Savage She-Hulk #2 — Nick Peron

Feb 12

Feb 12 Savage She-Hulk #2

Deathrace!!

IMG 2020 20 02 13 02 27 29 k9j13.png — Credits

Jill drops off her friend Jennifer Walters at the courthouse directly after leaving the hospital. She tells Jennifer that she is taking devotion to duty too far and that she should get some rest and relaxation. Privately, Jill is worried that Jennifer seems colder and more distant since she got shot. Jill gives Jennifer some cheerful words before she enters the courthouse. "You really do believe in me, don't you Jill?" "With all my heart and soul, Jenny!"

Once Jill drives away, Jennifer broods over what has happened to her the past few days... the assassination attempt on her life which was only failed when her cousin "Doc" Bruce Banner gave her a life-saving transfusion of his own blood. This blood later transformed her into a savage "She-Hulk" when the thugs who tried to kill her came back to the hospital. Jennifer decided to devote her strength as the She-Hulk to righting the wrongs that Jen Walters can't handle---but she still doesn't feel ready to confide in her closest friend, Jill.

Inside the courtroom, Jen moves that the charges against her client Lou Monkton be dismissed in lieu of the confession that the She-Hulk got from the three thugs who tried to kill Jen Walters. Assistant District Attorney "Buck" Bukowski objects, pointing out, correctly, that the confessions were made under duress. The judge agrees and the trial will go on as scheduled, without bail for Monkton.

Buck needles Jen outside of court, comparing their legal maneuvers to a football game. "Bukowski 7 Walters 0...in the first quarter!" Jennifer is more than a little annoyed at Buck's arrogance and chauvinism, and her mood isn't helped where her back injury (from the gunshot) is aggravated again.

Jill picks up Jennifer in her car. Jen quickly takes some tranquilizers to ease the pain, and perhaps prevent another transformation into the She-Hulk. Jill thinks she should go back to the hospital, but Jen tells her to drive to the jailhouse. She thinks that if the She-Hulk's "stick" wouldn't work in court, perhaps a "carrot" would do a better job. Jennifer offers to drop charges against the thugs who tried to kill her if they agree to turn state's evidence against their boss, gangster Nick Trask. Two of the hoods eagerly agree, but the third refuses, saying Trask will find a way to kill them all.

Outside the jail, Jill asks Jennifer if she wants to go home, but she has one more stop to make... she wants to see her father, Los Angeles County Sheriff Morris Walters. Jill envies Jen's energy and determination, saying that if she had only half the drive that Jennifer possessed, she would be a magazine editor instead of a mere writer.

Jennifer's visit with her father is less than cordial. He think she's nuts for wanting to visit Nick Trask after he killed her mother and tried to do the same to her. But against his better judgment, he gives her the address of a warehouse on Ventura Boulevard. Inside, Jennifer calmly tells Trask that she is going to put him behind bars for good. Trask isn't worried in the slightest, and makes veiled threats against Jennifer by feeding his pet cobra a live mouse. Jennifer foolishly reveals that she has an insurance policy, which is Trask's henchmen about to testify against him. Trask notes that in surviving, Jennifer resembles her father, but she may come to resemble her late mother if she persists in her efforts.

Finally, Jennifer returns home after a hard day's work. Her neighbors, the Ridges invite both Jennifer and Jill to an outdoor barbecue. This is the same house where Jennifer received the blood transfusion that turned her into the She-Hulk. Dr. Ridge comes out to greet the girls, and his son, Danny "Zapper" Ridge sets up the barbecue. Unbeknownst to the happy gathering, two of Trask's goons watch silently, one of them preparing to sabotage Jen's car.

No sooner does the barbecue begin than the phone rings. Mrs. Ridge says that the D.A. office has some important papers for Jennifer to pick up. Jill offers to get them for Jennifer, and since she has the car keys, Jen is in no position to argue. Zapper points out to Jen that it's unusual for the District Attorney's office to call for Jennifer at his house instead of hers. Jen realizes it's a trap and runs to stop Jill. Too late, Jill has already driven off, and Jen recognizes in another car the thugs she saw at Trask's warehouse earlier that day. She runs after Jill's car, but her back flares up again and she collapses by the mailbox. Zapper runs up to help, as Jen struggles to pull herself to her feet. Her heart pounds madly in her ears as she realizes that Jill's life hangs in the balance. Just as Zapper reaches Jennifer, she transforms into the She-Hulk and hurls him away before he realizes what has happened. She-Hulk runs after Jill, determined to save her friend.

Meanwhile, Buck is waiting in a long gas line caused by the recent Iran hostage crisis, when he sees Jen's car race past him followed by the She-Hulk. He jumps to the conclusion that Jennifer is racing as fast as she can trying to escape the She-Hulk, who is trying to kill her. He doesn't realize that it is Jill behind the wheel of Jen's car, the brakes are out, and the accelerator is stuck on full throttle. He also doesn't realize that Jennifer is the She-Hulk. Buck pulls out of line and chases after the two women.

At Trask's Ventura Boulevard warehouse, a truck driver has delivered a shipment of stolen goods and demands $50,000 from Trask's henchmen. Angelo is ready to pay off the truck driver with a bullet when Jill's car races around the corner. The men scatter away, giving the truck driver a chance to escape, but Jill's car is about to collide with the truck. Quickly, the She-Hulk hurls a VW bug at the truck, knocking it away. As the She-Hulk races by, she glimpses an orange hand protruding from a broken crate out of the corner of her eye. Trask comes out to observe what has happened and is curious as to who was the being chasing what he thinks is Jen Walters. When his henchmen tell him about the She-Hulk, Trask gets an idea. "Well, don't worry. Thanks to the She-Hulk, [the truck driver] won't live long!"

Getting back to the chase, things have gone from bad to worse for Jill. She's veered the wrong way up an exit ramp toward oncoming rush-hour traffic. She-Hulk grabs a light pole and uses it to vault onto the overpass ahead of Jill. She grabs a bus and uses it to blockade the traffic. Now the way is clear for the She-Hulk to stop Jill's car. Seeing the She-Hulk for the first time, crouched to stop her car, Jill finally suspects the truth, for why would the She-Hulk want to save her life, unless she really was... her friend Jenny?

Unfortunately, She-Hulk was not the only one trying to save somebody's life. Just as she is about to catch Jill's car, Buck races up the entry ramp and knocks her away. Jill's car bounces off the bus, veers over the overpass, and bursts into flames when it hits a gas tanker. She-Hulk jumps down to the car's wreckage, but it is already too late. By the time she opens the door, Jill is already dead. Overhead, Buck tells everybody that it was the She-Hulk who chased down "Jennifer" in cold blood and killed her. She-Hulk angrily reacts to Buck's accusation by pounding her fists on the overpass' concrete pilings, but is interrupted by the police. Realizing that fighting the police would not bring her friend back, She-Hulk sadly runs away.

Later, after she has changed back to human form, Jen Walters returns to the courthouse to finish what she has started. The papers have already proclaimed her death, and Buck is shocked to discover that Jen is really alive. But Jen hasn't come to the courthouse to console Buck, but to exonerate her client. With the sworn statements of Trask's henchmen as evidence, the judge agrees to free Monkton. "Walters 14, Bukowski 7", she smugly retorts. The judge, Buck, and Lou agree to keep the fact that Jennifer is really alive a secret to protect her from Nick Trask.

But when she is alone, Jennifer bitterly remembers her promise that "whatever Jennifer Walters can't handle, the She-Hulk will do." Will she really ever learn to live with being the Savage She-Hulk?