Issue 12- My Hero: She-Hulk

So I’ve gone over a lot of character I love who’ve been exposed to the world through film, television, or Netflix, but there’s always more that haven't yet appeared outside of their comic book roots. With My Hero, I’ll be doing a retrospective on some of my favorite characters who have yet to appear on the big screen, at least in any major capacity.

And thus today my dear readers, I introduce you to Jennifer Walters, The Sensation She-Hulk! The original Marvel 4th wall Breaker!

Why? The first story-line of Sensational was one of the first omnibus' I read when I was young, and while there may have been problematic elements, there always are, Jen’s second series has always stuck with me. Really, one of the more feminist of heroines, she encompassed everything you wanted to see from a hero and I knew her before I was ever properly introduced to Wonder Woman. So let’s get going shall we?

(And she did!)

Savage Origins?

So everyone knows the story of Bruce Banner. Guy with anger issues becomes a giant green monster, a play on the whole Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale right? Well for those of you too young to remember, Bruce had a super popular late 70’s television show. It was corny, cheesy, and they changed Bruce’s name to David. Possibly because it sounded too gay according to Stan Lee but the series producers denied it.

Still, at the time Marvel realized that with the popularity of the show, the creators might try to take the initiative and create a female spin off like they did with The Bionic Woman. In order to get ahead of the curve, Stan Lee created his last hero, at the time, She-Hulk.

After working only on the first issue, The Savage She-Hulk, Stan left and David Kraft took over. Mike Vosburg provided the art

(And thus continues all Hulk’s war on conventional clothing sizes!)

It’s interesting to note that both Kraft and Vosburg never drew her to be conventionally attractive in either form, with Walter’s being a bit mousey and She-Hulk being much more muscular than the classic heroine at the time.

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law?

While there’s so much history with the jade amazon, I want to focus on two things, her origin and her 1989 series, The Sensational She-Hulk.

So who is Jennifer Walters? Jenny starts off as a rising star of lawyer, and unfortunately Bruce’s cousin. When Banner decides he needs help he decides to go to family, right during a very intense trial of a mob boss so guess who starts shooting our future heroine? GIRL SCOUTS!

Naa, the goons come in and actually put a bullet through Ms. Walters and Bruce decides that it would be more prudent to get her to safety then to Hulk out. The hospital is out of the question but being in a hurry, Bruce sees that his cousin’s losing a lot of blood so remembering their blood types just so happen to match, gives her a quick transfusion.

When he is able to take her to the hospital he quickly leaves fearing for her safety, not really thinking that the guys who tried to kill her would come back. That’s ok, because once they do, they're in for a big, green surprise.

(And it’s not hospital Jello!)

And thus, She-Hulk is born! While smarter than the Hulk at first, able to speak in complete sentences, she is later seen to keep her complete intellect and eventually stays big and green almost full time, especially after she takes another transfusion of Hulk blood.

Unlike her cousin, she enjoys the ride. Strong, smart, and sensational, Jen’s the complete package. She quickly makes a name for herself joining both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four before returning to her own series.

Breaking Down the Wall

Before there was Deadpool, there was Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne. This was the series that made me fall in love with the big green lawyer.

Just take a look at that cover, the one at the beginning of the article? That set the tone for the entire series. The cover’s not just for fun, here Jen is not only smart, but knows she’s in a comic. Even more, she uses this to her advantage multiple times. Not only does she uses panels to quick change outfits for work, but she learns from one of the best characters in the series a cheat, fast traveling by walking between scenes!

(And she’ll even threaten her author!)

This is actually a series that I do plan on doing a small retrospective on, at least the first ten issues so I don’t want to spoil too much. Still I wanted to give you a nice, well rounded idea of one of the biggest heroines of the Marvel universe. Sure, she’s had plenty of other adventures after this series, but I always will have a special place in my heart for her second biggest outing.

Next issue, we’re headed back to DC with the first story-line of The Sandman. Excelsior!