Sensational She-Hulk #23
Las Vegas Mon Amour
At Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed Richards gives She-Hulk a history lesson on Jasper Keaton. He tells Jennifer about Keaton's history in politics, working with Weezi's father, and then opening a Savings and Loan company. He later returned to the political arena, with the first American Purity Foundation anti-smut campaign in 1968, which was a failed attempt to clean up the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. In the mid-1970s, Savings and Loans were in trouble, until Congress agreed to deregulate the industry. "Now the S&Ls were free to invest in junk bonds and corporate mergers and to loan venture capital for everything from mini-malls to bioengineering firms. Keaton was into all that, and more." Reed goes on to explain that Captain Rectitude and Abominatrix are the results of Keaton's genetic research outfit. Captain Rectitude had all of his natural biological drives sublimated into an anti-smut instinct, and the Abominatrix was the result of a failed experiment to control PMS, which has left her permanently in that condition. At that moment, Sue Richards enters the room along with Wanda... who is wearing a new super-hero costume that Sue designed for her! Wanda announces that she intends to follow in her mother's footsteps as... the Phantom Blonde! A frustrated Jennifer tries to correct her yet again, but Wanda says she switched the name on-purpose this time because she wants to forge her own identity! Wanda asks Jen what she thinks, but Jen just says that she doesn't want to know, and drags Wanda out of the room.
On the flight back to Las Vegas, Jen and Wanda argue over her decision to become a crimefighter, and Wanda points out that she is the same age her mother was when she started.
Soon the two women arrive at the Benchmark Hotel, looking for Jasper. His assistant says that he was suddenly called back to his Arizona resort, and that he was quite disappointed, since their new "censored" stickers had just arrived, and they were planning on using them to 'purify' every offensive billboard in Las Vegas! Jennifer points out that would be a lifetime project, but the woman responds that decency demands dedication.
At Jasper's resort, the Nebuchadnezzar, he greets a group of senators to ask for their help. Government regulators seized Harding savings, and have declared his resort to be a failure. He wants the senators to help to regain control of his S&L. The senators aren't willing to commit to that since Jasper has failed to locate "rosebud", which was supposed to be his leverage against the government. Jasper informs them that he is still working on that and that he is holding Louise Grant for information. The senators are appalled that he has resorted to kidnapping, and are worried about how this will reflect on them if it gets out to the public. They try to leave, but Jasper has Captain Rectitude force them to stay, while he finds out if She-Hulk has located "rosebud".
She-Hulk and Wanda arrive at the Nebuchadnezzar, and Jen explains that it was supposed to be Jasper's crowning achievement and that he invested hundreds of millions of dollars into it, and then found out that no one wanted to spend $2000 a night for a room at a hotel in the middle of nowhere! As they go inside, they find Captain Rectitude tying up the senators! Jasper tells the women that he is willing to trade information about "rosebud" for Weezi's freedom. While Wanda unties the senators, Jennifer tells him that the bomb won't do him any good... its trigger is connected to Dutch Rosenblatt's pacemaker! Wanda then accidentally lets it slip that the bomb is part of the Randi Rocket display! Jasper orders Captain Rectitude to subdue She-Hulk, while he rushes off to retrieve the bomb! Captain Rectitude is pleased that he finally gets to fight, and he flies into She-Hulk, and the two of them crash through the wall! Meanwhile, the senators race off to return to D.C., and expose Jasper before he can expose them!
She-Hulk manages to knock Rectitude out, by ripping out the pool's diving board and smashing it across his face! Captain Rectitude skips across the water like a stone, and She-Hulk chases after Jasper! She demands to know where Weezi is, but Jasper just rants about how She-Hulk is a living example of the collapse of traditional values. "Fortunately, I know a woman who is far more attentive to my needs! The Abominatrix!" At that moment, Abominatrix comes crashing through the ceiling above She-Hulk's head, and smashes her into the floor! Weezi looks through the huge hole in the floor and sees Wanda downstairs. She calls to her daughter to come upstairs and untie her! While She-Hulk battles Abominatrix, Captain Rectitude recovers and rejoins the fight! The two of them gang up on She-Hulk. Abominatrix manages to knock She-Hulk out, dropping a twelve-ton safe on her head! Then the two of them join Jasper and they head back to Las Vegas, while Jasper mutters that if he can't save his S&L, he'll save Las Vegas...
Wanda and Weezi get back downstairs to find She-Hulk under the safe! Wanda is worried that Jen is dead, but Weezi suspects she was just knocked out. She grabs a fire hose and sprays Jen with the water, waking her right up. The three women race back to Las Vegas to stop Keaton and his henchmen.
In Vegas, Jasper is addressing his supporters in the American Purity Foundation, telling them that the time has come for purification by fire, blood and the white-hot light of decency! Abominatrix and Captain Rectitude get nervous, as they start to suspect that Jasper plans to detonate the bomb and blow up the city!
Suddenly, She-Hulk's car comes crashing through the wall, sending all of the "censored" stickers flying through the air. She-Hulk gets out of the car and begins to come after Jasper, but Captain Rectitude blasts her! Jennifer is unharmed, but her clothes are blasted away! Fortunately, the "censored" stickers wind up covering her private parts. Jasper's fragile grip on sanity slips even further, and he begins ranting at Jennifer's display of flesh, and how he cannot be beaten because he is pure. She-Hulk punches Rectitude through a wall, and then wraps one of the conventions banners around herself, to cover herself more fully. Then Abominatrix strikes her from behind with a girder, sending her flying through the air!
Hotel security arrives, and Weezi tells them that Jasper slipped out and is headed to Dutch's private elevator!
Abominatrix continues her attack on She-Hulk, complaining the whole time about how she is missing her soap operas. She-Hulk is disgusted that Abominatrix can worry about her TV shows while her boss is trying to nuke a city! She then grabs hold of Abominatrix's foot, and hurls her away! Captain Rectitude returns, calling She-Hulk a siren and a trollop for running around in public wearing nothing but a banner. Before he can attack, a large display tower that was damaged in the fight topples over and flattens him!
Back at the Benchmark, Weezi, and Wanda run up the stairs to try and reach the penthouse and stop Jasper. Weezi is unable to keep up the pace and tells Wanda to go ahead without her. Just in case they fail and all get blown up, Wanda tells Weezi: "Back in the old days, Mom, you were one elegant lady in that red gown!" Weezi is startled and confused since she doesn't remember running into Wanda and Jen in the past. Wanda figures that it is due to the bump on the head she got during the fightback then. Wanda reaches the penthouse, and finds all the security guards have been knocked out! She realizes that Jasper must have completely snapped!
Outside, She-Hulk and the Abominatrix continue to fight. Abominatrix rips up the Randi Rocket display and prepares to hit Jen with it. Jen tries to warn her that it isn't a display... it is a real bomb, but Abominatrix doesn't believe her. Jen causes Abominatrix to release the bomb with a kick to the gut, and then catches the bomb before it drops to the ground!
In the penthouse, Jasper pulls a gun on Dutch and prepares to fire, but Wanda tackles him at the last minute! The gun goes off, but the shot misses! Unfortunately, the danger causes Dutch to have a heart attack!
She-Hulk hears the click of the arming mechanism, and throws the bomb to the emptiest spot she can reach... the Nebuchadnezzar! It explodes, vaporizing the resort.
Realizing that he has lost, Jasper tries to commit suicide by jumping out the penthouse window, but Wanda grabs him, and knocks him out with a right cross! "Oh, no you don't!! You're sticking around to stand trial for your crimes... including the attempted rub-out of two million people!"
Later, as they are flying home, Weezi marvels at the idea that it was Jen and Wanda whom she fought back in 1948. Wanda says that she was incredible and that she was what inspired her to make this costume and become the Phantom Blonde! Weezi is less than thrilled: "When pigs levitate! If you think for one second that I'll let you drop out of college--"
Recurring Characters
She-Hulk, Phantom Blonde, Louise Mason, Captain Rectitude, Abominatrix, Jasper Keaton, Dutch Rosenblatt, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman
Continuity Notes
Louise Mason, Dutch Rosenblatt, and Jasper Keaton all were active in the 1940s yet are still alive in the Modern Age. Per the Sliding Timsecale where every four years of real-world time that passes one year elapses in the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe. The "Modern Age" accounts for all time from the events of Fantastic Four #1 onwards. This puts a sufficient gap of time between the end of the 20th Century and now. It is impossible for these three characters could still be alive in the modern age without some sort of special adoption. However, at this time there are no official explanations available, and how this is possible is a matter of interpretation.
