Sensational She-Hulk #53
Sensational She-Hulk #53
Title: “Death Becomes Her: To Die and Live In L.A. Part 2”
Writer: Michael Eury
Penciller: Darren Auck
Inker: Mike DeCarlo
Colors: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Renee Witterstaetter
Bulldozers begin digging up She-Hulk's body after it she was buried alive by the
Rumbler.
She-Hulk's ghost emerges and starts calling for Weezi. However, Weezi can't see
or hear the ghost. Jen sees her father being loaded into an ambulance. She
tries to touch him, but her hand passes right through. At this point Jen notices
that she can see right through herself. At first she is afraid that her book
has been cancelled and she is now in limbo, but soon realizes that isn't it.
She thinks back on the events leading up to now, with her being attacked by War
Zone, and sprayed with that gas that introduced a toxin that is eating away the
gamma radiation in her blood. She came to L.A. to get treatment from her old
boyfriend Zapper Ridge, but before they could start treatment, She-Hulk got into
a fight with an earthquake projecting villain named the Rumbler, who buried her
alive! Jen remembers trying to dig her way out, but running out of air.
Just
as she figures out that she must be dead, the rescue team pulls her corpse out
of the ground! Weezi begins to break down, but one of the paramedics takes her
away to go to the hospital to be with Moe.
She-Hulk is trying to come to grips with what has happened to her, when suddenly
she finds herself in a convertible, speeding along a creepy wasteland filled
with skeletons. She sees a sign that says "Bright Light 8 miles". Jen picks up
speed to try and reach the "Bright Light" and find out what is going on.
However, she is soon pulled over for speeding. When the cop comes to talk to
her, she says she didn't realize there was a speed limit in the middle of
nowhere. The cop warns her that being a smart mouth will only get her into more
trouble. Jen apologizes, and says she must have been in too much of a hurry.
The cop tells her there is no need to rush, since she will have unlimited time
on her hands once she enters eternity! The cop pulls off the helmet, and reveals
a skull underneath! Jen mistakes the cop for Ghost Rider, and asks who put out
his flaming head. The cop uniform disappears, and she identifies herself as
Mistress Death! She says she has come to claim She-Hulk, and says that she must
answer for all that she has done, and has failed to do! Jen says that she
appreciates the offer, but has decided to pass! She kicks Mistress Death into
the cliff wall, and then drives away as fast as she can.
Jen wonders what she is going to find at the Bright Light; she has always heard
that it is supposed to be something wonderful. She guesses pearly gates, or a
smiling faces, or a harem of male exotic dancers waiting to feed her grapes. She
is surprised to find it is....a shopping mall! "Maybe being dead isn't so bad
after all!"
Inside she finds various dead heroes, villains and supporting characters
wandering around shopping. Bucky, Captain America's deceased sidekick, sees
She-Hulk and offers to show her around. She asks if everyone who dies comes to
the mall, and he says no, only the ones who like to shop. He explains that the
mall is a bridge between the realms of bliss and torment. "The good come here
when they wish to touch a piece of their past lives. And the bad show up during
their reprieves. It's a lot nicer here than where they're used to… despite the
mall's parking problems!" He shows her Firebrand working a burger grill in the
food court; Miracle Man using his hypnosis to make himself a popular
hairdresser, and Kangaroo working as a step aerobics instructor.
The tour is interrupted by an attack from Green Goblin! She-Hulk warns him to
back off, since she is not in the best of moods. He drops a pumpkin bomb on her
and Bucky, and mocks her, saying that he was expecting a more worthy opponent.
She-Hulk rips the escalator loose and swings it into him like a club! "You know
something, Goblin..? You've got a pretty escalated opinion of yourself!"
She-Hulk is pleased to see that she is back to her full strength here. The
Goblin falls into She-Hulk's arms, but then he blasts her in the face with his
laser. It temporarily blinds her, and then he drops another pumpkin bomb at
her, this one releasing hallucinogenic gas!
While Bucky tackles the Goblin and takes him on in
hand-to-hand combat, She-Hulk begins having flashbacks to her childhood! She
sees her father being disappointed that she wanted to be a dancer rather than
following him into law enforcement. She sees her mother telling Morris to let
her make her own decisions. Then she sees her mother being killed in the car
crash! Next, her former best friend, Jill, appears to her, blaming Jen for her
death. She was murdered by Nick Trask, who was trying to kill Jen! Jen is
overwhelmed with guilt, and worries that her father will be the next of her
loved ones to suffer and die.
Bucky's cries for help grab She-Hulk's attention! The Goblin has grabbed him by
the throat, and is choking him! She-Hulk sees this, but in her drugged state,
she sees it as Mistress Death choking her father! She-Hulk clobbers the Green
Goblin, thinking that she is protecting her father! Goblin throws another
pumpkin bomb at her, but she catches it and tosses it back at him! She-Hulk is
going to continue to pound on him, but she is stopped… by her mother! The two
women hug, and Jennifer says how happy she is to see her mother again. She
starts to say how she blames herself, but her mother cuts her off. "You didn't
kill me… that drunk driver did! It was only a coincidence that my death
happened on route to your dance recital." Jen accepts that, but says that she
still feels responsible for Jill's death. Her mother tells her not to… she sees
Jill once a week at their yoga class, and she knows that Jill doesn't blame her.
"And besides, Jenny...our deaths helped shape your character, helped make you
the heroine who's saved so many people… the heroine who's made me so proud." Jen
and her mother go to get reacquainted, so she tosses the Green Goblin aside. He
wants to attack her again, but Bucky tells him to leave her alone. He says that
if the Goblin is so eager to fight a dead hero, he should call Captain Marvel.
Jen wonders how her mother happened to be at the mall right when she needed
her. Mrs. Walters says it was a coincidence… she was just there to buy the new
Elvis CD. Jen rolls her eyes.
Back on Earth, at DeVasquez Research Technologies, Zapper
has urgently summoned Hector DeVasquez and Christina. Neither of them knows why
Zapper has called them. He thanks them both for coming. "I wanted you to join
me as I write a new page in medical history...by resurrecting She-Hulk from the
dead!"
Site for Sore Eyes rating: 5 out of 10
Last issue was a good start to a new storyline, but unfortunately things got very disappointing very quickly. Jen's entire experience in the afterlife was far too silly—even for this book's lighthearted tone. Mistress Death is not supposed to speak, let alone that absurd traffic cop gag. The Afterlife Shopping Mall, where villains flip burgers and teach aerobics? Give me a break.
Review by Dermie
Picture by The Leader