Creation Story
She-Hulk’s origin is unusual among major Marvel characters. The character was created in response to a specific legal concern: Marvel’s executives worried in 1979 that CBS or Universal Studios, which were producing the Incredible Hulk TV series with Bill Bixby, might independently create a “female Hulk” character for the show and claim trademark rights. Stan Lee was instructed to pre-empt the possibility by creating Marvel’s own female-Hulk character quickly.
The Savage She-Hulk #1 (February 1980) is the result. Lee wrote the debut script himself, one of his few post-1960s character creations. John Buscema pencilled. The story: Bruce Banner’s lawyer cousin Jennifer Walters is shot by mobsters. Bruce, fearing she will die, gives her a blood transfusion; the gamma-irradiated blood transfers Hulk properties to Jennifer. She transforms into She-Hulk and unlike Bruce retains her intelligence, personality, and professional identity.
The Savage She-Hulk ran 25 issues through 1982. The book was an editorial success in securing the trademark but was not a commercial breakout; the Lee-era writing was workmanlike and the character did not find her distinctive voice until later.
The Byrne era
The Sensational She-Hulk #1 (May 1989) is the She-Hulk book that matters. John Byrne wrote and pencilled. The run ran 60 issues through 1994 and pioneered what is now called fourth-wall-breaking in superhero comics. Byrne had Jennifer speak directly to readers, comment on the comic’s page layouts (“this panel is really small”), acknowledge the editorial process (“I know I’m behind schedule this month”), and treat the comic-book medium as an explicit narrative element.
The approach was novel. Marvel had not attempted sustained meta-comics before, and the Byrne run’s fourth-wall-breaking predates Deadpool’s by several years. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, The Adventures of Captain Ultra, and virtually every subsequent Marvel meta-comic references or descends from Byrne’s She-Hulk.
The Slott relaunch and MCU
Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo’s She-Hulk #1 (2004) relaunched the character with a focus on Jennifer’s legal career at a law firm specializing in superhuman cases. The run is widely regarded as one of the best modern She-Hulk treatments and sets up the legal-procedural framing that the 2022 MCU series would adopt.
Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+ (2022) adapted both the Byrne fourth-wall-breaking and the Slott legal framework. The show leaned into the meta-comics humor and gave the character her most substantial mass-market visibility.
Collector context
The Savage She-Hulk #1 is the She-Hulk Copper Age key. High-grade CGC 9.8 copies have crossed $2,000 at auction. The book’s value accelerated significantly with the 2022 Maslany series.
Secondary keys: The Sensational She-Hulk #1 (1989) is the Byrne-era launch and the most-cited reference for modern She-Hulk readers. She-Hulk #1 (2004) is the Slott relaunch.
