First off, thank to
themarysue.com for coming across this. John August and Craig Mazin host
Scriptnotes Podcast, and on last night's broadcast they interviewed writers: Andrea Berloff, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and David Goyer. the discussion was centered on adapting superheroes for film, and this is when Goyer chimed in with some unflattering comments regarding Martian Manhunter and She-Hulk.
Let's first look at his comments about Martian Manhunter, aka J'onn J'onzz. As many of you know, he's the green alien that is part of the Justice League. He conceals his identity on Earth by posing as a Lieutenant Homicide Detective for the Metropolis police department under the identity of John Jones. When Goyer was approached about adapting the character for film he harshly criticized the character, implying that Martian Manhunter was too obscure for the general audience.
“How many people in the audience have heard of Martian Manhunter?” After hearing some light applause and cheers, he added, “How many people that raised their hands have ever been laid?”
Goyer went on to explain:
“Well, he hasn’t been rebooted but he’s a mainstay in the Justice League. He can’t be [frick]ing called the Martian Manhunter because that’s goofy. He can be called Manhunter… The whole deal with Martian Manhunter is he’s an alien living amongst us… So he comes down to Earth and decides, unlike Superman who already exists in the world now, that he’s just going to be a homicide detective… So instead of using super-powers and mind-reading and like, oh, I could figure out if the President’s lying or whatever, he just decides to disguise himself as a human homicide detective. Dare to dream!”
Now, let's get to Goyer's comments on She-Hulk. You can read a transcript of them below.
Craig Mazin: The real name for She-Hulk was Slut-Hulk. That was the whole point. Let’s just make this green chick with enormous boobs. And she’s Hulk strong but not Hulk massive, right? … She’s real lean, stringy…
David S. Goyer: She’s still pretty chunky. She was like Chyna from the WWE.
Mazin: The whole point of She-Hulk was just to appeal sexistly to ten-year-old boys. Worked on me.
Goyer: I have a theory about She-Hulk. Which was created by a man, right? And at the time in particular I think 95% of comic book readers were men and certainly almost all of the comic book writers were men. So the Hulk was this classic male power fantasy. It’s like, most of the people reading comic books were these people like me who were just these little kids getting the shit kicked out of them every day… And so then they created She-Huk, right? Who was still smart… I think She-Hulk is the chick that you could [frick] if you were Hulk, you know what I’m saying? … She-Hulk was the extension of the male power fantasy. So it’s like if I’m going to be this geek who becomes the Hulk then let’s create a giant green porn star that only the Hulk could [frick].
She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema. Her first appearance was in She-Hulk #1 (February 1980). She's Dr. Bruce Banner's cousin and when she's seriously injured a blood transfusion from Bruce infuses her with a milder does of Banner's Hulk-like qualities. She receives Hulk-like strength but is able to keep her wits about her.For a more in-depth read on She-Hulk I would suggest reading
"Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. – Gamma Ray Glamor With She-Hulk: Part 1."
As for his last comment, She-Hulk has had many sexual conquests over the years. She's bedded: Hawkeye, Clay Quartermain, Hercules, Tony Stark, Starfox, Juggernaut, Man-Wolf, and yes, even her cousin The Hulk. Though, that's not canon. In Mark Millar's
Old Man Logan storyline Bruce Banner mates with first cousin and they have lots of inbreed children. That's the only time the subject matter has been approached in the comics. Below is a piece of artwork from 2000's
Incredible Hulk annual. It tells a story in which The Hulk is feeling particularly horny and seeks out She-Hulk. Luckily she rejects his advances.
Thanks to LEVITIKUZ for the heads up.