The following article contains spoilers for She-Hulk #3, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Ever since her first appearance, Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, has had some ups and downs in balancing being a superpowered lawyer or a hulking rage monster like her cousin, Bruce Banner. But after a brief stint where she embraced her savage side, Jen has returned to her roots in the She-Hulk series by Rainbow Rowell, Rogê Antônio, Rico Renzi, and VC's Joe Caramagna. However, rather than focus on the character's violent tendencies or her activities as a lawyer, the series instead puts a microscope on her personal relationships. More specifically, her growing skill as a maternal figure to those needing guidance.
Compared to her cousin, Jen has always been the most approachable of the Hulks. Her smile's not only calm; it's comforting and she's shown that she's a listener willing to do anything she can to help. While this may have been second nature to someone who's made a living as a lawyer, Jen instead showed that her kindness goes beyond her duties as legal counsel. In the first issue of the series, this was shown during her fight with Titania. Rather than have the struggle end with someone being knocked unconscious, Jen instead tried to reason with her longtime foe and came to the conclusion that they could be sparring buddies.
After Jen became the She-Hulk, she was an Avenger and member of the Fantastic Four. Among those teams, she's made lifelong friends and people she would readily call family. One example of this is shown in the third issue of her series when Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, called her asking for some legal help. Although she could not help him officially, as she can't legally aid superpowered individuals, she still offered to meet to offer some advice. Almost immediately after the call, Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, also called her to get some help about a speeding ticket he got. The scene was only a page long but perfectly captured how Jen had become the "emergency contact" of so many heroes in the Marvel Universe.
Since then, Jen has tried to make the best of leaving the Avengers and being homeless. Thankfully, she's had friends like the Wasp to help her give her somewhere to stay as she's reestablished her firm. But even though her life is anything but organized at the moment, people still come to her for help. Her biggest pet project has been the return of Jack of Hearts, who's long been believed to be deceased for years. However, Jack has changed and may have even lost most of his powers by issue #3. Nevertheless, Jen has maintained the role as Jack's rock and helped him understand his past and present to better formulate an optimistic future. It's been the best example of Jen's maternal tendencies as she's devoted more of her time to helping her friend than herself, even to her detriment.
Jennifer's role as an unofficial maternal figure to so many of her friends is an unexpected turn for a character whose known to clobber enemies with a smile. But even though the direction has been unorthodox so far, it's also been refreshing and heart-warming to read a series about a character with a history of fighting, tackling the idea of approaching situations calmly and with a caring heart. The series also implies that the help she's given her friends has also helped her, as Jen isn't in the best spirits mentally, as well. After she's lost nearly everything, rebuilding her life won't be an easy feat. However, by helping others, she's slowly proven that if she can aid her friends in need, she can just as easily help herself.
Jennifer Walter's story is still being told, but with each issue, more of the puzzle that is her true feelings have been unraveled. But the biggest hint to what's really been going on in the mind of the Sensational She-Hulk can be seen in how she's taken to helping those she's close to. Just as much as her friends, Jen needs help too. But for now, the best therapy she can give herself is to be there for others as the sensational nurturing hero for all her friends.
