Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episodes 1-4.Most characters with superpowers are considered heroes, villains, or gods. But when one is a female superhero, you end up in a weird gray (or green) area where your every action is questioned, your skills are belittled, and your relationships scrutinized. This is exactly what Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), aka She-Hulk, encounters in the first four episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

The cousin of scientist and Avenger Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Jennifer is a regular person who finds herself in an extraordinary position. After an accident, Bruce’s blood infects Jen, and she turns into She-Hulk. It’s not a persona and existence Jen asked for, but she takes She-Hulk into her stride, with a little help from Bruce. But unlike her cousin who struggled with his alternate Hulk personality for over a decade, Jen naturally handles the changing emotional states that trigger She-Hulk. As a woman who has had to deal with people’s opinions about her emotions her entire life, Jen can’t help but be a better Hulk.

She-Hulk Faces the Everyday Struggles of a Woman on Top of Being a Hulk

Jen describing the daily struggles of being a woman resonates with so many people because it's an often unspoken and unacknowledged part of women's lives. She has to regulate her emotions, especially her anger and fear, despite facing men and situations that elicit these emotions the most. This is a rare instance where telling is better than showing. Jen talking about these things she's experienced instead of the writers making her go through them alleviates the chances of gratuitous gendered violence upon a female protagonist.

While accepting her big, green persona is one thing, being a Hulk is completely different. Jen wants to live her life as though nothing has changed, but when she is forced to reveal her big green alter ego to the world, it completely upends her life, in ways that male heroes rarely have to deal with.

While Hulk was considered a danger because he was literally destroying everything in his path, Jen ends up getting fired from her job even though She-Hulk saved all the jurors from being squashed during an attack by superpowered influencer Titania (Jameela Jamil). Apparently, no good deed goes unpunished if you’re a woman saving the day.

But that’s not all. Jen can’t even get hired in her field because her alter-ego is too high-profile. Did Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) lose contracts when he revealed himself to be Iron Man? Of course, he didn’t! This is Jen’s career on the line, the one she’s worked so hard for and gone into debt for. The sheer injustice of seeing these double standards apply to a capable character like Jen Walters is a reminder of the uphill battle women and other non-cisgendered folks face in the real world.

RELATED: 'She-Hulk': Most Cinematic Jennifer Walters Storylines in the Comics

She-Hulk Faces Double Standards That the Male Superheroes Never Had To

After countless rejections, Jen is offered a job by Holden Holliway (Steve Coulter) and she takes it on the spot because there are literally no other opportunities available to her. But there’s a catch. Jen discovers that the law firm, GLK&H, wants She-Hulk to represent them, not Jen. She isn’t even allowed to be her human self within the walls of the office. Talk about not being seen as a person. It’s almost as if Jen is only seen as worthy because she’s She-Hulk, not because she’s an accomplished attorney.

But even as She-Hulk, Jen has to face double standards that Bruce, Tony, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), or Thor (Chris Hemsworth) have never had to. First, she’s named “She-Hulk” on the spot by some random person on the news, and the name sticks. She couldn’t even get her own superhero name, it had to be derivative.

Then, She-Hulk’s first case is a controversial one—Emil Blonsky/The Abomination (Tim Roth) caused untold damage and destruction back in The Incredible Hulk, and he almost killed her cousin Bruce in the process. The plus side of trying this case is that Jen gets to be her human self in the super-max prison and show off her amazing lawyerly skills. The negative is that the media immediately starts insinuating that She-Hulk has taken on this case because of some romantic goings-on between her and The Abomination. It doesn’t help that Emil has cultivated a fan club of women who are practically throwing themselves and their money at him. To the media, Jen and the fans are the same even though Jen is just trying to do her job.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s no similar instance of such blatant disregard for a male superhero’s skills. None of the male heroes have been romantically linked to a villain, whether they were defending them or fighting them. The media in She-Hulk question the hero and attempt to take away She-Hulk’s agency when they report on her activities.

As a Woman, Jennifer Walters is Questioned and Undermined

The moment She-Hulk appears on the scene as a superhero attorney, there’s speculation about whether she’s good at her job, despite her excellent credentials as Jennifer Walters. Though Tony Stark and Steve Rogers privately questioned each other’s abilities, in the public eye, most of these heroes are seen as flawless. This particular issue of public credibility has not been addressed in the MCU, the Arrowverse tackled it from time to time. Kara Danvers/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) faced similar questions about her abilities, despite repeatedly saving her city and the world. Nobody ever questioned Supergirl’s cousin, Clark Kent/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), or her friend, Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin).

And this attitude goes beyond the workplace, it seeps into Jen’s personal life. Jennifer’s own family refuses to acknowledge her achievements, concentrating instead on her looks and singledom. Jen’s less-accomplished male cousin gets the plaudits instead. So, it’s not just a superhero problem.

Jen’s quest for romance is just as disastrous. Echoing millions of women’s nightmarish experiences with online dating, when Jen gets to go on dates, the men are either self-absorbed, disinterested, or just don’t want to listen to her. One wonders what they’re putting in their profiles and how their conduct themselves in DMs that they even get to the dating stage.

It gets infinitely worse when Jen decides to create a profile for She-Hulk, with much prompting from her best mate, paralegal Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga). She-Hulk gets tons more matches than Jen does, but there’s an obvious fetishization that is instantly off-putting. When She-Hulk matches with a man who is interested in her personality, She-Hulk ends up having a great date, and a wonderful night, despite being interrupted by Wong (Benedict Wong) to stop extradimensional demonic beings. That is, until the morning after when Jen returns to her human self, her handsome date is suddenly so uninterested in her, that he practically runs away. So, he fetishized She-Hulk anyway, despite being nice about it.

'She-Hulk' Takes on Male Entitlement With Comedy

She-Hulk tackles male entitlement through a humorous storyline featuring none other than singer and Anime megafan, Megan Thee Stallion. Jen’s former colleague, Dennis Bukowski (Drew Matthews) comes to Jen’s firm, claiming he’s been robbed and wants to sue his paramour— Megan Thee Stallion. It’s clear from the opening scene of the She-Hulk premiere that Dennis is a narcissistic, privileged little man who has no regard for women. He constantly tries to steal Jen’s thunder inside and outside the court. It comes as no surprise to Jen that Dennis genuinely believes that international megastar Megan Thee Stallion went out on a date with him and stole his money. She-Hulk wastes no time in mocking Dennis and quite literally has She-Hulk unable to stop herself from guffawing out loud at Dennis’ unearned sense of male entitlement.

Of course, it turns out that Megan Thee Stallion had nothing to do with Dennis—he was fooled by an Asgardian shapeshifter. But the temerity of the man to think he, of all people, deserved the attention of someone so high-profile boggles the mind. The joy of watching Jen take the stand on the behest of Dennis's defense lawyer Augustus “Pug” Pugliese (Josh Segarra) and absolutely rip Dennis’ ego to shreds was cathartic. Hopefully, as She-Hulk progresses, Dennis will learn that the universe doesn’t revolve around him. But we won’t hold our breath.

The show tries to turn the tables on the sexualization of female characters with Jen harping on about Captain America’s sex life. She also has a photo of her derriere as her wallpaper. But the show doesn’t lean too heavily into Jen’s obvious crush on Cap, though it’s a welcome change from how early MCU films treated their female characters.

But She-Hulk doesn’t just portray instances of sexism—the show also subverts sexist tropes. This is most obvious in the character of Madisynn (Patty Guggenheim). In most other shows, Madisynn would be positioned in opposition to Jen and She-Hulk. Incompetent where Jen is professional. Flippant as opposed to Jen’s poise. Immature and silly whereas Jen is experienced and knowledgeable. Yes, Madisynn is comic relief but rather than just being another airhead, Madisynn arrives in Episode 4 as a quintessential ditzy millennial and ends up actively helping Wong and She-Hulk in his case against a rogue sorcerer. Plus, despite her propensity for sharing spoilers, Madisynn becomes fast friends with Wong — who can be curmudgeonly at the best of times — over their shared love of pop culture. The portrayal of Madisynn is a refreshing look for this character archetype and illustrates how looks can be deceiving. If only the reporters and people like Dennis would take note.

Women and femme people have varied experiences in the world, but they are so often held to an almost impossible standard that men, especially cis men, don’t have to deal with. Within the first four episodes, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law goes all out to reflect how women navigate the world and overcome the many unnecessary obstacles placed in their way. The MCU has been hinting at exploring this aspect of its heroes more, in Captain Marvel, in Black Widow, in WandaVision as well as in Ms Marvel. Now we’re seeing the franchise expand its understanding of the female experience in She-Hulk. Better late than never.