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Marvel Fanfare #48
Title: “World’s Hero… Father’s Shame!”
Writer: Dwight Jon Zimmerman
Penciller: Kerry Gammill
Inkers: Josef Rubinstein & Jose Marzan
Colors: Yomtov
Editor: Al Milgrom
At a press
conference for the “Mr. Galaxy Body-Building Contest”
at the Los Angles Hilton, Dan and Mike sit on top of She-Hulk’s
shoulders. They say that they are there to announce She-Hulk as
the celebrity judge. Photographers snap pictures and reporters
remark about everyone going “ga-ga” for She-Hulk.
She-Hulk asks if there are any questions. One reporter asks how
it feels to come home a hero. Jen says that it feels great, but
then suddenly a voice booms to let him through. He says that he
is the law. Jen thinks to herself that the voice sounds familiar,
but that she doesn’t recognize it. Sheriff Walters pushes
his way to the front and says that they have unfinished business
to settle. She-Hulk says that she was going to call him. Morris
laughs at that and says that after she left LA that she never
once called or wrote him. One reporter says that this is a lead
and comes up with the headline, “She-Hulk Shuts Out Father!”
Jen starts to say that isn’t true, but stops and tells the
reporters to get out. One starts to object, but She-Hulk shouts,
“Go!”
As she leaves, one reporter thinks to herself that for a moment there that She-Hulk sounded like the old one that everybody feared. A woman dressed in a long coat and a hat thinks to herself that Morris should settle his affairs with She-Hulk and that by Friday evening that she will be dead.
Jen tells her father that she is sorry. She says that she used the fact that they never got along as an excuse. Morris says that he thought they had reconciled that, but that he guesses he was wrong. He says that he isn’t there to see her anyway and tells her to change back into Jen. She-Hulk says that she wishes that there was a better way to tell him, but that she can’t. She says that a radiation accident put a genetic lock on her and that she is permanently the She-Hulk. Morris is stunned. He says, “Jenny’s… gone?” Jen says, “I should’ve told you right after it happened, Dad, but… “ Morris cuts her off and tells her not to call him “dad”. As he walks away he says that she’s not, and never has been, Jen.
In Malibu, the woman at the press conference returns to her apartment. She tells her son David that she has returned. She says that she has seen her younger brother and his “super powered brat”. She says that she has ensured that tomorrow night is the night of her long awaited revenge. Dr. Cassandra Walters Pike takes off her coat and hat. She says that at last her years of “insufferable injustice” will end. She says that she has always been brilliant, but that it was Morris who received their father’s favor. She says that not even when she won the Nobel Prize in Biology did her father utter a word of praise because she had been disowned for marrying a man that her father despised. She says that she was banned from the family forever. She says that when Jennifer became a “female monstrosity” that she could endure no more. She says that she had to use her genius to balance the scale. She says her labors were rewarded with a strength building formula of incalculable potency. David sits finishing his painting. He tells his mother that he has finished and that he hopes that she likes it. Casandra smacks the painting out of David’s hand. She asks if he interrupts her thoughts to insult her with abstract art. She says the biggest mistake that she ever made was allowing him to meet Picasso. David tries to apologize, but Cassandra tells him to be silent and to prepare for his final injection. She says that this will complete his transformation and that he will become the perfect instrument for his mother’s vengeance.
Friday night at the LA Memorial Auditorium,
She-Hulk sits judging the Mr Galaxy contest. All but one entrant
has posed. Jen sits melancholy thinking of her father. She has
tried to find him, but hasn’t been able to. She wonders what
she would say to him. The announcer comes out on the stage and
says that it is time for the final contestant. He says that his
trainer calls herself “Brain” and that he is called
“Brawn”. David stands there rippling with enormous
muscles. She-Hulk stares amazed. One of the other judges says
that he is a hideous over muscled monster. David stammers that
his mother wouldn’t make him ugly. Cassandra calls out to
David from behind the curtain. She tells them to exploit their
confusion and earn his mother’s love. She tells him to kill
his cousin. Brawn leaps into the air and says that Jen must die.
He hits She-Hulk and knocks her off her feet. She-Hulk says,
“Manoman! That punch hurt!” She-Hulk tells everyone to
run for it. She hits Brawn and knocks him into a pile of tables.
She-Hulk asks Brawn what his problem is with her former alter
ego. Brawn grabs She-Hulk’s ankle. He swings her up into the
rafters of the building. She says that he took her by surprise
again. Brawn leaps at She-Hulk and tells her to die. She-Hulk
kicks Brawn in the stomach as he comes down. She-Hulk sees that
Brawn is barely winded and hopes that her right cross has a
better effect. Brawn falls on his back. She-Hulk prepares to
finish Brawn off with one more punch when Cassandra reveals
herself. She orders She-Hulk to stop. She-Hulk is distracted and
asks what Aunt Cass is doing there. Cassandra says that she is
ensuring She-Hulk’s death. David hits She-Hulk in the face
and knocks her out. Cassandra orders Brawn to hurry and finish
her off. Brawn says that he will, but as he lifts his hands over
his head he is shot in the back. Cassandra turns and sees Morris.
She asks how he could shoot his nephew. Morris asks what
Cassandra has done to David. Cassandra says that Morris is just
jealous because he bested Jennifer. Morris asks why she doesn’t
stop and says that their father is dead. Cassandra says, “So
long as his legacy lives, his death absolves nothing! Remember?
Despite even the world’s acclaim, the reward to his daughter
was… shame! For everything she ever did… shame!”
Morris says that their father was wrong. He says that he lost his
chance to reconcile with her, just as he almost lost his chance
with Jen. Cass says that his differences with Jen are “mole
hills”. Morris says that he pities her, but that she is
right. He says that her hatred has destroyed her, and that he has
to arrest her for attempted murder. David shouts, “No!”
He smacks Morris unconscious. 
Cassandra says
that Morris’ gun will be her trophy of her triumph. She
tells David that he has regenerated fully and to kill Jennifer.
David says that he can’t. Cassandra asks why he is
disobeying her and denying her justice. She asks why he no longer
loves her. David says that he does love her, but that he has been
listening. He says that he will do anything to earn her love but
this. He says that Uncle Morris is right. He says that this isn’t
justice, but murder.
She-Hulk wakes up. She says that she has to stop her, but that she is in so much pain. She says that she can barely move, but that maybe if she can reach the beam on the ground.
Cassandra says that it might be murder for him, but that it isn’t for her. Cass takes aim, but Jen throws the beam on the rocks Cass is standing on and upsets her balance. The police burst in. David looks panicked. He says that they must escape and that he won’t fail her this time. Cass tells him to hurry before Jennifer recovers. David scoops up his mother and smashes through the wall.
Minutes later, paramedics are working on Sheriff Walters. One of the men asks She-Hulk if she wants to ride with them. Jen turns them down. She thinks to herself that she doesn’t want to cause him anymore pain. She thinks that she has wronged him too much, but that it is too late to make it right. She thinks that it might be better to leave before he wakes up. As Jen starts to leave, Morris calls out to her. He asks her to stay so that he can tell her that he is sorry. He says that he wants to be part of her life again if she will let him.
Leader’s Lair rating: 8 out of 10
I really like the creation of Brain and Brawn, or Cassandra and David. They are cool enemies for She-Hulk and I certainly hope we get to see them in the future. Cassandra’s intense hatred might be a little one dimensional, but it certainly is intense enough. David’s might, and unexplored intelligence, could lead to him being a major foil for She-Hulk. The art is pretty good here, but it could be better. 3.5 for the artwork.
Title: “California Dreaming”
Writer: Sue Flaxman
Penciller: Don Perlin
Inker: Don Perlin
Colors: Bob Sharen
Editor: Al Milgrom
She-Hulk runs through a tattered dreamscape. She has been there night after night. Suddenly she spots a man and recognizes him as Dylan Cavanaugh. He calls for her to help her. He says that he can’t fight it himself and begs her to come.
She-Hulk wakes up and realizes that she was having that dream again. She decides that she had better contact Dylan, but when she calls his number she is told that it is no longer in service.
Hours later, Jen is flying to California in an Avengers’ quinjet. She thinks to herself that Dylan must be in big trouble. She says that when he was heading the dream research clinic that she knew he could project himself into dreams, but that he would never do it to her unless he had to. She thinks about how close they used to be before she became the She-Hulk, but that she hasn’t seen him in years.
In Downtown Los Angles, She-Hulk found new people in Dylan’s apartment. She found Dylan’s offices empty. She wonders what she will do next when she suddenly recognizes a building from her dream. She-Hulk walks into the building and up to the receptionist. She says that she is looking for Dr. Dylan Cavanaugh. She says that she is an old friend and through that she would drop in and say hello to him while she was in town. The man asks her to wait a moment. A short time later, She-Hulk is introduced to a man that will take her to Cavanaugh. She thinks to herself that the people here all seem so stiff.
As they ride up in an elevator, She-Hulk asks what this place is. The man escorting her answers that Medtech is a privately funded psychic research institute. They walk to the dream research labs. She-Hulk says that the place sure is high tech. She-Hulk sees Dylan and says hello. Dylan welcomes Jen to Medtech. She-Hulk tells Dylan that she isn’t Jen anymore but She-Hulk all the time. She-Hulk says that she is glad to see him. She starts to say that she came as soon as she saw him in her dream, but Dylan cuts her off before she can reach that part and suggests taking her to lunch. He quickly puts on his coat and tells her that he needs to talk to her in private. As they walk out, the man that escorted Jen to Dylan is on the phone with a Mr. Ogden. He says that he doesn’t know how he contacted her, and that they were watching him. He promises Ogden that Dylan won’t do something.
Outside, Jen asks what that was all about. She says that she knows that he is in trouble, and that the dreams came in loud and clear. She asks why he didn’t just call her. Dylan says that calling would have been too dangerous and that “them” would have found out. She-Hulk says that the “them” sounds like a bad spy novel. Dylan says that the men at Medtech are involved in some bad stuff. She-Hulk says that they are being followed. Dylan says that the men from the clinic must know. She-Hulk says that she will handle this, but that then she wants some answers.
She-Hulk tries to ditch them, but the LA freeway isn’t much help. She-Hulk has enough. She stops the car and walks over to the men following them. The men get out of the car as She-Hulk walks towards them. She says that it is a nice day for a car chase. The men tell her not to give them a hard time. She-Hulk says that she is Cavanaugh’s attorney and that they are causing her to break the speed limit. She says that the state of California frowns on lawyers exceeding the speed limit. She picks the men up and tosses them away. She says that they wouldn’t want her to get a ticket on her record. As she drives away, She-Hulk tells the boys to tell their boss that she said hello.
At Dylan’s new apartment, Dylan hands She-Hulk a drink. He says that he doesn’t know if it was such a good idea confronting those men. He says that they have dangerous connections. She-Hulk says that so does she. Dylan says that he needs her help because she is his friend. He says that she was once anyway. He says that she is different, and that she isn’t Jen anymore. She says that she is his friend, but that she doesn’t need to, or want to be, Jen anymore. She asks what she can do to help. Dylan tells She-Hulk that a man named Ogden offered him a job. Dylan says that it was good money, an apartment, and a car, but that there were strings. He says that he was to go into other people’s dreams and teach them the talent. He says that he wanted to help people, but that Ogden wanted him to create industrial spies to make him richer. She-Hulk asks why Dylan didn’t go to the FBI or the police. Dylan says that Ogden is a powerful psychic, and that he has a hold on his dreams. He says that Ogden could crush and kill him. He says that he was only able to contact her because Ogden is out of town. He says that he isn’t strong enough to defeat him on his own. He says that they always shared a special bond. He says that some of his subjects are just kids and that Ogden wants to use their minds. He says that he can’t allow that. She-Hulk asks Dylan what he wants her to do. Dylan says that they can go into Jen’s dream together and fight Odgen there. She-Hulk tells Dylan that she loves and trusts him. She says that they should go get him.
She-Hulk and Dylan sit on the floor
together. Dylan speaks until he and She-Hulk pass into a dream
state. They head to the dream plane to find Ogden. She-Hulk says
that she always wanted to fly, and that this is great. They
arrive in Jen’s dream. Suddenly the trees start bending and
trying to grab them. Dylan says that it is Ogden and that he is
more powerful than ever. Dylan is caught in a tree. Ogden appears
and says that he is stronger than ever and stronger than the both
of them. He says that She-Hulk has no power here. Jen uproots one
of the trees and tries to hit Ogden with it, but it passes right
through his body. Ogden says that here he can be anyone he wants,
including her worst nightmare. 
Ogden turns into
the Hulk and leaps into She-Hulk. Ogden says that this is his
dream. He says that Cavanaugh is his and that he institute is
his. Jen tries to get up, but “Hulk” hits her to the
ground. Dylan tells Jen to think and that her mind is her weapon
here. She-Hulk says that she is sorry, but that she can’t
fight. Ogden tells Cavanuagh that he has beaten his savior. Dylan
tells She-Hulk that she is still Jen on this plane and that is
her power. She-Hulk turns into Jen and says that it is her mind
that Ogden must confront. Ogden tells Ms. Walters to pit her mind
against his. Jen smacks Ogden and sends him scurrying off with
his hands over his face. He says that it isn’t possible.
Ogden runs off a cliff screaming. Dylan says that it is over and
that she beat him.
They return to the waking world. Jen hugs Dylan and says that she is still Jen Walters. She says that she is still her. Dylan says that she never stopped being her and that he always knew that. Jen says, “Ogden isn’t… dead?” Dylan says that he isn’t, but that he no longer control the dream plane. He says that he can go back to work and help those kids. She-Hulk says, “And if you ever need me…” Dylans says that he knows she is a dream away. Jen asks if he would call next time.
Leader’s Lair rating: 4 out of 10
This is one of the longest 11 pages in the world, and not in a good way. The script is strained and convoluted. It tries to give you the back story and the current story at the same time and makes it all just confusing. Ogden seems like a pretty big wimp to me. He takes one punch and runs off crying? The art also has its moments, but most of the time it’s kinda painful to look at. 2 out of 5 for both writing and art.
Title: “Run Through the Jungle”
Writer: Michael Higgins
Penciller: Ron Wilson
Inker: Jim Sanders III
Colors: Jim Sanders III
Editor: Al Milgrom
Vision flies through the night thinking dark and somber thoughts. Vision says that when Wanda decided to take the children and visit their friends on the east coast that he decided against accompanying her. He says that he had grown accustomed to their life of seclusion, and that even joining the West Coast Avengers took some readjusting. He says that his greatest trepidation lies with those that he shares the longest histories with. He says that it stretches back so far to a time when his belonged to the original Human Torch. He says that in many ways that he was only born a few years ago and that these are really his childhood years. He says that he missed out on basic common experiences, and that maybe that is why he has been so dependant on others. He says that he has always been with the Avengers or Wanda, and that he doesn’t really know what it is to rely on himself. He says that he feels the need to discover his own identity, but that he can’t even say for sure if he has a soul. He thinks how even his body is not his own, and how Captain America and Sub-Mariner only serve as reminders of what he is. Suddenly an image flashes in Vision’s mind. There is a man surrounded by flames and a Nazi symbol. Vision almost goes unconscious and falls towards the ground. He manages to stay conscious, but loses control of his powers.
Vision hits the ground in front of a man shooting up heroin. In his drug induced stupor the man mistakes Vision for a former army associate from Vietnam. He says that he can’t be here and that he saw him buried. He says that he can’t be here unless he is a ghost and starts running away.
The man, Bubba, remembers sitting with John John. John John suggests that maybe now isn’t the best time for Bubba to shoot up. Bubba accuses John John of trying to tell him what to do and starts running away. John John runs after him and gets shot. Bubba holds John John and says that he can’t be dead.
Vision confused by Bubba’s extreme reaction flies after him under the ground. He passes through the ground in front of Bubba. He says that he is there to help him. Bubba sees him as a John John zombie and says that he doesn’t want anything from him. He says that he is dead. Vision says that he may not be really alive, but that he isn’t dead. Bubba says that he never meant to hurt him and that it was the war’s fault. Bubba draws a gun and runs away again. Vision chases after him. He says that there must be some way for him to help the “poor soul”. Vision sees a car approaching and hopes that it is met with better reception than he was.
A car drives up, but Bubba sees it as a helicopter. Bubba’s wife and children get out of the car, but Bubba sees them as Vietnamese. He says that their “filthy race” is at fault. He says that they ruined his life and that they are going to pay. His wife says that they only had an argument, and that he ran off. Bubba’s children watch their father grab their mother and tell her that he is going to kill her. Bubba’s wife tells him to try and remember their children and their life together. Bubba smiles and says that the children are her garbage and not his. He says that they are all going to learn “how to die like the filthy gooks they are”. Vision says that this has gone on long enough. Bubba shoots Vision, but the bullet passes right through him. Bubba makes some more racial slurs and says that whatever saved him won’t save the others. Vision gets in front of the family and turns diamond hard. The bullets bounce off his chest. Vision reaches into Bubba’s skull and partially solidifies his fingers. Bubba is hurt more than he ever has in his life, but it snaps him out of his high. Bubba asks where he is. His wife says that he is with the ones that love him and that he has to learn not to run away from them. She says that it is time he forgot the past tragedies and the drugs. Bubba cries as his children ask if he is all right. Bubba tells them that he is. Vision is thanked by the wife as they get in the car and drive away.
Vision says that he learned a lesson. He says that one can lose track of what they have until faced with someone less fortunate. He says that one of the greatest gifts is to help another soul.
Leader’s Lair rating: 0 out of 10
What a nice story. Now this drug addict racist can have another chance to traumatize his children. According to the Editori-Al this story was foisted upon us instead of a She-Hulk story by John Byrne because Byrne was in the middle of his Sensational She-Hulk #9-30 tantrum. Thanks John!
Review and pictures by The Leader