Jennifer Walters, the fun-loving lawyer, faces trauma and the anger within in a new series from Marvel.
No one has been traumatized by the events of Civil War II more than Jennifer Walters a.k.a. ‘She-Hulk.’ She suffered near fatal injuries at the hands of the mad Titan Thanos in the opening chapters of the limited series, slipped into a coma for most of the middle, and then awoke to discover that the original Hulk, her cousin Bruce Banner, had been executed at the hands of the Avenger Hawkeye to prevent a predicted deadly rampage. Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso explained why Jennifer Walters title is no longer She-Hulk in an interview with A.V. Club.
“The title She-Hulk evokes light-hearted stories about a Jennifer Walters who is at peace with herself and in full control of her powers,” says Alonso. “This isn’t that book. On the other hand, the title Hulk implies all of the baggage that comes with that comic’s 50+ year history—the ongoing battle with the monster within—and that’s why it’s more appropriate for this series.”
The Jennifer Walters that comes out at the end of that trauma will not be the same fun-loving She-Hulk that started. Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer, Skim) explained how her take on the long-standing fan-favorite character will be different.
“Jen is absolutely shaped by the trauma she’s experienced,” says Tamaki. “Much of it was inspired by thinking about how different people deal with the hard things that happen in their lives, how memory, trauma, can infuse our whole being, be a physical presence in our lives. I was really into the idea of a Hulk, of the ability to transform into something close to monstrous, that’s still human, and heroic. It was interesting to think about what’s human about Hulk and vice versa.”
Tamaki will be joined by up and coming artist Nico Leon (Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man). Hulk is his first series debut for Marvel.
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