This Rumour of Revolution!

After years as a fugitive, leftist underground revolutionary leader Hildy Dawes is about to surrender to authorities at the Federal District Courthouse in Manhattan. As she emerges from a car, accompanied by attorney Jennifer Walters, Peter Parker photographs her for the Daily Bugle. Peter recalls that when he was in high school, she made headlines as a fanatic anti-government activist, but years in hiding have now tempered her striking beauty with weariness. As she strides up the stairs, Foggy Nelson comments to Matt Murdock near the courthouse door that things could become dangerous. Violence is a way of life for such people, he says. Matt replies that he will take a taxi home—but he does not tell Foggy that he intends to change into his Daredevil costume and go after the Kingpin. Jennifer Walters, secretly the She-Hulk, recalls how, a short time ago, she received a letter from Dawes, who had heard about her handling of the "Michael Morbius case." Hildy believed Jennifer was the right attorney for her, so she invited her to a secret meeting at a farmhouse outside Los Angeles, where she explained that she was tired of running and hiding from the police. She broke down in tears, saying that she realized it was wrong to use violence and terrorism to advance her causes, noble and idealistic though they were. She was ready to pay her debt to society, and then, after serving her time in prison, to work for social change by peaceful means.

So Jennifer telephoned District Attorney Buck Bukowski and obtained his agreement to postpone the Abel murder trial (another case she was involved in), and the next day she arranged for Hildy to surrender in New York City, where the charges were first filed against her. Arrangements were made for federal marshals to take her into custody at the courthouse, and soon she and Jennifer were aboard an airliner bound for the East Coast. Jennifer explains that she is not licensed to practice in New York State and recommends that Hildy retain the law firm of Nelson and Murdock to defend her. Just as the women approach a guard, a large, armored flying machine thunders down from the sky and opens fire with a powerful blaster. The crowd scatters and Jennifer pushes the activist out of the way. Hildy thinks some of her enemies are seeking revenge, but Jennifer replies that they are more likely trying to kidnap her. There are easier ways to kill her, she says. A hundred yards away, Peter Parker ducks into an alley, removes his shoes, climbs up to a roof, and takes off his street clothes. As Spider-Man sets up his camera, the flying tank lands and disgorges a group of female soldiers led by the Man-Killer. The militant feminist martial artists disarm the police, shouting that they have come to rescue Hildy Dawes- The Man-Killer declares that she and her Women Warriors will demolish the police and their "sexist society." Then Spider-Man web-swings down into the melee. The Man-Killer's powered exoskeleton has been improved and strengthened, and after a brief skirmish, she leaves him lying stunned beside the flying tank. He quickly plants a spider-tracer on the underside of the vehicle and then ducks a flying disc that she throws at him.

As Spider-Man battles the Man-Killer, Jennifer finds a safe place for Hildy, relieved that she need not become the She-Hulk. Then the Man-Killer hurls a van at Spider-Man. He dodges it easily, but when he leaps onto a parked car, his spider-sense tingles a warning, and he falls through its rusty roof and is knocked unconscious. Annoyed that Spider-Man's apparent clowning has cost him the battle, Jennifer suddenly hears Hildy shout and turns to see the Women Warriors making off with her. Unwilling to change into the She-Hulk and reveal her secret identity, she tries to help, but she is clouted in the head with a rifle butt. Then the Man-Killer and, her henchwomen carry Hildy into the aerial tank and depart. Angry at himself for his carelessness, Spider-Man-clambers out of the automobile and finds former Daily Globe cameraman Lance Bannon gleefully taking pictures of him. Behind Bannon is Jennifer, outraged that Spider-Man failed to stop the Man-Killer because he did not take the battle seriously enough. Chagrined at the rebuke, Spider-Man web-swings away, promising to find the activist. Jennifer also vows to herself to find her—but she will have to do it as the She-Hulk. Many blocks to the west, in a warehouse that serves as the Man-Killer's headquarters, the Man-Killer tells Hildy that she intends to use her to further her "dreams of revolution." Hildy protests that she knows nothing of the Man-Killer, and the Man-Killer replies that she does not just want to change the male-dominated system, she wants to obliterate it. She punctuates her comments by smashing a crate to pieces and then shows Hildy her exoskeleton, which she says she was forced to wear after men crippled her. Thousands will join her cause when they learn that Hildy Dawes herself supports it, says the Man-Killer.

Later that afternoon, Peter Parker enters the Dairy Bugle offices and greets Gloria Grant. J. Jonah Jameson introduces Peter to Lance Bannon, from whom he has just purchased pictures of Spider-Man Making a fool of himself at the courthouse. Peter wants to sell Jameson pictures of her but Jameson replies that everyone in town has pictures of her. He has already bought some from Bannon, he continues, and unless Peter can get him some exclusives, he should "get lost." Then Jameson takes Bannon away to instruct him how to photograph him when he receives the Good Citizenship Award at the New York Civics and Racquet Club banquet that evening. Needless to say, Peter takes a dim view of Bannon's competition. At the library across town, Jennifer Walters researches local militant feminist organizations with ties to the Man-Killer, hoping to discover where Hildy Dawes might have been taken. At the same time at the warehouse, the Man-Killer shows Hildy a truck wired up to explode like an incendiary bomb. Then the Man-Killer orders some of her henchwomen, a group called Task Force Alpha, to start the engine, and the truck, carrying the Man-Killer and her unwilling accomplice, leaves the warehouse. Also at the same time, Spider-Man makes preparations at his Chelsea apartment to track down the Man-Killer, even though he is still sore from the battle earlier that morning. Jennifer arrives at the warehouse by taxi. It is the eighth place she has checked, and when she sees the Man-Killer's troops working out inside, she knows that her search is over.

Straining tremendously, she slowly and painfully transforms into the She-Hulk, and then she smashes through the warehouse wall and attacks. Although the terrorists are armed with electromagnetic dischargers, she defeats them easily and starts trying to force them to tell where the Man-Killer has taken Hildy Dawes. Just then, Spider-Man arrives outside the building, having tracked the spider-tracer attached to the flying tank. When he sees the hole in the wall, he enters and discovers the She-Hulk wrapping-up•the Women Warriors with a steel bar. Not knowing who•she is, he tries to web her up, but much to his surprise she simply pulls him off the wall by his webbing, whirls him around, and heaves him into a pile of crates. He quickly recovers and covers her with a web-net, but she rips it to shreds and leaps at him. He ducks and punches her in the jaw, finding out to his amazement that she is far stronger than he imagined. Then she tears up the floor and tries to bury him, but he brings a wall of boxes down on her. By this time, the Man-Killer and Task Force Alpha have set up the exploding truck at the hotel where the Civics and Racquet Club is meeting. The Man-Killer says that with one stroke they will eliminate the city's most prominent male leaders. A few women may die as well, but they will simply be martyrs to the cause. Hildy tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her. Back at the warehouse, Spider-Man finally realizes that he and the She-Hulk are both after the Man-Killer, but persuading her that they are on the same side will be difficult. He soon manages to web her feet to the floor long enough to apologize for attacking her. Unused to being treated with respect, she hesitates, and then she agrees to work with him.

As she extracts herself from the webbing, she says that the Man-Killer's henchwomen told her everything, and she and Spider-Man climb into the aerial tank. With her passably piloting the unfamiliar vehicle, they take off for the hotel. J. Jonah Jameson and Lance Bannon enter the hotel ballroom, and the publisher is taken to a place of honor on the stage. Shortly after, Spider-Man and the She-Hulk arrive in front of the hotel, and the Man-Killer sees them as they enter the building. Spider-Man's spider-sense starts to buzz and he warns his companion to duck a volley of flying discs that whizzes overhead. Then the She-Hulk battles the Man-Killer while Spider-Man fights her henchwomen. The Man-Killer's•,powered exoskeleton makes her nearly a match for the She-Hulk, but Spider-Man has no trouble dodging the terrorists' weapons. Meanwhile, in the Grand Ballroom, Jameson receives his award, unaware of the battle taking place outside. Then, as he starts his acceptance speech Spider-Man, the She-Hulk, the Man-Killer, and the Women Warriors all burst through the doors. As club members flee, Hildy Dawes runs into the room, ashamed that as a former activist she herself was once responsible for such panic. Following his spider-sense, Spider-Man determines that the bomb-truck is somewhere under the ball-room floor. The She-Hulk smashes through into the hotel's underground garage, and Spider-Man quickly finds the vehicle. Working fast, the She-Hulk carries the truck out of the garage and hurls it into the East River, where it harmlessly explodes. Back at the hotel, the Man-Killer shatters the wall into a utility tunnel to escape, but Hildy grabs a bundle of severed high-tension wires and electrocutes both herself and the Man-Kilter. Spider-Man and the She-Hulk can only stand in shocked silence when they return.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Man-Killer, J. Jonah Jameson, Lance Bannon, Glory Grant, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Buck Bukowski

Continuity Notes

• Matt Murdock is preoccupied with Daredevil's impending clash with the Kingpin, that happened in Daredevil #172.

• Man-Killer recalls her last clash with Spider-Man, that was in Marvel Team-Up #8.

• Although it appears that the Man-Killer dies at the end of this story, she turns up alive again in Thunderbolts #3.