture of Maslany as Cosima Niehaus from Orphan Black, in the background, to show the difference between regular Walters and her superhero counterpart. In fact, the more you look at BossLogic's photo, and think about Maslany's previous works, the more clear it becomes why she makes so much sense as She-Hulk. Maslany has a background in both comedic and dramatic acting, for one, which could be extremely important since, historically, She-Hulk is a comic book character known for her meta humor, even going so far as the break the fourth wall years before Deadpool started doing it. Maslany's small size, in real life, will allow her to physically embody the equally small, insecure side of Walters, but then, as someone who has played various clones in Orphan Black, she can easily use subtle body language cues to show just how different Walters' personality becomes when she transforms into She-Hulk.
She-Hulk is not generally a character with multiple personalities, for the record, but the duality of her — at least, as Jennifer figures out her powers and what they mean — is something Maslany is well-suited for.
What sort of She-Hulk will Maslany be playing?
She-Hulk has gone through a lot of different incarnations over the years. The version of She-Hulk that Stan Lee and John Buscema created in Savage She-Hulk was triggered by rage, much like Bruce Banner, but this depiction didn't last long. Far more popular was the version of She-Hulk written by John Byrne, wherein Walters saw her confidence bloom when she became green. This depiction of the character was self-aware, comedic, and has influenced most other takes in the years since. It's entirely possible that the Disney+ series will pull influence from those two eras: sitcom director Kat Coiro (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Mick, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is involved with the show, via Deadline, while Jessica Gao of Rick and Morty is being eyed to lead the writer's room, all of which implies a comedic focus.
Unlike the Byrne era, though — wherein Walters was, for all intents, permanently in She-Hulk form — it's possible that Tatiana Maslany won't be green all of the time, or even most of the time. It's very likely that a big focus will be paid to Jennifer Walters, the lawyer, in which case the show may pull a lot of influence from the recent comic book run by writer-attorney Charles Soule, who put a lot of emphasis on that element, and specifically examined super heroism through the lens of the law: in one story, Soule wrote She-Hulk as facing off against Tony Stark, a conflict which involved her physically battling Iron Man while also taking him to court.
Time will tell. Marvel's She-Hulk is still in early stages, but will eventually be available on Disney+.