Heather Veley
3 min readNov 2, 2022

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The fact that I haven't seen the show myself is my blind spot but it is nice to know that she solves the problem with legal strategy instead of her original plan of trashing the venue and nearly murdering a man. That being said, I was more criticizing what was said in the linked article rather than the show itself since I have no right to comment on the show itself.

With that being said, there is a difference between anger and rage. Anger is understandable and it is totally okay to be angry when someone does something shitty to you, like revenge porn. It is possible to channel anger into strategic and legal actions to get a resolution when someone wrongs you. Rage on the other hand is uncontrollable, violent anger. Rage is putting your fist through a wall or breaking a window in a blind fury. You can't control rage as easily as anger. People in the real world have literally been killed because someone went on a rampage. This is something both men and women are capable of, and both have a responsibility to get under control for everyone's safety. Let me be clear: this isn't a thing only women are expected to do. Everyone is expected to control their rage. She Hulk has an extra responsibility to keep her rage in check because she is a Hulk meaning she can cause a lot more damage and death if she were to snap.

As for regular Hulk, it's only recently within the Marvel universe that he's finally seen as a hero and not a monster. For most of his time dealing with the Hulk, Bruce Banner was on the run from the world because he was being hunted down to be killed or experimented on. The Hulk is rage personified whose unpredictable rampages caused a lot of destruction. This is why in the first Avengers movie, he was treated more like a ticking timebomb rather than a team member for most of the film. They even had a special container built just in case Bruce lost control and they had to yeet the Hulk out of the ship. And in the comic Planet Hulk, Bruce Banner/Hulk was shot into space by the Illuminati because he was deemed too dangerous to live on Earth. In comparison, She Hulk was way more beloved in the Marvel universe because she had a better handle on her rage. She's even allowed to continue being a lawyer while Bruce has to make do with being a scientist in the middle of nowhere to not get caught. Do not confuse our reactions to the characters with the in-universe public. If Hulk were to exist in our world, we would be just as terrified of him.

Lastly, you do know there is a difference between a rage-fueled outburst and controlled violence, right? Violence is par for the course when it comes to superhero stories; we all want to see how the heroes defeat the bad guy. However, most of the other superheroes use controlled violence in order to subdue an enemy. Daredevil, Black Widow, Captain America, Wonder Woman, etc don't just run screaming and hitting anything in sight. They use their wits and abilities to take down the bad guys as efficiently and bloodlessly as possible. They don't go on mindless rampages. Not all violence is fueled by rage. In fact, when comes to self-defense or taking down a bad guy, it's best not to go into a rage because not only would you cause more collateral damage, but you can also blind yourself to whatever your opponent is doing and end up losing a fight. I believe TMNT had a few story lines dedicated to this. She Hulk was actually part of a few superhero teams because she was easier to work with than regular Hulk. Comic readers loved seeing her fight bad guys. People loved She Hulk in general long before the show came to be. There was no problem with her gender, just with this adaptation.

In short, I'm not criticizing the fact that She Hulk had a rage fit or that women in general can have rage. I just don't like the opinion that show writers and the article spout that female rage is justifiable and even a good thing. Rage is rage no matter who is feeling it and it's not okay for anyone to go on a rampage.

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Heather Veley
Heather Veley

Written by Heather Veley

Writer, comic lover, and chronic coffee drinker.

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