5 She-Hulk comics to read before watching She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

She-Hulk
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law brings the cult-favorite hero into the MCU starting with the Disney Plus series premiere on August 18. And for those who know She-Hulk's comic book history, the clips and trailers shown so far have evoked plenty of comic connections and Easter eggs.

But what if you're not intimately familiar with She-Hulk (sometimes affectionately nicknamed 'Shulkie') and her comic book history? 

Well, we've got good news, because here at Newsarama are well-versed in She-Hulk comics as paralegals are in the law, and we've picked out the five She-Hulk comics you should read before watching She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

5. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The original 1985 Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is an ensemble story with a sprawling cast, but even among the many heroes and villains of the story, She-Hulk stands out as one of the characters who gets the biggest arc in the crossover.

Along with introducing She-Hulk's first arch enemy Titania, who is played by Jameela Jamil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Wars also gives some extended time to She-Hulk and Hulk working together, and brings She-Hulk into the Fantastic Four, taking the place of the Thing on the team for several years.

We're not expecting a full adaptation of Secret Wars on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but the inclusion of Titania, and even a fight scene between Shulkie and the entire villain team the Wrecking Crew (a beat taken straight from Secret Wars) shows that the series' creators know how strong She-Hulk's connection to the story is.

And as a bonus, there's an Avengers: Secret Wars movie coming up which you might also learn some things about.

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4. Savage She-Hulk #1

Savage She-Hulk #1

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

She-Hulk's first appearance, written by none other than Stan Lee and drawn by legendary Marvel artist John Buscema, doesn't quite introduce the version of She-Hulk that would eventually become her definitive portrayal. 

But it does introduce Shulkie's origin as Jennifer Walters, Bruce Banner's cousin, who gains Gamma-powers after a transfusion of Banner's blood - just like what's been established for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

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3. Hulk Vol. 4

Hulk Vol. 4

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

As She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters is known as the Hulk who has some of the best control over the balance between her Hulked-out form's strength and her human form's personality and intelligence. But what happens when She-Hulk, becomes, well, more Hulk-like?

Originally published simply under the title Hulk in 2016-2017, while Bruce Banner was seemingly dead, writer Mariko Tamaki's deep dive into She-Hulk's power and psyche turns the title hero gray like her cousin's Joe Fixit alter ego, and forces Jennifer to confront an uncontrollable transformation into a more savage She-Hulk persona. 

We may not see that side of her in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but this is an important chapter in She-Hulk's history.

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2. She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido

She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

2014's She-Hulk from writer Charles Soule and artist Javier Pulido relaunched Jennifer Walters' adventures with a somewhat more down-to-earth, but still quirky viewpoint, focusing once again on some of the strange foibles of being a practicing attorney who is also a giant green superhero.

Elements of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law seen in trailers and clips so far also seem to reflect some of this She-Hulk comic's stylish and eccentric take on the character, which is aided by former practicing attorney Charles Soule's own combined understanding of superhero comics and legal practices.

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1. She-Hulk: Single Green Female

She-Hulk: Single Green Female

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

If there's one She-Hulk volume that may contribute the most to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, it's writer Dan Slott's long run on the title, in which he pushed She-Hulk's already semi-fourth-wall-breaking style to its limits, casting her as an attorney for down-and-out supervillains.

Later on, she even goes to work for a Multiversal law firm representing clients who violate cosmic laws - leading to a run-in with the Time Variance Authority, who is well known to viewers of Disney Plus' Loki.

Collected in part as She-Hulk: Single Green Female, it's this version of She-Hulk that brought the most to her comic book version's associations with ever more outlandish supervillain crimes, both as an attorney and a hero herself.

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Get the full run down of She-Hulk in the Marvel Universe before her Disney Plus series premieres.

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)