Sensational She-Hulk #20
Dorkham Asylum
In the city of Visigoth, exists Dorkham Asylum, a hospital for the criminally insane that has run amok thanks to the machinations of the dour Jack Serious. Watching the inmates run amok, Jack fumes over the fact that he has to be a psychiatric superstar had it not been for his career being overshadowed by that of Dr. Timothy Hayes. Now that Hayes is gone, he intends to choke every laugh out of this city.
Meanwhile, the She-Hulk is calling in to her partner Louise Mason and tells her that she will be staying in Visigoth for an extra night to investigate the costumed woman calling herself Nosferata. As she hangs up her phone, room service arrives with a breakfast she did not order. When she questions the delivery, the man pulls off his phony mask revealing himself to be a being calling himself Three-Face. He then opens the dining tray, gassing She-Hulk into submission. However, instead of killing her, the gas causes her to enter an inert state. Three-Face then summons his allies: Professor Hugo Oddt, Big Al G'Houl, Slimeface and Dogwoman, along with a number of other inmates from Dorkham. They then lift up the She-Hulk and take her back to Dorkham. When Jack receives a report about the She-Hulk's capture, he commends his minions on their success.
Back at Hayes Manor, Purple Hayes has her caretaker Freda try to call She-Hulk at her hotel room. She learns that there was a kidnapping and that Commissioner Guber is now investigating. Hoping to meet the She-Hulk to advance her own crime-fighting career, she decides to investigate. Purple pays a visit to the hotel, which her family owns, and is able to get a look at the crime scene. While chatting up Commission Guber, she spies a strange capsule and manages to pocket it before any of the officers on the scene can find it. Returning to her mansion, Purple analyses it and learns that it contained a hallucinogenic gas created by Dr. John Cereus, a former colleague of her late father. Recalling Cereus' jealousy of her father's work and how he works at Dorkham Asylum, and how he suffered an accident in a "Vat Experiment". Deciding that this is a lead to investigate, Purple changes into Nosfarata and takes off for the mental hospital in her Nosferauto, her bat-themed vehicle.
At the Asylum, Jack Serious has had a chance to examine the She-Hulk and has determined that due to her gamma-irradiated physiology she was rendered inert by his gas instead of killed. Jack then goes off on a rant against free enterprise and the folly of the previous generation to see the troubles of today. He explains that he went on to try and create a drug that would eliminate all fun with his "Vat of Humanity". Unfortunately, Jack himself fell in and it turned him into the joyless man that he is today. Trying to get a blood sample from the She-Hulk so he can make a formula that can affect her, he can't find a needle that can pierce her dense skin. Deeming her useless, he orders Professor Oddt to kill her with microwaves. It's at this time that Nosferata comes crashing in on the villains. Jack orders his minions to kill her. When they restrain the she-bat, Jack asks her "Does Satan dance the funky chicken 'neath the harvest moon?"
Nosferata recognizes this as the phrase her father's killer once said to her and struggles to get free. At that moment, the drugs used on She-Hulk wear off and she breaks free as well. The two heroines fight off Jack's goons. Jack tries to flee but finds himself falling into the primary holding area of the general population and is beat seemingly to death. With the battle over, the She-Hulk thanks Nosferata for her help on this case and the two women drive back to her hotel.
Recurring Characters
She-Hulk, Louise Mason, Nosfarata, Jack Serious
Continuity Notes
The narrative of this story states that the death of Nosferatah's parents occurred in the year 1969. It also states that Jack Serious' experiments were conducted 1965-71. However, as she is a character rooted in the Modern Age, this should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 relative to the date of publication. The past lives of Modern Age characters also slide forward. Modern readers should interpret their deaths as happening 21 years prior to the story in question. Likewise, should Jack's experiments have taken place 25 years ago and stopped 19 years ago.
Although Jack Serious is said to have died here, he turns up alive again in Deadpool (vol. 2) #40.
