She-Hulk’s popularity has earned the character major appearances across different media. Her direct connection to Bruce Banner, The Incredible Hulk, helped make for prominent and entertaining narratives across multiple comic books has kept the Marvel hero in the mainstream. With first looks at Moon-Knight and She-Hulk now online following Disney+ Day, many fans will be able to see her character realized in live-action leading up to her show's release in 2022. This should only add to the character's popularity, as She-Hulk has been breaking the fourth wall and entertaining fans for decades.
This streak for the character has crossed into video games multiple times. While many Marvel fans are used to characters like Spider-Man and The Avengers taking the spotlight in video games, there are plenty of titles that have also incorporated She-Hulk. When compared to other heroes that have made video game appearances, She-Hulk also stands out as she has consistently been a playable character rather than being relegated to cameo appearances.
She-Hulk in Video Games
She-Hulk’s first appearance in video games came with the Fantastic Four game in 1991. This title made She-Hulk playable and put her onto one of the most popular systems on the market, the PlayStation. While 1996's Marvel Super Heroes: In War of the Gems didn’t allow fans to play as She-Hulk like Fantastic Four did, it gave her a cameo appearance through doppelgangers. Following these two titles, She-Hulk was absent from video games for over a decade.
This is likely due to the popularity other Marvel heroes saw at this time in movies and video games. The X-Men franchise was able to dominate the late 1990s and early 2000s with animated shows, live-action movies, and video games, and even now Marvel's Spider-Man shows how much staying power Peter Parker has after half a century. Toward the end of the decade, She-Hulk was able to return to video games as a mini-boss in 2009's Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and as an exclusive playable character in the Nintendo DS version of that game. While the 90s and 2000s didn’t feature She-Hulk a lot, the 2010s kicked off a consistent trend of the character making video game appearances.
While there weren't dedicated appearances to have She-Hulk go toe-to-toe with her classic villain Titania, she wasn’t limited to niche games. The character made appearances in some of the most memorable titles that Marvel fans have played in the last two decades, including the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise as well as Marvel vs. Capcom. In total She-Hulk appeared in19 titles during the 2010s and was playable in 16 of them.
- Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet – 2010 – Playable character
- Marvel Pinball – 2010 – Appears on the Infinity Gauntlet, Civil War, and Women of Power: A-Force tables
- Marvel Super Hero Squad Online – 2011 – Playable character
- Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 – 2011 – Playable character
- Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds – 2011 – Playable character
- Marvel Avenger’s Alliance – 2012 – Playable character
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes – 2013 – Playable character
- Marvel Heroes – 2013 – Playable character
- Marvel Avenger’s Alliance: Tactics – 2014 – Playable character
- Marvel Contest of Champions – 2014 – Playable character
- Marvel: Future Fight – 2015 – Playable character
- Lego Marvel’s Avengers – 2016 – Playable character
- Marvel Avenger’s Academy – 2016 – Playable character
- Marvel Avenger’s Alliance 2 – 2016 – Playable character
- Marvel Puzzle Quest – 2016 – Playable character
- Marvel Tsum Tsum – 2016 – Appears in the Orb Box
- Fortnite – 2017 – Playable with skin unlocked
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 – 2017 – Playable character
- Marvel Strike Force – 2018 – Playable character
Possibly the most striking of these appearances is She-Hulk’s unlockable skin in Fortnite. The battle royale has quickly become one of the most popular video games around, and has had no problem using its success for huge collaborations. Hopefully, She-Hulk will be able to thrive both in and out of exclusive Marvel properties as her fanbase grows when the She-Hulk show releases. If that is the case, She-Hulk fans should be ready to see her appear in even more games in the 2020s, and possibly start making movie appearances in the MCU as well.