CSBG Archive
John Seavey’s Storytelling Engines: She-Hulk
Here’s the latest Storytelling Engine from John Seavey. Check out more of them at his blog, Fraggmented.
Storytelling Engines: She-Hulk
(or “Bring On The Bad Guys…Please?”)
She-Hulk started her life as one of many female “spin-off” versions of an established male character; in general, these are almost inevitable developments from any popular figure in comics. Once you’ve got a Superman, why not a Supergirl? As much as anything else, these comics serve notice to other companies that the only person to be cashing in on the fame of the character with a cheap rip-off will be the owners, thanks all the same. (We’ve already examined the hasty origins of Spider-Woman in a previous column.)
She-Hulk fared better than most in her initial series, with Stan Lee writing her origin issue. She got a career that served her storytelling engine well–as a lawyer, she’d be working intimately with police and criminals alike, which would serve her well. She got a family and friends–other crusading lawyers, her father the chief of police (which had nice potential for conflict there, another good story generator), a family friend who carried a torch for her…and, of course, her cousin Bruce Banner, who’d always be good for a guest appearance now and again. Her personality was a little inconsistent at the start, but hey, so was the Hulk’s. And at least she didn’t just act like a female dumb, green monster. She even got her own city, Los Angeles, to call her home turf. So with all that, why is it that She-Hulk’s publication history has been spotty, at best? (Apart, of course, from the usual problem comics have with female characters not selling as well as male characters.)
Let’s look for a moment at the She-Hulk Rogues Gallery. Her first enemy was a…mob boss named Trask. Ordinary guy vs. female Hulk. Not much of a challenge there, despite the writers’ attempts to spin it out a bit. Then an Iron Man guest appearance, a Man-Thing guest appearance, a cult, Spidey’s old bad guy Morbius–but he didn’t have his super-powers at the time, and was called in more as a specialist in blood diseases than an actual super-villain (the blood transfusion that gave Jen her powers was causing her health problems), a Man-Wolf guest appearance, a couple of ordinary people…really, her first original super-villain wasn’t until issue #17, and it was the Man-Elephant. No, seriously.
She-Hulk is a living example of the need for a strong group of enemies to complement a good hero. Her bad guys are conspicuous by their absence–she has no Doctor Doom, no Joker, no Luthor; heck, she doesn’t even have a Vulture or a Captain Cold. Without an enemy to fight, she’s destined to have adventures that, you’ll pardon the expression, lack punch (and Byrne’s subsequent series in the late 80s, for all its entertainment value, didn’t remedy that. He focused his energies on “rehabilitating” old and obscure super-villains by bringing them into the book, instead of creating new opponents for Jen. The new series did better than the old, but still didn’t make it to the 100-issue mark.)
So, a lesson for Dan Slott’s new She-Hulk series…start thinking up some villains. Legal drama might be interesting for a while, but sooner or later, She-Hulk needs someone to, um…smash.
9 Comments
Matt
February 7, 2007 at 9:09 am
I was always under the impression She-Hulk’s arch enemy was Titania…
Ian Astheimer
February 7, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Yeah, She-Hulk and Titania have been at odds for quite some time now.
I’m surprised–and more than a little disappointed–that Ms. MacPherran (or is it Mrs. Creel now?) hasn’t re-teamed with Volcana to strike out at Jen. Skeeter and Marsha were always one of my favorite villainous duos.
Bill Reed
February 7, 2007 at 4:16 pm
I really dig this column.
John Seavey
February 7, 2007 at 5:38 pm
She-Hulk and Titania have fought a lot, yeah, but usually it’s been in the pages of the Avengers. Titania wasn’t around for the first She-Hulk series, and I don’t think she was used much in the subsequent ones, either. Their rivalry’s mostly been played up in other books (I love the Solo Avengers story where She-Hulk’s arguing a case in front of the Supreme Court, and Titania keeps causing mayhem in DC, forcing Jen to interrupt her case to stop her…that one’s a Chris Claremont/Alan Davis story, too.)
Ian
February 7, 2007 at 10:04 pm
I think more than an arch-nemesis, heroes need enemies. The same villains shouldn’t be used FOREVER because they WILL get stale. One arch-nemesis, but then at least two other villains that a hero can call their own. Spider-man works well because he has lots of villains, She-hulk… harder to write.
Joe Gualtieri
February 8, 2007 at 1:06 am
Uh, no. She-Hulk is one of the best comics Marvel publishes and sells steadily. Why mess it up by turning it into a generic superhero comic?
John Seavey
February 8, 2007 at 5:53 am
Let me answer that question with a question: Why do you think that adding villains would make it a generic superhero comic? Good villains create interesting stories, add drama, and can externalize internal conflicts in an exciting way.
The Green Goblin, for example, when well used, presented dilemmas on all levels for Spider-Man, challenging him not just physically, but emotionally and ethically as well. Peter felt a responsibility to stop the Goblin, but also a responsibility to his friend Harry to save Harry’s father. The story grew organically out of what makes Spider-Man interesting, and brought those things into sharp relief.
Naturally, it’d be a challenge to come up with a villain like this for She-Hulk, but a good villain is worth their weight in gold for the sheer number of potential stories they generate. The idea that a series would be less interesting with a good villain, well…you’ll need to sell me on it, I think.
Ian Astheimer
February 8, 2007 at 4:30 pm
and I don’t think she was used much in the subsequent ones, either.
Titania factored heavily into the final arc of Slott’s first She-Hulk series. In fact, it was pretty much one big battle between them.
RHJunior
May 22, 2007 at 11:32 am
Going with what you said about “presenting dilemmas…”
okay, you’d have to start over from scratch with the She Hulk now. She’s been a bit player, comic relief, and a cheap go-to for T+A and boobie jokes for way too long.
But if you were starting out from scratch—
Okay, she’s a lawyer. What are the personal, emotional and ethical dilemmas a lawyer faces? And what sort of villain would embody those dilemmas?
Off the top of my head: A guilty criminal she got off scot-free, an innocent man she ruined or sent to jail, a client she somehow failed. The backdrop of the court system— picking up the story where most superheros just drop off the catch of the day— presents all sorts of potential origin stories for villains.
Of course this depends on what sort of law practice she’s in. Does she work criminal prosecution? Defense? Lawsuit? Tax court? Divorce court? ( A cuckolded divorcee with a vendetta against lawyers— there’s a potential villain back-story…)