Sensational She-Hulk #39
Date Worse Than Death
The Thing and Wyatt come charging to help She-Hulk in her fight with Mahkizmo! However, when they arrive at the battle zone, there is no sign of either combatant. As the two men try to figure out where Jen and Mahkizmo went, Wyatt notices that a nearby clock is an hour fast and getting faster by the moment. Wyatt remembers that Mahkizmo is a time-traveler, and wonders if this could be some kind of time distortion effect. Ben agrees, and they rush back to FF Headquarters, to check some of Reed Richards' equipment designed to monitor the time-stream. The sensors confirm that someone opened up a portal to Mahkizmo's future in the last 15 minutes, so they realize that must be where he and She-Hulk are now!
In that future world, She-Hulk is dressed up in a very skimpy outfit which is apparently this world's version of a wedding dress. She-Hulk tell the readers she has no intention of actually marrying Mahkizmo, but she is playing along until she can figure out what made him suddenly fall in love with her.
Mahkizmo and his scientist observe Jen, and the scientist asks if she often talks to empty air. Mahkizmo says it doesn't matter if she does; he has never seen such a magnificent female before. The scientist says that he doesn't see what Mahkizmo sees in her; aside from her green skin, she is little different from the powerful warrior-women of their world. Mahkizmo gets angry and accuses the scientist of being blind, going on again about how wonderful She-Hulk is.
Mahkizmo tells the scientist to go tell the ruling tribunal that he is ready for the wedding ceremony to start, but Jen tells him to slow down. First she wants to know what he was talking about before about murdering all the women from her time.
Mahkizmo tells her not to worry about that, since in his future world, she'll be safe from the effects of the gender bomb. Jen wants to know what the heck the gender bomb is, so the scientist explains. It isn't actually a bomb, but rather a device that generates a chromosome linked disruption wave that will target every human female, and cause accelerated aging… within 20 hours they will have aged 364 years!
Thing and Wyatt materialize in the future world, using Reed's time travel equipment. Ben comments that it has changed since he was last here, but he recognizes the planet Machus. One of the nearby men hears the word "Machus" and it triggers his memory of how their world was before Machus and Femizonia. In his excitement, he lashes out and accidentally punches his lover in the face. She responds violently, and attacks him with her sword. Within moments, all the men and women in the area are battling each other! Wyatt comments that the fusion that joined Machus and Femizonia seems to be coming apart!
Taking advantage of the distraction, Ben and Wyatt use the gamma detector they brought to track down Jen.
Elsewhere, Jen is still questioning Mahkizmo. She wants to know how he is still alive, since it was his explosion that caused the merge of Machus and Femizonia. He tells her that the fusion process of the two worlds somehow kept his molecules together, in an invisible, intangible cloud. He was still aware of the world around him, and was disgusted to find men and women now co-existing in harmony as equals. Eventually, he was able to have his mist form enter the body of one of the men, and transform it into his own body! Since he was not caught in the effect of the Fusion, he still remembered how Machus used to be, and swore to restore it to the way it was.
She-Hulk is disgusted with Mahkizmo's desire to have women as helpless slaves, and decides it is time to teach him some basic women's lib! She punches him, and sends him flying through the wall! Outside, Ben and Wyatt see Mahkizmo go crashing through one of the buildings.
Thing charges to where Mahkizmo lands, and joins the fight! Ben alone isn't a match for him, but soon She-Hulk arrives, and together the two of them flatten Mahkizmo! Wyatt congratulates them, and Jen is so thrilled to see them that she grabs him and starts kissing him passionately. Ben covers his eyes and asks them to stop, since he is getting embarrassed. Jen stops, and Wyatt's face is covered with Jen's lipstick.
Jen still wants to know what caused Mahkizmo to fall in love with her, and Eros appears and says it was his doing. He explains that his magic arrow was originally intended for She-Hulk, as part of a bet he had made with his mother. Eros retrieves his arrowhead from Mahkizmo, canceling the effect of the love spell, and then disappears.
Ben then informs Jennifer that it looks like Machus and Femizonia are splitting apart again. "An' that's gonna cause all kinds of trouble!"
The scientist says that it actually won't be any trouble at all. He reminds them that this is the two world's natural state… this is simply things returning to the way they are supposed to be. The violence they are seeing now is simply household spats being played out by a race of warriors.
Mahkizmo starts to wake up, and Jen still has one more question for him. She wants to know why he was going to use his "gender bomb" on the women of the past. Mahkizmo said it was to serve as a lesson for the women of his time, so they would learn the proper fear and respect for man. Jen points out that if he killed all the women in the past, there would be no women, or men, in his time. He asks why not. Ben realizes that no one ever told Mahkizmo were babies come from. Jen whispers a quick sex-education lesson in Mahkizmo's ear. He ponders it for a few moments, and then has a very stunned expression when it finally sinks in! Jen, Wyatt and Ben then use the time machine to return home.
Out in deep space, U.S. Archer and Al the alien are being bombarded by flying rocks! Nothing they've got is slowing them down, and U.S. thinks they're done for. Al says they still have one last chance… it depends on whether She-Hulk is in her car or not!
Recurring Characters
She-Hulk, Wyatt Wingfoot, Thing, Mahkizmo, Spragg the Living Hill, Cupid, US Archer, Al
Continuity Notes
This story recounts how Mahkizmo's male dominated reality of Earth-74101 was merged with the female dominant Earth-712 to become Earth-7412, a reality where both genders are treated equal. This happened between the pages of Fantastic Four #151-153.
Although seemingly destroyed (again), Mahkizmo reconstitues himself once more as he appears alive and well in Fantastic Four: Foes #1.
