The Rage Of The She-Hulk!

 

The year was 1976... and the magazine, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, where writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen introduced a new super-being whose mission was to avenge the death of his father--the inventor of a new form of liquid fuel that would circumvent having to resort to other means to acquire energy such as fossil, nuclear, or solar. Seeing his father murdered in cold blood by those who saw his work as a danger to their own fortunes, Jack Hart then fell victim to accidental exposure to that liquid when an errant laser blast caused the vat of "zero fluid" to inundate him--but instead of killing him, he gained a glowing, seething form of power that allowed him to destroy his would-be murderers and, later, take advantage of information which would lead him to the White Tiger, whom he believed ordered his father's death.

As the young man who named himself the Jack of Hearts later learned, the Tiger was innocent--and in time, Jack begins to carve his own history as one of the many heroes in Marvel's stable of characters.

Eventually, Jack would join the mighty Avengers, in whose company he would face the threat of a crimson cloud of death unleashed in the United States by the Red Skull--a mission where his power had an adverse effect on his fellow Avenger, the She-Hulk.

Having dealt with the rest of her team at least for the short term, the She-Hulk quickly manages to disappear from the scene, as the Avengers are forced to deal with the crisis at hand--and deal with the Skull and his plan they do, though not before the death toll of those who had lost their lives within the "red zone" had been brought to 1,875 people.

Meanwhile, AWOL from the Avengers and searching for her cousin, Bruce Banner, a potential lifeline in the situation she's found herself in, Jennifer Walters reaches the town of Bone, Idaho, where the Avengers at last locate her. But the Scarlet Witch, who attempts to speak to her alone in an effort to convince her to accept the Avengers' help, is shocked at the extent to which her teammate's disposition has... changed.

It's a development which will soon bring the original Hulk into the mix. But it will also pave the way to another Avenger's last moments on Earth.

This Avengers story falls between the years 2003-2004--and as we see in his profile, a lot has happened to the Jack of Hearts in the 25+ years since his origin. In that time, he even traveled off-world--but when finally returning to Earth, his physiology had changed to such an extent that even his containment suit wasn't viable as a means to control his power. That led to the construction of the "Zero Room," to which he had to return every day for a set number of hours; but as Henry Pym and Tony Stark pool their resources on his behalf, they also discover that Jack's condition was predetermined from birth, as well as the true purpose of the Zero Fluid.

The She-Hulk's sudden instability as to her temperament is a complication that neither Jack nor his father could have foreseen, though we can safely assume that Jack's future condition was unchartable at that point. Yet her situation is a sticking point for Scott Lang, the Ant-Man, who has had difficulty getting along with Jack (and vice versa) ever since the two became Avengers--and Scott does himself no favors by grinding the axe of Jennifer's condition with Jack when the latter has meant no harm intentionally and his own situation borders on hopeless.

However, it's the emergency involving the She-Hulk's raging state which must take precedence here, as she wreaks havoc on property and lives in the rural community of Bone--and with her strength level now near that of the Hulk, she presents a danger to her teammates, as well.

Fortunately for the hard-pressed Avengers, a certain marksman has arrived on the scene and has been successful at leading the She-Hulk away from town and into the hills. Injured in the process, Hawkeye is in no position to intervene when Bruce Banner appears and insists on attempting to talk down Jennifer, as someone well aware of what she is going through. And to an extent, Banner is successful; but when military troops arrive in Bone, spearheaded by Doc Samson, the She-Hulk's rage and combative mood return, and Hawkeye takes the only action he knows of to keep her from returning to the town and making it a graveyard.

Of course, one could argue that effectively doubling the threat carries a risk all its own.

Obviously the rest of the Avengers have arrived at the site to witness quite the scene. As to the "help" that Cap mentions, circumstances have forced Iron Man to call for Ant-Man to break the time-lock of the Zero Room and free the Jack of Hearts, whose ability to absorb radiation may well put an end to this melee. But a favorable outcome is by no means certain, given Jack's current state, and the young man's trepidation is understandable--a feeling his friends on the ground seek to allay, as best they can.

Writer Geoff Johns, who scripted the book for sixteen months, is one issue from ending his run on Avengers, having shown a fine feel for the book's characters and for the team as a whole--particularly in detailing the high stakes of their role and the real-life consequences involved, the Red Zone being one example. The situation in Bone, Idaho, could have taken a turn for the worse, if not for the efforts of the Jack of Hearts--and though a crisis was averted, it's a sobering ending which the team takes in collectively, and which especially resonates with the She-Hulk.

As we've learned, it was a near thing for the Jack of Hearts. He survives, only to be returned to his prison where he exists in isolation for the better part of a day, every day.

But regardless of whether he remains an Avenger, he will act as one, one last time.

NEXT: The Decision.