Death Becomes Her

Following her battle with the Rumbler, She-Hulk has been smothered under tons of debris. Her spirit comes free from her body and she watches as her father, Morris, is being loaded into the back of an ambulance. When she tries to reach out to him she is shocked when her hand passes right through his body. She suddenly realizes that she is a ghost. Trying to keep calm she tries to recall the events that brought her to this moment. She remembers her battle with the robot known as War Zone who sprayed her with gas that was sapping her powers. Learning that her old boyfriend Daniel Ridge could cure her she went to Los Angeles. However, before she can get checked out she found herself in a battle with the greaser known as the Rumbler who used his seismic powers to bury her alive. She finally realizes that she is dead when the paramedics pull her body out of the hole she was buried in. In a panic, she tries to get Weezi's attention but nobody can see her.

Pleading that she is a comic book character and she can't die, She-Hulk suddenly finds herself transported from the scene of the battle to the front seat of a corvette speeding down a desolate highway. Speeding down this highway, She-Hulk suddenly becomes aware that she is being chased by a police motorcycle. When she pulls over she is horrified when the "officer" removes his helmet, revealing the face of Death itself. At first, she thinks it's the Ghost Rider but is quickly corrected when Death assumes her typical form. Not wishing to be taken away, She-Hulk kicks Death aside and speeds ahead into a bright shining light at the end of the road. She suddenly finds herself in front of the massive Postmortem Mall. She is surprised to find a shopping mall in the afterlife but decides to go inside to investigate.

Seeing dead people wandering around its halls comes as a great surprise, but soon she is greeted by what appears to be Captain America's former partner Bucky, who recognizes her as someone new. Bucky explains that this is a place where the good come to reconnect with their past lives and the bad come during a reprieve in their eternal torment. He shows her that various super-villains who have found rehabilitation in this domain by working jobs in the mall. He shows her villains like Firebrand, the Miracle Man and lastly Spider-Man's old foe the Kangeroo. The tour is interrupted by one of Spider-Man's foes who has not tamed, Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. The Goblin attacks, but She-Hulk quickly pulls the Goblin from his glider, but he manages to blind her with a blast from his gloves. When he tosses a Pumpkin Bomb at her, Bucky leaps to her defense but it is too late. She-Hulk breaths in the gas from the pumpkin bomb and begin to hallucinate a memory from her childhood. How she originally wanted to be a ballerina until the night that her mother was apparently killed by a drunk driver. This also reminds her of how her best friend Jill died in a car crash during her early career as the She-Hulk. Fearing that her father may die next causes She-Hulk enough grief that she breaks free from the hallucinogenics of the gas.

She briefly sees the Goblin and Bucky as Death and her father and rushes to Bucky's side. She then lays out the Goblin with a single punch. When he tosses another pumpkin bomb at her, she catches it and tosses it back. Jennifer is about ready to pummel the defeated Goblin but her mother intervenes, ending the fight. She-Hulk is happily reunited with her mother who tells her not to feel guilty for her death or that of Jill, as she was not responsible for either. Leaving the Goblin and Bucky behind, She-Hulk and her mother take time to get reacquainted.

Meanwhile, in the land of the living, Dr. Hector DeVasques and his daughter Christina watch as her husband, Daniel Ridge, prepares to conduct an experiment that will bring the She-Hulk back to life.

Continuity Notes

• A number of characters who appear in the Postmortem Mall are individuals who turned out not to have died at all. As such, these individuals should be considered impostors. These characters are:

  • Bucky, who for years was believed to have died in a drone plane explosion in 1945 as depicted in Avengers #4. However, as revealed many years later in Captain America (vol. 5) #8, Bucky had lived and was recovered by the Russians and has been operating covertly as the Winter Soldier.

  • The original Green Goblin was believed to have been killed in Amazing Spider-Man #122 when he was impaled with his own Goblin Glider. It was later revealed that he had survived in Amazing Spider-Man #412. He survived thanks to a healing factor in the Goblin Formula as explained in the Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.

  • The Ringer was believed to have died in the Scourge massacre at the Bar with No Name in Captain America #319. However, he survived as revealed in Lethal Foes of Spider-Man #3.

  • Lastly, Mimic was believed to have died of gamma poisoning in Incredible Hulk #161. However, he survived by mimicking Wolverine's healing factor as revealed in Marvel Comics Presents #56-61.

• However, some of the characters who appear in the Postmortem Mall were actually dead at the time of this story:

  • Jean DeWolff was murdered by the Sin-Eater in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107.

  • Firebrand, Miracle Man, Melter, and Titania were all murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld in Captain America #318, and Thing #23-24 respectively

  • Nighthawk died in an explosion while saving his teammates in Defenders #105

  • Lastly, the Kangaroo got himself killed by entering by exposing himself to a lethal dose of radiation that incinerated his body. His incredibly stupid death was chronicled in Amazing Spider-Man #126.

• Mention is made about how She-Hulk's friend Jill was murdered by mobsters. That happened in Savage She-Hulk #2.

Continuity Errors

• This story states that Elaine Walters died in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. This contradicts Savage She-Hulk #4 which states that hitmen working for Nick Trask had caused the accident.