Savage She-Hulk #6 — Nick Peron

Feb 12

Feb 12 Savage She-Hulk #6

Enter: The Invincible Iron Man

IMG 2020 20 02 13 02 12 55 tmps1.png — Credits

Tony Stark is flying off to Los Angeles in his Iron Man armor. He hasn't had much time to make a trip to the West Coast, but this isn't a business trip or a holiday. A couple of days ago in New York Stark was visited by the elderly wife of Jake Fox, the truck driver who was killed by that stolen robot Trask used against She-Hulk. She hasn't heard from Jake since his last job for Stark Enterprises, and nobody will tell her what happened. Tony Stark promises to look in on it and says he will send his personal bodyguard Iron Man to get answers. He doesn't tell her that he really is Iron Man, as Tony kept his superhero identity a closely guarded secret.

The first place Iron Man checks out when he arrives in L.A. is the county courthouse to see if they have any leads on Jake's whereabouts. As he steps into Sheriff Morris Walters' office, Iron Man finds the sheriff is not in a good mood. He doesn't particularly like super-heroes, even if their activities are legal. Walters mentions that his hands are tied trying to deal with the She-Hulk which surprises Iron Man since he had not heard of a female Hulk before. He shows Iron Man the picture of She-Hulk holding Jake's corpse and Iron Man recognizes it instantly. Now this becomes Iron Man's problem since he knows Jake's widow will want to make sure that her husband's killer receives justice.

Iron Man is interrupted by the arrival of Jennifer Walters, the sheriff's daughter. He thinks he has arrived to put pressure her father into getting her to drop the investigation into Stark Enterprises for the technology that was found in mobster Nick Trask's warehouse. Jennifer tells Iron Man that she can take the heat and that she specifically asked to be appointed special prosecutor. She hands Iron Man a subpoena and is about to give him another earful. It's clear that she has her father's temper running through her veins. Of course, she has something else running through her veins as well. Jennifer suddenly becomes quiet and she begins to tremble and sweat in obvious distress. Her father asks if Jen is alright, and she says she's fine. The truth is that her little outburst has begun to trigger her change into the She-Hulk. Jen tries to control it, but runs out of the office once she realizes it can't be stopped. She nearly collides with Buck Bukowski on the way out, who thinks she just can't cut it as a prosecutor because she's a woman.

Outside the courthouse, Jennifer runs out where she completes her metamorphosis into the She-Hulk in full view of passersby. Their panicked shouts attract the attention of both the Sheriff and Iron Man. Running into the street, the She-Hulk is hit by a car but uninjured. Enraged, she throws it against the sheriff's squad car to teach the driver a lesson. Sheriff Walters shoots at the She-Hulk from his office window and Iron Man flies out. Thinking she is like her cousin the Hulk, Iron ManI flies directly towards her at top speed. She-Hulk sidesteps Iron Man at the last minute, and he crashes through a brick wall. He responds with a blast from his repulsor rays that is strong enough to knock her across the street. Grabbing a streetlamp pole, the She-Hulk swings herself around to hit Iron Man in the chest at full force. Getting up a second time, Iron Man decides to change tactics. He flies up into the air out of She-Hulk's reach. Undaunted, She-Hulk climbs up the side of a nearby building by gouging handholds and footholds with her fingers and toes. She leaps from the side of the building and grabs Iron Man, who proceeds to rocket further skyward.

This is exactly as Iron Man has planned. Still thinking he's dealing with a childlike creature like the Hulk, Iron Man tries to explain that if the She-Hulk lets go of Iron Man, she will fall to the ground and get hurt. She-Hulk replies that she could probably survive the fall but not Iron Man if she tore his suit apart. She is sick of people like the police or Iron Man trying to push her around. Iron Man is genuinely surprised to find that the She-Hulk is intelligent, albeit extremely belligerent. He decides to try something new. The two land in a deserted area of Los Angeles, and he decides to ask her about Jake Fox's death.

She-Hulk explains to Iron Man about how a robot was used to kill Jake Fox and that that particular picture was taken after the She-Hulk had found his dead body. Iron Man is initially skeptical and the She-Hulk has to make a big effort to control her temper. She offers to take Iron Man to a place where she can prove her innocence. Along the way, Iron Man asks her who was responsible for Jake's death if not her. He is taken aback when she replies it was mobster Nick Trask with the help of Tony Stark.

Back at UCLA medical labs, Zapper stops by to see his friend Ralphy who is a graduate student and working with one of the computers. He asks Ralphy to scan Jennifer's blood sample and print out an analysis. Zapper can't have access to the computers unless he files an official report. Raphy is curious to know why Zapper wants this sample analyzed but Zapper refuses to tell him why. Raphy agrees to do it, but tells him that Zapper will owe him a huge favor afterwards.

Iron Man and She-Hulk arrive back at the Malibu beach where She-Hulk defeated the robot, but the tide has swept the robot underwater. She-Hulk hits the ground with tremendous force to create a tidal wave and force back the water. Iron Man flies over the waters to hold back the waters with his repulsor rays, but warns her that he will take her into police custody if she cannot find the evidence she claims exists. She-Hulk furiously combs her hands into the sand looking for the remains of the robot. Finally, she spots the head and grabs it. Iron Man grabs her and pulls her into the air before the waters collapse around her. On the beach, Iron Man examines the head and recognizes it as part of a shipment of obsolescent technology that was supposed to get scrapped but never arrived at Stark West. He realized that not only is She-Hulk innocent of Jake Fox's death, but Jake must have been paid off by Trask to hijack the shipment. Iron Man doesn't know what he is going to tell Jake's widow. He flies off without a word, and She-Hulk is angry that he won't even apologize to her. She yells at him that he had better hope that the two of them will never meet again or they will be sorry.

Jennifer Walters and Tony Stark have no idea that they are meeting each other a second time when Jen proceeds to grill Tony on the witness stand about the cache of weapons and technology that was discovered in Trask's warehouse and was only available through Stark labs. Tony refuses to give any explanation, putting him in contempt of court. Tony replies that she only has circumstantial evidence so far. Jen promises that she is going to get to the bottom of this and requests an official recess. The judge adjourns the court until 10 AM the next day. Buck privately warns Jen that a good prosecutor never makes a promise that he cannot deliver. Jen blows him off and decides to get the evidence she needs herself.

She goes back to Trask's abandoned warehouse to see if any of his old cronies have returned. Jen turns out to be right and listens to hear for any mention of Tony Stark. Unfortunately, she gets caught by one of Trask's men, who puts a gun to the back of her head. He tells her to turn around slowly because he wants to see what she looks like before he kills her. That bit of hesitation is just enough time Jen needs to hulk out and throw him through the window onto the card table. The She-Hulk barges in and demands to know about Tony Stark's mob connection. The goon she grabs isn't willing to talk until she pins him against the wall with several wooden stakes. He then says that Stark wasn't personally involved, but that they put pressure on one of his truck drivers to fork over a shipment. She-Hulk warns them to "volunteer" that information to the District Attorney or she will be back. Now she realizes why Tony Stark was being so secretive since he was trying to protect the feelings of Jake's widow.

The next day, Jennifer plans to tell the D.A. to cancel the investigation when the goons that the She-Hulk cornerned walk in. They exonerate Tony Stark, who hears the good news from Buck. A humbled Jen apologizes, but Tony says that the situation looked suspicious and that she was only trying to do her duty. After he leaves, Jen comments on how gracious he was and Buck says that doesn't change the fact that she screwed up the investigation. Silently, Buck takes note about Tony's abilities to charm the ladies. Outside the courthouse, Tony comforts Mrs. Fox, who is saddened to hear of her husband's death, but relieved to know he wasn't involved. Evidently the police decided not to make public the revelation that Jake Fox hijacked the shipment. Tony explains that he couldn't say anything on the witness stand for personal reasons. Jennifer joins him and says that she does understand why Tony remained silent... it was compassion.