She-Hulk #9 — Nick Peron

Mar 13

Mar 13 She-Hulk #9

Strong Enough

Two Weeks Ago

Hercules interrupts the Constrictor, Jack O'Lantern, and the Armadillo during an armored car robbery. The Olympian easily trounces his foes, hitting Constrictor so hard the damage to his face causes his allies to pause in utter horror...

Now

The Constrictor has hired a lawyer to sue Hercules for the damages. Hercules responds by hiring Mallory Book of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway to defend him. During a meeting at the offices of LKH&G, the Constrictor and his lawyer lay out their demands for 18 million dollars in restitution. Hercules balks at this, as he was merely preventing the Constrictor and his allies from committing a crime. However, Mallory and the Constrictor's lawyer hash out the likelihood of this going to trial and being won by the villain, Hercules loses his temper and beats on the Constrictor some more.

Elsewhere in the office, Pip the Troll teleports She-Hulk and Southpaw back to Earth from their ordeal on the planet Skardon. Pip tells Jennifer if she needs a lift in the future to use her Magistrati badge to page him before teleporting away. They are greeted by Holden Holliway who is happy to see the two women back. Southpaw expresses her upset at being stuck under She-Hulk's supervision. Holliway is happy that they are back before Southpaw's trial, reminding Jennifer that they have been gone for three months. She-Hulk realizes that she has left her fish alone this whole time and rushes back to her apartment, dragging Southpaw along with her. However, her enhanced strength takes some getting used to and she causes incidental damage along the way. When they get to her apartment, they discover that Pug has been looking after the fish while she was gone. Southpaw is annoyed that She-Hulk freaked out over fish. The whole incident makes Jennifer realize that she needs to learn how to cope with her increased strength and can't look after Southpaw while she is doing so. Pug informs her that Holden has already come up with a backup plan in the form of Awesome Andy. Surprisingly, Southpaw is more than happy to be under the care of Awesome Andy over the She-Hulk.

With that problem gone, She-Hulk reverts back into Jennifer Walters and tells Pug about what she has been up to. Before Pug can muster up the courage to ask her out, Jen checks her messages. One is from John Jameson and she calls him immediately to set up a date, much to Pug's dismay. Meanwhile, outside, a man has been watching the Excelsior apartments waiting for She-Hulk's return. Witnessing her entry, the man then calls his employer to inform them that She-Hulk has returned. While back at GLK&H offices, Mallory Book shows the Constrictor and his lawyer countless incidents where Hercules saved the world. One instance, Hercules saved the Constrictor's mother by proxy, prompting the villain to offer to drop the charges as long as Hercules pays for his medical bills. The son of Zeus believes that this is fair compensation and agrees, however, he causes more injury when he playfully slaps his foe on the back. This changes the situation and Hercules soon finds himself in court.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Walters and John Jameson pay a visit to the Baxter Building to see if Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four can help her with the She-Hulk's enhanced strength. In Reed's lab, John Jameson has something that might be able to help in this situation: the Jupiter Suit that John once wore when he was briefly endowed with enhanced strength. As it was designed to regulate John's strength at the time, Reed believes that with some adjustments the suit will be able help. After some adjustments and recoloring, She-Hulk puts on the Jupiter Suit and tests it out. After a successful test, Jennifer mentions how she has been changing back and forth between Jennifer Walters again, which bothers her as Reed had once informed her that she couldn't do so after being exposed to a heavy dose of radiation, now its happening all the time. This causes a spate of laughter from the Thing, who points out all the time that Reed said he would never become human again. Richards isn't sure why this has begun to happen but promises to look into it for her along with Doc Samson.

As She-Hulk and John leave the Baxter Building, the man who has been tracking her points Jennifer out to his employer. This employer turns out to be She-Hulk's old foe Titania. She tries to attack She-Hulk, unaware of her enhanced strength. All it takes is one punch from She-Hulk that sends Titania flying out of the city. Meanwhile, in court, the trial against Hercules is not going so well for Mallory Book when the defense plays a video of the hero recorded after the attack where he gleefully sings a song about how he savagely beat the Constrictor. To make things worse, Hercules sings along to the video in the courtroom. While back at the offices of GLK&H, Jennifer Walters goes over the litany of crimes that Southpaw has been accused of in order to try and establish her defense case. In the other room, Mallory, Pug and Stu Cicero go over possible counter-arguments in Hercules' case. When Mallory suggests that they go with an insanity defense, Hercules loses his temper at the idea of pretending to be someone who only thinks he is the son of Zeus. Jennifer storms into the room and stops Hercules and convinces him that he needs to make this right and pay every penny. She lectures him that while he stopped a crime, that doesn't put him above the law himself and he used excessive force in stopping the Constrictor. Hercules agrees to do as Jennifer suggests, earning the ire of Mallory Book, as this was her client. Jennifer then goes to write a check of her own, to pay for the accidental damages she caused as She-Hulk when she first returned to Earth. Seeing all this, Southpaw fears that Walters will sell her out as well.

Three Weeks Later

She-Hulk goes out to Hercules for drinks while they discuss the end result of the case. Although the Constrictor has been rubbing in his newfound wealth to Hercules, the son of Zeus believes that thanks to Jennifer, he made the right decision.

Recurring Characters

She-Hulk, Hercules, Holden Halloway, Mallory Brook, Augustus Pugliese, Awesome Andy, Stu Cicero, Southpaw, John Jameson, Constrictor, Jack O’Lantern, Armadillo, Titania, Pip the Troll, Howard the Duck, Thing, Mister Fantastic

Continuity Notes

The appearance of George Lucas in this story should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

John Jameson originally wore the Jupiter Suit between Amazing Spider-Man #41 and 42.

She-Hulk mentions the inconsistencies of her transformations to and from Jennifer Walters and She-Hulk. Some clarifications:
- She states that Reed claimed she couldn't change back to human form ever again after being exposed to a strong dose of radiation. She is referring to the events of Marvel Graphic Novel #18. However, unknown to She-Hulk at the time – and as revealed in a flashback in She-Hulk #11 – her inability to change back and forth was due to psychological reasons, not the radiation.
- She mentions that she has been able to change back and forth since the "Red Zone Affair" with the Avengers. She is referring to the events of Avengers Vol 3 #65-70. In reality, her transformations began after the events of Avengers Vol 3 #73-75 when She-Hulk turned savage and rampaged through the town of Bone, Idaho. As explained in She-Hulk Vol 2 #4, She-Hulk's current transformations are based on the guilt she feels over the damage she caused.