Sensational She-Hulk Graphic Novel continues...
She-Hulk says that she figures that they are
below street level because of all the hardware and that they
should head up. Wyatt says that he is surprised there are no
internal defense systems when gas starts to pour out of the wall.
She-Hulk punches a hole through the wall to get out. She-Hulk and
Wyatt step out onto what looks like an airfield. Wyatt says that
it looks like they are the only ones who got out. She-Hulk and
Wyatt run until they realize that they are no longer on the
ground at all, but that the airfield is on top of the enormous
SHIELD helicarrier. SHIELD agents surround them. She-Hulk says
that they will go along with them for now. She says that they are
too high for her to leap especially carrying him. She-Hulk and
Wyatt are lead into a room. One of the agents tells She-Hulk to
strip. The agent holds his gun to Wyatt’s head and says that
she strips or buries her boyfriend at Wounded Knee. Wyatt tells
She-Hulk that she has rights. 
She-Hulk says
that apparently her rights don’t count for much around here.
She says that she is going to write a nasty letter to her
congressman later. As she takes off her clothes, She-Hulk says
that she remembers when SHIELD was one of the good guys, but
that’s the trouble with para-military spy groups. They start
as Secret Service and end up as KGB. She-Hulk takes off her last
article of clothing and asks if they want her to jump some rope
now.
Dum Dum speeds along and wonders what it taking Dooley so long. He says that he should have finished processing them twenty minutes ago. The other civilians have already been returned to the ground. Dum Dum charges into the room and wants to know what is taking so long. He walks in and sees She-Hulk standing there nude. She-Hulk says, “Evening gramps. I take it you’re in charge of this stag party?” Dum Dum asks Dooley what the hell is going on. Dooley says that all prisoners are to be strip searched before being cleared into minimum security holding areas. He says that he never thought he would be so pleased to enforce a regulation. Dum Dum says that is supposed to be in a private cell with an officer of the same sex. Dum Dum says that this is gross misuse of authority and tells Dooley to confine himself to his quarters until he has filed a report. Dooley walks off but says that he hasn’t heard the last of this and that he has friends in high places. Dugan says to save it and says that he wants to see the She-Hulk in his office in ten minutes. He says to get her a smock.
Dum Dum says that he is sorry for the way this happened. He says that they were supposed to pick her up for analysis, not subject her to that. She-Hulk tells Dugan that “being drooled over by a bunch of emotionally retarded little boys is nothing” compared to being kidnapped by them. She asks what is going on. Dugan says that he is not sure himself, and that he wasn’t going to go along with this himself if it hadn’t come in writing form from Fury himself. Dugan says that they want to make sure that she isn’t going to go nasty the way that the Hulk did. She-Hulk says that she understands the concern, and she admits to being concerned herself, but that it is the methods that she disagrees with. She says that it seems SHIELD holds itself outside the law these days. Dum Dum says that he doesn’t know anymore. He says that sometimes he stands in the middle of it and feels like a stranger. Dum Dum gets a call. He tells whoever is on the other end that he did file a report against Dooley. Dum Dum sits up in his chair and says, “What?!? You can’t be serious, sir!” Dugan hangs up and says that it seems Dooley really does have friends in high places. Dugan says that he has been ordered back to Washington. Dooley enters and says that leaves him in charge until Fury returns. Dooley says that Dugan has three minutes to get to the shuttle-bay. He tells Wyatt that they have a prepared quarters for him so the She-Hulk will know that they are taking care of him. He tells the She-Hulk that she is coming with him.
Dooley takes She-Hulk to the lab where Levine has set up. Dooley asks Levine if he is ready. Levine says that he is as ready as he ever will be since this kind of examination isn’t really in his field. Dooley tells him to be extra careful and extra thorough. Dooley tells She-Hulk to get naked again. Levine says that isn’t necessary, but Dooley says that he says that it is. Dooley says that it is now 9:47 and tells them to get started.
At 3:17 AM, Dooley and two SHIELD agents carry She-Hulk to Wyatt’s cell. Wyatt wants to know what they have done to her, but Dooley just tells him to get back unless he wants some of the same. Dooley has them toss She-Hulk in. He tells Wyatt to tell her that when she wakes up that she has two hours until they start again. Wyatt brushes her hair back. She-Hulk wakes up. He tells her to save her strength, but She-Hulk says that it isn’t as bad as it looks. Wyatt gives her some cold coffee and says that maybe the caffeine will help her. She-Hulk says that she has been poked and prodded in places that she didn’t know she had. Wyatt asks why she doesn’t resist. She-Hulk says that it is because they have him. She-Hulk asks if Wyatt has tried to break loose. Wyatt says that the bars are too close together for him to get through and too tough for him to bend. He also points out that there is a weight sensitive alarm that will cause cyanide gas to release if the weight varies by more than two pounds. She-Hulk tests the bars and says that they seem to be some distant cousin of adamantium, and that they would probably be too much for her even if she wasn’t wiped out. She-Hulk says that they have to get out of there while they are still together. She asks Wyatt if he could press the equivalent of her weight. Wyatt says that he is no weakling, but isn’t sure he could do six hundred and fifty pounds. She-Hulk says to shut his mouth and asks if his mother ever told him that it wasn’t polite to point out “a gal’s most intimate secrets”. Jen places the two blocks that serve as seats on top of each other. Wyatt gets up on the boxes and braces his shoulders against the ceiling. As She-Hulk transforms back into her human form of Jennifer Walters, Wyatt applies more and more pressure to make up the difference in weight. In her human form Jen squeezes through the bars. She says that there are no alarms going off and she thinks that her plan is working. Wyatt says that it isn’t going to work for long if she doesn’t hit the off switch. Sweat pours down his face and says that he is pushing hard enough to break his back. Jen looks at the weight alarm and notices that the buttons are not labeled. She says that there are three of them. One for on, one for off, and one to set the weight. Jen figures that it goes “on-set-off”. She presses the third button and turns off the alarm. Jen says that there are some advantages to thinking like a lawyer. Wyatt asks how they are going to get him out. Jen says that she hadn’t thought of that. Wyatt says that he thinks that she should get going on what she has to do and not worry about him. Jen says that Wyatt wouldn’t be in this trouble if it weren’t for her, and that they would kick her out of the superhero union if she left him there. She says that besides that it would be a crime to let anything happen to his buns. Jen reaches through the bars to squeeze Wyatt’s butt. Jen says that she has about an hour and a half until they return. She tells Wyatt to wish her luck.
Jen walks down the hallway in her smock. One of the agents notices that Jen isn’t wearing any shoes. Jen breaks into a run, and the agent calls in that there is an intruder. Dooley asks what the intruder looks like. The agent says that she is Caucasian, about thirty, five foot six inches, with brown hair, wearing a SHIELD smock and no shoes. Dooley gives a bunch of orders and figures that the intruder is trying to get to Wyatt and She-Hulk. Dooley starts to charge out of the room when he is grabbed by the throat by a dirty decaying hand. The man grabs Dooley’s face and seemingly kisses him. Dooley tries to resist, but the kiss goes on until the decaying body is just an empty shell. Dooley is no being controlled by whatever was controlling the decaying man. A voice tells Dooley not to resist them, and that without them he now has no life. The voice tells Dooley to take them to the central control of the ship. It says that Dooley’s memories will guide them and his knowledge will teach them what they need to know to destroy this ship and show the world their power.
Jen hides and watches Dooley walk down the corridor. When he is far enough gone Jen powers back up into the She-Hulk and rips the controller for opening the door off. She walks inside Dooley’s office and sees that he has been watching the tapes of her “examination”. She-Hulk says that creeps like him could give perverts a bad name. She-Hulk ejects the tape and crushes it in her hand. Suddenly She-Hulk is tossed as the whole ship starts to tip over.
Outside the office one of the agents says that the port main rotors have stopped turning. Another agent says that is impossible because there hasn’t been any power loss. Someone says to check the prisoners. They discover that She-Hulk has escaped. They sound the red alert and one of the agents says that She-Hulk must be located and neutralize. He tells them to shoot to kill.
The pilots all rush out to try and get the aircraft on the top flying before they slip off. One of the jets slides off and destroys a donut shop. Another pilot sacrifices themselves trying to right the jet, but ultimately the jet crashes.
She-Hulk says that she had better see if
there is anything that she can do to help. Suddenly the withered
husk of the man from before falls on She-Hulk. She picks it off
and says that it smells like this body has been dead for a
hundred years. An agent says that She-Hulk is about to join him
and then he opens fire. 
Another agent
runs up behind him and tells him that She-Hulk wasn’t
responsible. She tells him that it was Dooley. She-Hulk grabs the
gun out of the agent’s hands and says that it is lucky that
she is damn near bulletproof. She asks what the agent said about
“El Creep-o”. The agent says that Dooley came into the
master control center and ordered everyone out. She says that
they knew he was in charge so they obeyed. She-Hulk says that she
saw Dooley leave his office and thought that something was wrong
even for him. She-Hulk says that she smells a rat and she intends
to do something about it. She-Hulk asks for some clothes.
Dressed in a purple jump suit, She-Hulk walks down the corridor. Two agents spot her and want to know what is going on here. The agent from the control room says that it is okay, and that She-Hulk is on their side. She-Hulk says that she doesn’t know about that, but that she is anti-Dooley. She-Hulk asks if there is a reason that she shouldn’t rip the door open. Gaffer appears and says that there is a couple good ones. Gaffer says that is the “single most secure access in the whole system”. He says that if she rips it open that the entire area will seal and fill with a deadly nerve gas. She-Hulk says that is internal defenses, and asks about outside.
As She-Hulk prepares to swing through the window from the outside, Gaffer tells her to be careful. He says that if there is an unexpected thermal that she could be tossed up into the blades. She-Hulk climbs down the side a bit and then smashes through the outside into the control center. She-Hulk starts looking around for Dooley. She says that she would have thought that he would have come out with guns blazing or at least the latest Hustler. Dooley jumps onto She-Hulk’s back and calls her a foolish human. Dooley says that She-Hulk is going to die, and in dying will serve them. Dooley says, “We have had many hosts since the first, the one called Campbell. That was long ago, so long, but never have we had a body such as yours. So strong, so lush, so full of the juices of life. You will serve us well and for a long time.” Dooley goes to kiss She-Hulk, but She-Hulk looks into his mouth and sees that he is full of cockroaches. She-Hulk flips Dooley off of her and Dooley explodes against the wall. The cockroaches scatter everywhere. She-Hulk goes to the controls and opens the doors. She-Hulk tells the guys to go ahead. One pulls a lever and the control center explodes. The control center breaks off and crashes near a farm. Gaffer says that the panel must have been booby-trapped. Gaffer says that pulling the lever detonated the emergency ditch system. One of the agents says that this thing is dead weight now and orders evacuation with only emergency crew to remain aboard. The pods all take off.
Gaffer says that there are a few pods left, and that She-Hulk should go. She-Hulk says that she has to save Wyatt. Gaffer wishes her luck. Gaffer orders Harras to go and that the starboard lifters need to be cut as well. Harras says that they would crash for sure. Gaffer says that they are going to crash anyway, but they have to control how hard they hit. Gaffer says that they have to cut the starboard and hope that they level off. Gaffer tells everyone to hold on. He says that he has reversed the vortex beams. One agent asks if he means the things that help lift things off the ground. Gaffer says that now they are going to push against the ground. The ground is too uneven and the helicarrier tips over and crashes.
After the dust clears the pilots spot the helicarrier and decide that nothing could have survived that. She-Hulk emerges carrying Wyatt. Wyatt asks what happened. She-Hulk says, “We faw down, go boom!” She asks how he is. Wyatt says that he will be okay. Gaffer also walks out. He says that they aren’t done there yet. She-Hulk tells him to guess again, and that as soon as Wyatt is ready that they are out of there. Gaffer says that it is thirty-five miles to the next town, but that it is just close enough to get blown to hell in about twenty minutes. She-Hulk grabs him and asks what he is talking about. Gaffer says that he is talking about the carrier’s atomic pile. He says that he is getting strange readings from it, and that it is going to explode and destroy everything within a hundred miles unless she shuts it down. She-Hulk says that Gaffer must have landed on his head. Gaffer says that if his guess is right that they are going to need her strength to fix what is wrong. She-Hulk says that Gaffer doesn’t have a radiation suit her size. Gaffer says that if his tests on her were accurate that she has a higher resistance to radiation than regular humans. Wyatt says that he doesn’t like this. He says that these people kidnap her, torture her to the point of death, and then expect her to save them. She-Hulk says that if it were just them that she would throw him over her shoulder and leave, but that there is a town of innocent people as well. Wyatt asks if Gaffer is sure that She-Hulk won’t be hurt. Gaffer says that he didn’t say that. He says that she has a better chance than they do. He says that he has no idea exactly what radiation of this quantity would do to her cells. He says that she may not be hurt though. She-Hulk says that if she doesn’t that they’re all dead. She-Hulk says that is some choice he is giving her.
She-Hulk makes her way through the carrier to the radiation core. As she rips the door off and steps into the room, She-Hulk is instantly swarmed by cockroaches.
Wyatt asks what is taking so long. He says that he should have gone with her. Gaffer says that he would have just gotten radiation poisoning. Gaffer says that he thinks that She-Hulk was successful or the carrier would have exploded by now. Wyatt says that doesn’t tell him anything. He says that she could be dead inside, and that he doesn’t want to think about life without her. She-Hulk thanks Wyatt for the kind words. Wyatt asks her if she is okay. She-Hulk emerges covered in squished cockroaches . She says that she could use a shower or twelve, but she is okay.
Three days later in New York, Reed Richards is examining She-Hulk. He says that there is no sign of any roach contamination. She-Hulk says that is a relief. She says that she has taken fifty showers, but that she still feels them crawling over her. Reed says that they are a truly remarkable case, and asks She-Hulk if she is certain that she can’t shed any light on how they came into existence. She-Hulk says that all she knows is that they said they had been around a long time, and that they thrived on radioactivity. Reed says that is probably the key to their mutation. He says that it might have been an old atomic test. He says that it is too bad that they don’t have one or two of them to study. Jen says that once she started squishing them that the only way she could keep from throwing up was to concentrate on squishing them all. Jen says that she gets the feeling that Reed is talking around some bad news and asks him what it is. Reed says that the exposure to SHIELD’s atomic pile did affect her. He says that it put a genetic lock on her that prevents her from ever becoming Jennifer Walters again. Reed says that he is sorry. She-Hulk is silent for a while and says, “So what’s the bad news?”
Seven hours later, Wyatt is giving She-Hulk a massage. He says that he figured she could use a way to relax since she found out that she can no longer become Jennifer Walters. She-Hulk says that really isn’t a problem. She says that she always preferred being She-Hulk. She says that is why she rarely changed back to her original self. Wyatt says that there is something and tells her to come clean. She-Hulk says that SHIELD figured that the cockroaches got onboard with one of the civilians that got grabbed up with them. Wyatt asks why that would bother her. She-Hulk says that it means that the cockroaches knew what SHIELD was going to do and when. She says that the only way that they could have known is something that she doesn’t want to think about. Cockroaches walk around the vent in the ceiling of the room She-Hulk and Wyatt are in.
Site for Sore Eyes rating: 9 out of 10
You have to give John Byrne credit. This book surely reaches you on a level. It makes you stop and think about it. His art is fantastic here. She-Hulk really shines and there isn’t too much “cloning” that occurs when Byrne draws a large group of people (though one of the agents does look like Dooley minus the scar plus a pair of glasses. My biggest problem with this story is that I didn’t think that Nick Fury was such a coward. He doesn’t like the assignment so he leaves the task to the questionable decision making of the ones forcing the subject? That’s not the Fury I know. I’ve never read the outcome of why or where SHIELD was corrupt, but how does Dooley know anyone that outranks Dum Dum within the organization? Lastly there sure are a bunch of racial slurs against Wyatt’s ethnicity.
Off the subject I’m a little worried about John Byrne. Between this book, his book “Whipping Boy”, and some of the Fantastic Four issues that I’ve read it seems like the degradation of women is a fairly prevalent theme in his work. I know that She-Hulk is a free spirit, and I don’t have a problem with nudity or revealing outfits for the young lads, but I think that the humiliation tied in with these stories might be a little much for the young’ins. I decided to cut the picture where She-Hulk watches some of the footage of her torture in accordance. If you send me proof of your age I’ll send you the gif of She-Hulk’s bare butt pictured on a tiny screen…