She Hulk is the only part of the MCU that I’m currently investing in remotely. WandaVision aside, it’s one of the few things Marvel Studios has produced that actually captures just how wide-ranging superhero comics can be. They’re so much more than banter and big monster fights, but that’s largely all we get from the MCU. Although She Hulk deals with these things, it’s more Ally McBeal than Avengers, and the result is hugely entertaining. Developers who are thinking about launching a superhero game should take this into consideration.
As much as I worked my way through New-York in Spider-Man and Miles Morales, there isn’t much to get excited about these days when it comes to superhero games. Crystal Dynamic’s take on the Avengers ended up being a disappointing live-service affair, and there have been few other noteworthy releases. There are plenty of very basic mobile games that are filled to the brim with microtransactions, I think, and the Lego Marvel and DC games remain a laughing stock, although they’ve settled into a very familiar groove.
But even if we were inundated with it, I’m not convinced I’d be that interested. Let’s face it: it would almost all be open world action games. Like Marvel Studios, game developers and publishers also seem to have a short-sighted view of what superheroes are all about. And it’s mostly punching. That’s why She Hulk is a gift. In the comics, She Hulk does quite a few superheroes, but the best thing is always that she’s a giant green lawyer. Fortunately, that’s also what the show focuses on.
Her joke is elevated by the fact that she specifically deals with superhuman cases – such as an elf who defrauds another lawyer by impersonating Megan Thee Stallion – which serve as excellent comedic fodder. The MCU’s heroes can spit out a lot of jokes, but the movies and shows still take themselves pretty seriously, which isn’t a problem for She Hulk. Last week, her depressing dates with a string of horrible dudes became a key part of a legal battle. It’s incredibly stupid and it enjoys it. By the way, her dating profile includes this incredible line: “Mean, green and straight poured into these jeans.”
Amid the jokes, She Hulk also explores what it’s like to just live as a superhero: what it’s like to date, go out with friends, to have a regular job. Everyday things have become infinitely newer through gamma rays. These are all fun scenarios where no giant monster takes down skyscrapers. And I am convinced that they are just as fun to experience in a game, especially in games about driving through mud and snow (opens in new tab) or unpacking boxes (opens in new tab) have proven to be so compelling.
The Ace Attorney series serves as a good framework for what a She Hulk game might look like — and not just because there’s a lack of lawyer-protagonists in video games. Part visual novel, part adventure game, and full of courtroom battles, they’re just the kind of games that suit She Hulk’s MO. And like She Hulk, they are much more interested in human drama than in the ins and outs of the legal system. I can already see Jen Walters coming out and yelling “Objection!” or defending superheroes – maybe Squirrel Girl has been accused of robbing supermarkets of all their nuts.
Ace Attorney has all the ingredients ready to hitchhike, but there are plenty of other genres to serve as inspiration. The love life of superheroes is trodden ground, but the romances of Captain America, Iron Man, and Scarlet Witch are all dramatic, doomed affairs. However, She Hulk’s grounded tone gives us dating disasters that are tragic for more recognizable reasons, while also exploring what it’s like to simply exist as a larger-than-life public figure with an undisclosed dual identity. A dating sim that’s actually more about the civilian life of superheroes than about finding romance can be a welcome contrast to the usual superpower brawls.
Since I can’t go a day without craving a management game, I’d also like to run a law firm like She Hulk. Her comedic counterpart has already done it, business only to leave the lights on and occasionally interrupted by Howard the Duck. I’m not convinced it would be very exciting to run a regular law firm, but in a world where alien invasions, time travel and space gods are passé will undoubtedly be a little more compelling.
There’s a lot to work with here that doesn’t involve donning a costume and playing with a super villain, but that doesn’t have to be ruled out entirely, and could even complement the legal battles or management wrinkles. Someone from the gallery of her thugs will no doubt cause a nuisance at some point by kicking in the door while reading a will. It just doesn’t have to be the only dimension of the character.
She Hulk is perfect for an unconventional superhero game because, at least in the show, she specifically tries to live a mostly normal life and not join Avengers or get involved in catastrophic battles over the fate of the planet. If superhero games need to be freed from the shackles of open world punchfests, she is the hero to do it.
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