It’s no secret that ‘She-Hulk‘ has experienced a lot of backlash in the short time it’s been in the public domain. The series’ CGI was heavily criticized when the first trailer dropped. And many fans were disappointed by She-Hulk’s character design. FYI: She-Hulk is the cousin of Bruce Banner – aka the original Hulk. So, it was a surprise to many that She-Hulk was, simply put, so small. Worst of all, it seemed, She-Hulk was a female superhero. And that (apparently) shouldn’t be allowed.
To put it lightly, the release of ‘She-Hulk’ has opened the floodgates for a torrent of misogynistic backlash. The premiere of the series’ first episode saw many Marvel fans flocking to review-bomb the show. Leaving tons of negative reviews in the hopes of harming the series’ popularity and sales. And all because it features a female lead.
At the time of writing, over 36% of all user reviews on the ‘She-Hulk’ IMDB listing are one-star ratings. Making it the lowest-rated MCU show on IMDB. But, this isn’t really a surprise. ‘She-Hulk’ is quite unapologetically female. It concerns itself with gender differences. And shines a light on the struggles women constantly have to face. I mean, one scene even has She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) chanting “men” as she stomps on the ground. It’s pretty clear that some fans aren’t comfortable with a show all about women (and not men). So, cue: some misogynistic review-bombing.
So League of Their Own and She Hulk got review bombed with angry 1* reviews and I wonder how terrified some dudes are of women having any stories that make them the hero rather than the victim/prize. Like, what happened to those guys? It’s ok little man. Women can have stuff too.
— James S.A. Corey (@JamesSACorey) August 20, 2022
Opposition to the Review-Bombing
It is telling that the response to this review-bombing has also been to raise the IMDB rating of ‘She-Hulk’ artificially. 10/10 ratings vie against the bad reviews – currently accounting for 21.8% of all user reviews. There’s an unspoken understanding that female-led superhero productions are already few and far between. And that, when they are made, they’re host to intense backlash and scrutiny. It’s clear that review-bombing poses a threat to female representation. And other fans wish to combat it.
Take ‘Ms. Marvel (2022) as another example. The show was also review-bombed upon release. And even now, stands as the only other MCU series to earn more than 10% of one-star reviews on IMDB. (All the other MCU series tout single-digits). It’s not a coincidence that it’s also a female-led superhero show. Nor that it takes Pakistani-American Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) as its lead. Review-bombing is very much associated with undermining proper female representation.
Conclusions
In this regard, the significance of review-bombing shouldn’t be undermined. It is a direct manifestation of intense bigotry. And, in the case of ‘She-Hulk’ and other female superhero productions, some potent misogyny. For the MCU, it indicates the ongoing issues that need to be dealt with. The public’s response to ‘She-Hulk’ proves that there is still much to overcome to ensure women can have leading roles on-screen without being the subject of intense and damaging scrutiny.
