Welcome back to another installment of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law From Page to Screen. Last week, we looked at the differences between the comics’ and series’ versions of Jennifer Walters becoming She-Hulk as seen in the first episode. In Episode 2, viewers got a live-action introduction to Jen’s new legal job, taken straight out of Dan Slott’s and Juan Bobillo’s 2004 She-Hulk run—Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway (GLK&H).
The Hiring/Firing
Both She-Hulk #1 (2004) and She-Hulk Episode 2 feature a specific moment. In the comics, Jen is hired by Holden Holliway in a bar. There, she transformed back into Jen from She-Hulk after drinking and was immediately drunk. The live-action series adapted this moment, though not when she was being hired. Instead, Jen explains her “different metabolism” when drunkenly being fired from her job at the District Attorney’s Office.
The series also interestingly reversed Jen’s presence in the GLK&H office. In the series, Holliway asks her to be in She-Hulk form to be the face of the division. Jen is upset because she feels more comfortable in her human form. In the comics, however, Jen is much more comfortable in She-Hulk form, but Holliway asks that she always be in Jen form for work. It makes sense that the series would want to spend more time with She-Hulk herself, so the reverse of the comics’ situation suits where Jen’s story is currently at.
Superhuman Law Division
The most important aspect of GLK&H in all media is, of course, the fact that the firm has a superhuman law division. While it will likely change over the course of She-Hulk, a difference between the comics and the series is obvious through Jen’s first tour of the firm. In She-Hulk #1 (2004), GLK&H’s superhuman division has been flourishing for some time. Doctor Strange is involved in negotiations while Jen starts her first day. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history with superhumans in society is much shorter than the comics’. She-Hulk seems to be actively moving the live-action world forward, but for the time being, GLK&H’s superhuman law division is relatively empty of superhumans. But Jen’s meeting with Emil Blonsky, aka The Abomination, is already showing the series’ potential to get as absurd as the comics.
Another GLK&H superhuman law division component appears on the page and screen. In Episode 2, Augustus “Pug” Pugliese introduces himself by walking in the door. Pug is a character directly from She-Hulk (2004), and he also introduced himself while walking into the room there too. It’s a minor detail, but nonetheless, something the mediums shared. Pug is another lawyer in Jen’s division at GLK&H, and has been a neighbor and roommate to her in the comics. It has yet to be seen how large of a role Pug will play in She-Hulk, but he becomes a close friend (and one-way love interest) during his comics story.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+.
