She-Hulk Review: "Mean, Green, and Straight Poured Into These Jeans"

My excitement for Episode 5 began seconds after Episode 4 ended, because I knew we would see Titania back again. We only received a brief glimpse of the superhuman villainess in the first episode, when she invaded the courtroom only to be taken down by She-Hulk, with the fight resulting in Jen Walters' fame and rise in stock. However, as the final moments of Episode 4 saw, Titania decided to deliver a bit of a blow to She-Hulk's popularity--in the form of a trademarking lawsuit.

Regarding this episode, we don't have to wait too long to see any glimpse of Titania, as her product line "She-Hulk by Titania," is all over TV, and all over billboards. Yikes. We later see Jen and Nikki confront Titania, only for Titania to repeat her statement that she owned the "She-Hulk" name...which she has plastered on every little thing she's created. Yikes again. Now, as we know, Jen wasn't really crazy about being called She-Hulk, as Nikki was quick to remind her friend, but this was a matter of principle for Jen.

Jen ends up being represented by fellow firm lawyer Mallory Book, which is quite awkward for both women. The trial sees Titania maintain her belief that she owns the She-Hulk name, and her lawyer plays video of Jen voicing her antipathy towards being called She-Hulk, attempting to use the material as evidence that Jen never wanted the name in the first place. While it may be true, Mallory plays Jen's news interview where she embraced the name, but that was not enough. They needed more than that. What was also needed was a new wardrobe, made of fabric that can shrink and expand as Jen does.

Thanks to Nikki, as well as Luke Jacobson (the designer for superheroes), the suit is being prepared; however, their return to the firm sees Jen encounter Todd--one of her blind dates from Episode 4. Unfortunately for Jen, the dates were going to be used to prove her case, and as Jen sits mortified, all of the guys who "dated" Jen in the previous episode appeared as character witnesses, and yes, that included Arthur--the oncologist who ended up consummating their date. Jen wins her case, but as Titania ominously reminds her, this is far from over. We see Jen visit Luke again, and after handing the suit to Jen, Luke takes a package and places it away from possible prying eyes. Inside the package: Daredevil's cowl!

I was so, so happy to see Titania take the spotlight in this episode. After watching Jameela Jamil's debut in Episode 1, I did some homework on Titania, because I wasn't into the superhero comics as a kid. Titania's real name is Mary McPheeran, and she was born premature in a suburb in Denver. She was mocked a lot for her small and scrawny stature, and her only friend was Marsha Rosenberg, who noticed some similarities between Mary and Spider-Woman. Mary explains the similarities by telling Marsha that she's Spider-Woman (a clear lie), but the rumor results in Mary being popular--only to become a pariah when she's exposed. Both girls ended up found by Doctor Doom and received superhuman powers, and as a result of this, Mary officially turned heel and became the supervillainess Titania, while Marsha became fellow supervillainess Volcana.

Obviously, Titania's main foe was She-Hulk, and while she has been on the side of evil many times, we have seen stories where she attempts to reform. What I learned about Mary/Titania weeks ago stayed with me, and as I watch this live action version of the villainess, it's clear that--personality-wise--it stays true to what the character was like prior to her transformation. Mary, as herself, was quite insecure, and we see that with Jamil's version. As Titania, she's cocky, arrogant, and feels she's #1, and we see that with Jamil's version as well. Jamil was the perfect choice to play Titania; I absolutely loved her performance in this episode, and I can't wait to see more of her as this season progresses.

Episode 5, "Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans," was released on Disney+ on September 15, 2022. This was the midpoint episode, and for the first time in the series, we received no mid-credits scene. The bottom four episodes should be quite interesting, especially with the Daredevil mention, and of course, we have to know what Titania is planning next.

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