She-Hulk (Vol. 3) #12

Mar 16

Mar 16 She-Hulk (Vol. 3) #12

Final Verdict

North Dakota, Years Ago

In Divide County, the villain known as Nighteater has hired Doctor Druid, Shocker, and Vibro to channel their powers as part of a spell around the town. With their lives at risk at the slight chance of a slip-up, Nighteater warns them not to falter as he intends on using the mental energies of the town to power the reality-altering spell they are planning on casting. That's when their spell is interrupted by the arrival of She-Hulk, Wyatt Wingfoot, Captain Marvel, and Tigra who begin fighting the demons summoned by Nighteater. When Captain Marvel spots a lone survivor named George Saywitz, She-Hulk carries him out of the mystical dome around town, despite his protests that his family are still trapped inside. Jennifer promises him that he will save them if they are still alive.

Spotting Nighteater and his minions, the heroes try to stop him, but they are too late to prevent him from completing his spell. The magic erases the entire town from existence and transforms Nighteater into the hero known as Nightwatch. Nobody has any memory of the town and believe that Nightwatch is a hero. Realizing his spell had worked, the newly reborn Nightwatch and the other heroes trounce Druid, Vibro, and the Shocker.

Now

After defeating Titania and Volcana in battle, She-Hulk is informed by Angie Huang that the person behind the mysterious blue file has been Nightwatch the whole time. That's when Nightwatch himself arrives on the scene and insists he is a hero, but the situation is complicated. Angie doesn't buy it, reminding Trench that he was responsible for murdering hundreds of people in North Dakota in order to alter reality. However, Nightwatch justifies this, pointing out all the people he helped with his charities. However, he was content with being a d-list hero and fading into obscurity so he could live a charmed life. He explains that being a villain wasn't working out and he changed reality so he could be worshiped like the heroes on this world. He then explains that the reason the lawsuit in his blue file was found was that She-Hulk had saved the life of George Saywitz. Since he was the only one who remembered the truth, he couldn't file criminal charges and instead filed a lawsuit.

When She-Hulk accuses Nightwatch of killing Saywitz, he explains that it was either Shocker or Vibro who killed him. He does admit that he spent a great deal of time trying to tie up loose ends, such as ensuring people wouldn't remember the truth. However, despite his best efforts, the lawsuit ended up finding its way to Jennifer. When the others protest against this, Nightwatch tries to justify his actions by saying that all he wanted was redemption. This makes Jen furious, and she points out that true redemption takes time, and all he wanted was a short cut. When she tries to strike him, however, a spell prevents her from completing the attack. That's when Angie and Hei Hei attempt to attack him but are caught up in his trench coat. When Hellcat tries to stop him, Nightwatch forces She-Hulk to attack her.

When all seems lost, the Shocker arrives and blasts Nightwatch with his vibro-gauntlets. When Trench demands to know why Herman is turning on him, Schultz explains that Angie called him and told him how Nightwatch altered his mind. He is also angry that Nightwatch didn't use his spell to turn him into a hero as well. As Nightwatch is busy defending himself from the Shocker, She-Hulk fights off Kevin's mind control just before she can land a killing blow on Hellcat. Furious at being manipulated, She-Hulk leaps at her foe and beats him into submission, stopping short of killing Kevin Trench, because heroes don't kill people. Back at their office in Brooklyn, Angie Huang begins packing her things up since Jennifer fired her. However, both Jen and Patsy convince her to stay, given that Patricia is injured and needs time to heal. When Jen worries about how she is going to pay for the damages and her increased rent, Sharon King enters the room and turns over some mail that came in from her. It is from the Inhumans who are seeking legal representation in a lawsuit filed against them by the City of New York for damages done to the UN Building by Queen Medusa. Seeing that the city is being defended by Paine & Luckberg, Jennifer's old employer, She-Hulk looks forward to beating them in court.

Recurring Characters

She-Hulk, Hellcat, Angie Huang, Nightwatch, Shocker, Titania, Volcana, Sharon King, Howard the Duck, Hei Hei, (in flashback) Captain Marvel, Tigra, Wyatt Wingfoot, Vibro, Doctor Druid,

Continuity Notes

The events in this flashback are stated as happening "years ago". Based on the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, these events happened roughly around the ninth year of the modern age and take place roughly five years prior to the present-day events of this story.

The reality-altering events in this story that changed Nighteater into Nightwatch are at odds with his established origin in Nightwatch #3 and Web of Spider-Man #100. On explanation as to how his fabricated "heroic" appearances in this story work in the grand scheme of things have yet to be explained.