She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #3

Mar 13

Mar 13 She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #3

Time of Her Life

For attempting to try and warn Hawkeye of his impending death, She-Hulk has been arrested by the Time Variance Authority to be put on trial for trying to alter the timestream. If she loses her trial, Jennifer will be erased from history. She is taken through the TVA facility, including the infinite hall of cubicles where TVA agents keep track of history. She is taken down a hall where the Time Cells are kept. These cells contain problematic time travelers and keep them in temporal stasis until the TVA can figure out what to do with them. She-Hulk spots a former Avenger in one of these cells and demands that he get released. However, Justice Peace and Love berate She-Hulk for all the problems that the Avengers have caused to the time stream. When the Justices ask She-Hulk who she wishes to have represent her, she asks for the best lawyer Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway can send. At that moment in the present, GLK&H manager Artie Zix receives word that She-Hulk needs representation for her trail with the TVA and has called a meeting with staff. Both Pug and Mallory Book argue over representing her. However, Zix informs them that they can use any lawyer the firm has had past, present, and future.

Some 15 years in the future, Southpaw and her sidekick Kid Glove are in the middle of a battle with Clockwise and his dinosaurs who are committing a robbery. In the middle of the battle, Southpaw suddenly disappears. Clockwise detects that time-travel technology was used and tries to follow after his foe, leaving Kid Glove to deal with the dinosaurs by herself. In the realm of the TVA, She-Hulk is surprised to learn that Southpaw will become the most accomplished lawyer in New York in the future. Southpaw gets to work, having She-Hulk removed from her shackles so they can prepare for their case. Nobody is aware that Clockwise has piggybacked on Southpaw and arrived here as well. Realizing where he is, Clockwise disguises himself as a Justice in the hopes of purloining the time travel technology kept here.

She-Hulk is brought into the courtroom and she is shocked to that it is filled with various people from her entire life. Seeing how young her father looks, the people who are currently dead among the stands, as well as the different costumes being worn, She-Hulk realizes that they have all been taken from different points in history. Quickly, Jennifer tries to warn her fellow Avengers of the future where the Scarlet Witch will go crazy and kill Hawkeye. However, her teammates think this is a joke and start laughing. Soon, the trial begins with Misters Paradox, Mobius, and Orobourus standing in as judges. Southpaw warns She-Hulk not to try and reveal the future to anyone else as she is already in enough trouble. When the trial begins, the judges point out that She-Hulk already pled guilty and that this trial is for sentencing, warning that the maximum penalty is being erased from history. As a defense, Southpaw argues that erasing She-Hulk from history will cause greater damage to the timestream.

Her first witness she calls to the stand is Jennifer's father Sheriff Morris Walters. He explains that his daughter is the most stubborn and headstrong individual. He relates to a story from early in her career when she assisted the Los Angeles Police Department apprehend the Grappler. When she prevented the villain from stealing court records and saved her father's life she almost lost control and beat the villain senseless. After turning the Grappler over to the police, She-Hulk is approached by her father. He points out that she has been hanging around the courthouse and suggests that she go back to being a lawyer or join the police force. However, She-Hulk wasn't interested in being Jennifer Walters or following the orders of others and stormed off. Morris concludes that his daughter did follow through on being her own woman, earning a name for herself as a hero and a member of the Avengers. He then tells the court that he is proud of his daughter and what she has accomplished. The next witness called up is the Wasp, who relates to a time early in Jennifer's career with the Avengers. In this recollection, Janet brought Jen along with Captain Marvel and the Scarlet Witch to do some clothes shopping. Their outing was suddenly interrupted by the interdimensional tyrant known as T'Rannikus and his Throlls. While the other women dealt with T'Rannikus, She-Hulk used her ingenuity to block the portal to the Throll dimension with a massive storefront sign. Next, Jennifer's old boyfriend Wyatt Wingfoot is called to the stand. Wyatt then relates to a story from when Jennifer was a member of the Fantastic Four. In this recollection, the Fantastic Four were attempting to stop a Skrull plot to impersonate the prince of Djaigon. Wyatt and She-Hulk were captured by Skrulls, and Jennifer managed to break free from the Skrull torture device and save him. He points out that she has tremendous strength and resolve.

It's then that Justice Love comes in with her counter argument, pointing out that erasing She-Hulk wouldn't create much turbulence in the time stream as they could alter history to replace her with other heroines that could ensure the same results. Before Southpaw can call for a moment to talk to her client, the trial is interrupted by Razorback who demands to speak to the court. He relates to a time that only She-Hulk was able to help him deliver a space-vaccine. It was during this mission that they clashed with Piratasaurus. In a strange twist, the battle was won when She-Hulk's costume was blasted away and the space pirates were too enthralled by her bare breasts to do anything. This sends the court into gales of laughter. As everyone composers themselves, the Hulk takes the stand next. He then tells how he helped Jennifer become the She-Hulk by a life-saving blood transfusion, and it is one of the few things that he has done that he doesn't regret. He then warns the judges that if they erase her from history, somehow he will know and when he finds out, he will get angry. He then warns them that they wouldn't like him when he's angry and rests his case. The court then opens up to allow anyone to speak on She-Hulk's behalf. This leads to sterling commendations from Spider-Man, Hercules, Howard the Duck, the Silver Surfer, and Vertex.

When it looks like She-Hulk is about to win her case, Justice Love has had enough and shows Jennifer why she needs to be erased from history. He shows her the Reckoning War, an event that takes place some two years in the future. In this timeline, She-Hulk was responsible for a catastrophic war that decimates the entire universe. Jen watches in horror as her future self takes a beating from the Watcher known as Xavin, leaving her to wish she was never born. Brought back to the courtroom, Jennifer doesn't remember the details of the future but knows they are horrible. Despite Southpaw's insistence that things turn out all right, She-Hulk accepts her sentence. As such the Justices bring out the Retro-Active Cannon a weapon that will erase all trace of She-Hulk from history. However, the device is being controlled by Clockwise who attempts to use it to erase everyone in the courtroom. With Clockwise firing at random, Justice Love activates a device puts all the people from the past out of synch with time so they are not erased from history. This doesn't stop Clockwise from trying to erase the Justices, and judges. When he tries to use the weapon on Southpaw, She-Hulk stands in the way. She tells Clockwise to pull the trigger, as this was the fate she resigned to, but points out that if he uses the weapon to erase her from history, he will never end up in the TVA domain and get access to the weapon.

With Clockwise taken prisoner, She-Hulk rescinds her plea and convinces the court that she has touched so many ordinary lives. She looks for her boyfriend, John Jameson, but he wasn't brought. When she talks to Pug about it, he gets an idea and tells it to Southpaw. Southpaw then summons every person that Jennifer has helped in her capacity as a lawyer. She then argues that if She-Hulk is erased from history, these lives would no longer be helped in the same way. This is enough to convince Mr. Mobius to finds that Jennifer is too important to the time stream and decrees that she will continue to exist. With the trial over, all the witnesses are sent back to their own time. Before the Avengers are sent back, Jennifer manages to slip the second half of her note to Hawkeye to the Wasp. When she tries to give it to Clint, he tells her to hold onto it for him. Before Southpaw is sent back to the future, she tells Jennifer that while she was inspired by others to become a great hero and lawyer, Jennifer inspired her to be a better human being.

With everyone gone, Mobius informs Jen that she will still face punishment for her crimes. To this end, he tells her that their time prison is overcrowded and that one of the time-displaced individuals in the jail must be taken back to the present where they will never time travel again. Looking over the prisoners, Jennifer selects the Avenger she saw earlier and orders him freed. She tells Mobius that even though she failed to bring Clint Barton back to life, saving this particular Avenger is what Hawkeye would have wanted.

Recurring Characters

She-Hulk, Time Variance Authority (Justice Peace, Justice Love, Mobius M. Mobius), Artie Zix, Augustus Pugliese, Mallory Book, Awesome Andy, Holden Halloway, Stu Cicero, Southpaw, Morris Walters, Wasp, Wyatt Wingfoot, Razorback, Hulk, Spider-Man, Hercules, Howard the Duck, Silver Surfer, Grappler, Daniel Ridge, Denis Buckowski, Richard Rory, Avengers (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Tigra, Starfox, Vision), Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Dum Dum Dugan, Nick Fury, Nova, Black Panther, Nighthawk, Stingray, Wolverine, Nosferata, John Byrne

Continuity Notes

This story has multiple mentions about how Hawkeye is dead. At the time of this story, Hawkeye had recently died battling the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #502. However, he is later brought back to life, as seen in New Avengers #26.

Justice Peace and Love mention a number of incidents where the Avengers used time travel:
- "Inducting members from the future", is a reference to when the Guardians of the Galaxy from the future of Earth-691 were brought into the Avengers roster during the Korvac crisis which took place between Avengers #168-177.
- The instance of the Avengers operating in the past is a reference to the time the Avengers first ventured to the American Frontier in Avengers #142-143.
- They also identify the time that Mockingbird killed the Phantom Rider. That happened in West Coast Avengers Vol 2 #23
- Lastly, they reference the Destiny War which happened in Avengers: Forever #1-12.

She-Hulk notes a few things about some of the people on the stands:
- She remarks that Thor is alive. At the time of this story, Thor seemingly perished in Thor Vol 2 #85, he will ultimately return to life in Thor Vol 3 #1.
- She also notes that the Fantastic Four are wearing their blue and white costumes. These are the costumes the team wore almost consistently from Fantastic Four #256-414.
- She also identifies this team of Avengers as being from the time that Hawkeye broke his leg battling Plantman. That happened circa Avengers #232.

She-Hulk mentions Hawkeye's brief fling with the Wasp, which happened in Avengers Vol 3 #82 which was a catalyst for the Scarlet Witch's rampage which happened in Avengers #500-503.

Morris Walters mentions when his daughter first joined the Avengers. That happened in Avengers #221.

Mention is made of Jennifer's membership with the Fantastic Four. She filled in for the Thing from Fantastic Four #265-301. During this period of time she dated Wyatt Wingfoot shortly after they first met in Fantastic Four #269. Their relationship ended in She-Hulk Ceremony #1-2, although the pair briefly reconnected from Sensational She-Hulk #36-60.

Justice Love uses a number of examples of replacing She-Hulk with other heroes. These include her battle against the Man-Elephant in Savage She-Hulk #17, the Lava Men in Avengers #236, and Blastaar in Fantastic Four #289-290.