AVENGERS versus MODOK & AIM

The Girl From Gamma Gamma Gamma (Marvel)
Where: She-Hulk #1 When: May 2004
Why: Dan Slott How: Juan Bobillo

The Story So Far...
Jennifer Walters lives a charmed life. She parties by night, wins court cases by day, and when she isn't doing either of those, she becomes the Sensational She-Hulk, enjoying all the privileges of an Avenger with superhuman strength, free parking, and residence at Avengers Mansion.

Consultation with a blood specialist has helped the ace attorney crack her latest case against the man responsible for improper storage of Antarctic Vibranium, but closing arguments have to wait when an Avengers Emergency calls She-Hulk into action!

MODOK and Advanced Idea Mechanics are up to their old tricks, targeting the Earth for a deep freeze from the upper atmosphere, but the low gravity battle is just the beginning of She-Hulk's troubles.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: MODOK 5 (Professor)
Speed: Wasp 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Scarlet Witch 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Iron Man 31 (Super)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, and She-Hulk.

The Avengers have a strong line-up, but don't count MODOK out just yet! He's flanked by a small army of Advanced Idea Mechanics agents, with Blizzard strapped in to a machine designed to amplify his freezing powers on a global scale!

Blizzard is Donald Gill: the second villain to assume the alias after receiving a cryogenic battlesuit from Justin Hammer. He used his ice-projecting powers to help fight Iron Man and War Machine as part of Hammer's private army.

MODOK might look a little funny, but in previous entries we've documented him dominating a troubled Abomination, brain-blasting Cable, and turning heroes into mind-controlled pawns in the all-star all-ages version of Avengers Adventures, which also saw the kid-friendly villain mutate them into MODvengers.

The team assembled today are well versed in the art of saving the world and beating back bad guys. She-Hulk herself has stared down the threat of Thanos on multiple occasions, teamed with Hercules to best the mythical possessed Bran the Blessed, and will eventually defeat the Champion of the Universe.

How will it all go this time around? Let's get to finding out!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Iron Man (#4)

What Went Down...

His orbital space platform is already destroyed when MODOK shouts defiantly into the void that his cryo-cannon is still functional.

AIM soldiers float scattered high above the world as the Avengers scramble to prevent the ultimate attempt at techno-orbital espionage.

Leading their effort to save the world is the ever tenacious Captain America, who wields his mighty shield against the yellow clad science-terrorists, while desperately seeking to rally an Avenger to take out the advanced freeze gun.

Wasp and Vision contend with AIM agents, blasting the floating horde, while Iron Man does his best to reach the hostile tech -- even though his repulsor rays cannot breach MODOK's shield bubble.

She-Hulk makes a dive for the bubble as the gunner strapped to the cannon takes his shot.

The cryo-cannon channels the freezing powers of Blizzard to unleash a gigantic freeze ray in the direction of the Earth. The only thing preventing its success -- Captain America's unbreakable shield and will to hold it!

The vacuum of space somehow diminishes the freeze-ray's effects, but if it hits the Earth's atmosphere the world is at risk of a sudden winter!

With the threat of an ice age looming, She-Hulk slams her fist into the translucent shield bubble! Once! Twice! Again and again until at last it breaks!

She reaches in -- grabbing hold of a cable that tethers Blizzard to MODOK!

The mighty muscle of She-Hulk rips Blizzard out of his position mounted on the cryo-cannon and sends he & MODOK helplessly swinging through the vacuum.

She turns the villainous pair into a living wrecking ball, swinging MODOK & Blizzard through the yellow cluster of floating AIM agents -- breaking her own booster pack in the process!

MODOK disengages the line with a mental blast and activates the booster packs in his exo-suit.

An order for "Retreat Plan Omega" begins the escape operation, sending a scattered AIM swarm rapidly blasting for freedom -- thrusting She-Hulk booster-less in the direction of Earth in the process!

Fortunately, Hercules jumps into action to make the save, gently catching She-Hulk with mighty arms and a functioning pack. He agrees enthusiastically to a victory party as they hover above the big blue planet.

The Hammer...

The world is saved from a second ice age thanks to the tireless efforts of She-Hulk and The Avengers!

Despite the planetary threat posed by AIM's dismantled machines, it's actually a relatively small battle, driving MODOK and Blizzard into a desperate retreat in only two action-packed pages.

It serves as a little taste of a typical day in the life of She-Hulk, who literally had to leap from the courtroom, abandoning her duties as a lawyer mid-trial, to serve the greater good as an Avenger.

These dueling responsibilities are catching up with the partygirl hero, whose work/life balance is spiraling out of control -- even if she doesn't realise it!

A one-two punch will bring her down to Earth when Captain America and Wasp politely evict her from Avengers Mansion for abusing the facilities (with a string of impromptu overnight guests), and she loses her civilian job after opposing council argues saving the world meant compromising the jury by eliciting gratitude.

All of this will see Blizzard finding She-Hulk drowning her sorrows the next night in a bar. A chance to settle the score for ruining his shot at the big time -- at least until She-Hulk effortlessly busts out of an ice straitjacket. Fortunately for him, she'd rather share a drink than deliver a pummeling on his way back to The Vault.

Fun stuff from the now legendary 2004-05 She-Hulk series by Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo. An instant favourite of the time that provided a succinct blueprint for last year's Disney+ live-action series with its perfect blend of superhero sitcom, and court room drama.

In fact, once I got my eyes to stop rolling from the sheer absurdity of it all, I couldn't help but be amused by supposed backlash to She-Hulk twerking on the show. Consternation that echoes Captain America and Iron Man's quiet chat about She-Hulk's wild partying during their victory celebration in She-Hulk #1.

Of course, the Avengers leadership were more concerned about structural integrity and security at Avengers Mansion, and less worried about whatever petty crap people were supposedly complaining about on Twitter.

Good humor and empowerment was part of She-Hulk's identity for a couple of decades prior to this, through her bawdy solo series under John Byrne, and tenures with the Avengers and Fantastic Four. We got a little taste of it when she grappled with wardrobe and lodging concerns back in Avengers #222, while also laying the smackdown on Moonstone and Scorpion.

Slott continued a down to earth depiction of She-Hulk that had helped distinguish the character from her rampaging cousin (and earlier "Savage" period), serving up a classic dose of Marvel's "heroes with headaches" with personality all its own.

It was eminently disappointing when Marvel shortened the run to just twelve issues, but that also made it a tight tome, sealed away as a definitive take on the character, and some of Slott's best work. This was before the writer let loose on knowingly prickly subjects, teasing out fresh and intuitive takes on Marvel canon, rather than leaning in to some of its more disruptive urges.

Juan Bobillo delivers all the right beats with a bubbly penciling style atypical for the time, but perfection with its strong expression and performance, and lively sense of energy. Some of his superhero designs go quirkily off-model throughout the series, but as long as they're in these pages, sing in synch with all the fun.

Some of this volume's best elements don't exactly compliment our fight-fixated format, but today's MODOK feature is the kind of curious aside that I love to get on the record. If you're looking for something a little bit harder hitting, there's always our early spotlight on She-Hulk's challenge of Champion of the Universe, and their inventive subsequent rematch.

If you'd like to find more from the topics covered today, you can follow links throughout this post, or discover more wonders by diving into the reference banks of the Secret Archive. That's where you'll find a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 heroes & villains! Be a hero and support the project by becoming a subscriber on Patreon. As a thank you for your generosity you'll find additional updates, as well as options to shape the course of future articles!

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Winners: She-Hulk & Captain America (w/ Iron Man, Wasp, Vision, Hercules, and Scarlet Witch)
#56 (+32) She-Hulk
#7 (--) Captain America
#4 (--) Iron Man [+1 assist]
#39 (--) Wasp [+1 assist]
#148 (--) Vision [+1 assist]
#154 (--) Hercules [+1 assist]
#439 (--) Scarlet Witch [+1 assist]
#145 (-11) MODOK
#982 (new) Blizzard (Donald Gill)

SHE-HULK versus CHAMPION OF THE UNIVERSE
Engagement Ring (Marvel comics)
Where: She-Hulk #8 When: December, 2004
Why: Dan Slott How: Juan Bobillo

The story so far...
She-Hulk, having been appointed to the Magistrati, is employed to travel to the planet Skardon, where might makes right.

There she is to employ her strength as She-Hulk to battle Tryco Slatterus, the Champion of the Universe.
Entering the ring for legal battle, She-Hulk attempts to succeed where the Gladiator, Adam Warlock, Beta Ray Bill, the Silver Surfer, and Drax have all failed.

Needless to say, things do not go well, and the fight is stopped before She-Hulk is pounded into paste.
She-Hulk uses the brawn of her legal brain to request a rematch, as she claimed the fight had been stopped while she was still able to go on. Thus, she is granted an 'appeal' in three months.

Now she just has to figure out how to avoid that paste situation...

Recommended reading:
Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7: The first appearance of the Champion of the Universe.
Thanos Quest #1-#2: Thanos tricks Tryco into destroying a planet to steal the Power Gem.
She-Hulk #7-#8: She-Hulk assumes her role as one of the Magistrati, before being led to Skardon to face the Champion.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Champion 7 (Omnipotent)
Intelligence: She-Hulk 3 (Straight A's)
Speed: Champion 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Champion 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: She-Hulk 2 (Average Human)
Fighting Ability: Champion 7 (Born Fighter)
Energy Powers: Draw 1 (None)

If you're new to the site, you might have missed last March when these two did battle the first time.
As you may have gathered from the introductions, things didn't go exactly according to plan for She-Hulk, but lordy, she's bought herself three months to prepare for a re-trial.

So, what's changed? Well, the tape here is supposed to be based on the general accepted averages of a character, so in that respect absolutely nothing has changed.
Slatterus still out muscles her dramatically, and she's still smarter than he is.

Of course, this is a rematch in which the first fight saw the hero lose, so cosmic law submits that She-Hulk clearly has a much better chance this time around. However, I don't know if cosmic law is submissible if it comes from our universe, so perhaps that should be stricken from the record...

... At the end of the entry, there's no two ways about it.
Slatterus is a little arrogant, but basically an honorable fighter [adhering to a code of combat]. If one were somehow able to, say, think their way around a bit and find a rule or moral to use against the guy, they might stand a chance.

She-Hulk is certainly capable of such a feat, but to stay true to the purpose of this section [and render a prediction]: Tryco Slatterus, aka The Champion of the Universe, should emerge victorious.

What went down...
Jennifer Walters is a dizzy dame who, like most of us, hasn't looked after herself.
So, with three months to train up for her next confrontation with the Champion, it's not She-Hulk who has to bust a gut, but rather her human counterpart.

While training hard to buff up her average build (to facilitate an even more fantastic transformation into She-Hulk), Southpaw moans an unlikely insight that plants the seed for She-Hulk's counter argument for her appeal...

Skardon law forbids the use of weapons in the ring, and so, She-Hulk argues that Champion had benefitted from the use of a foreign object in their previous encounter: in the form of the Power Gem!

Champion agrees to give up the Infinity Gem, and guarantees victory under his own impressive cosmic strength. Even after She-Hulk unveils her impressive new physique, Champion plays it cool, that is, after exclaiming, "BY THE FIRES OF ETERNITY, WOMAN! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?!"
[We've all been there with our Chinese swimmer girlfriends, right fellas? - Material Mike]

The bell rings, and the two mighty warriors pledge their cases.
She-Hulk makes a compelling argument in the [early] goings with a stiff left that knocks Champion so hard, he goes into one of those panels where they draw the head a whole bunch of times as it snaps back. Ouch!

With the crowd cheering her name, Shulkie continues litigation, pounding the Elder with various super-strong hooks and uppercuts.
Before long (quite a bit before), Slatterus literally finds himself on the ropes, and the people of Skardon cheer She-Hulk's name - victorious.

Satisfied that it was her brain rather than her brawn that ultimately proved useful to the Magistrati, Shulkie leaves control of Skardon to Adam Warlock, content with returning to Earth.

The hammer...
All hail She-Hulk! Not just for whooping a guy smug enough to call himself Champion, but for being the starring character of such a fantastic read!

There were a lot of positives about the first volume of She-Hulk, but damned if this isn't one of my single favourite issues of 2004.
Slott and Bobillo do a number of truly enjoyable things in this issue, which features some truly awesome, and underappreciated characters from the Marvel Universe.

I could fully understand this kind of thing not being someone's cup of tea, but the unique designs for some of these characters really struck a chord with me.
I would have to say Bobillo's Champion is definitively superior to the design I'm more familiar with, that distincly lacks any grounding or humanity.
Bobillo's lines not only give Slatterus great character, but his overall presentation presents him less like a campy one-note villain, and more like the kind of guy who really has spent his life battling throughout the cosmos.

Likewise, Bobillo tweaks the look of Gladiator and Beta Ray Bill respectively.
I think most would agree BRB really wasn't broken, but Bobillo's touch gives the character an interesting and personal look for this story. It's very much in the vein of his well known Thor inspired appearance, so I probably would've even been happy seeing it carry on in Stormbreaker, but nevermind.

Gladiator, of course, benefits greatly from an update.
The vertical brush mohawk gets traded in for a do that, by issue's end, would surely do Mr. T proud.
Gone too is the bright red, adapted instead into decorative detailin on a blue suit, which looks pretty decent, and maintains that oh-so inventive triangular symbol.

Actually, that throughline of the familiar in Gladiator's appearance is one of the great positives of Slott's issues. While he indulges in the continuity and obscurity of the past, somehow the stories manage to channel something brand new, whilst still throwing back to the good old days.

Slott's continuity also seems to carry a soft touch, and the charm and quirkiness of the She-Hulk title seems to ensure no reader will be intimidated by what he sees.
Like Nextwave, the good humor seems to offer a free ticket to really do anything, and Slott does it well. Unlike Ellis, he even manages to stay within certain boundaries, that ensure there's no reason for She-Hulk to be considered anything but canonical.

This really is a superb read, and if you haven't jumped on the bandwagon already, I'd have to strongly recommend doing so.
Lameasses who prance in the land of trade should be encouraged to pick up the collected first series, but if you're really hardcore, you'll check out the backissues.
Then it's time to do something I haven't yet done, and that's stock up on the second series. Oh yes, I blush!

As should you!

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 7

NEXT: In July we go back in time, and count back the decades from now, back to the seventies. Get all the bad news bears next in the monthly punch-up!

SHE-HULK versus CHAMPION OF THE UNIVERSE
"Engagment Ring"
Where: She-Hulk #8 When: December 2004
Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Juan Bobillo

The story so far...
Jennifer Walters, attorney at law, received a life-saving blood transfusion from her cousin, Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. The irradiated blood had extraordinary effects, turning her into the sensational She-Hulk.

Having left the Avengers in the wake of Disassembled; She-Hulk began her career as a lawyer specializing in superhuman law at Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway.
Her wacky adventures saw She-Hulk attain the greatest honor of being appointed to the Magistrati; agents of the Living Tribunal, who maintains cosmic law throughout the omniverse. This new role, of course, was not without a catch, which leads big green to the planet Skardon, where she is to settle a case by their law.

Tale of the tape...
She-Hulk was undoubtedly one of the breakout hits for Marvel comics in 2004, during an on-going period that I would describe as notably lackluster.
This slightly obscure title served up, in it's first series, a declicious blend of quirky superhero antics, classic Marvel comics character interaction, and an intangible something else that has no name.

Savvy internet fans rallied to She-Hulk's cause, and as that series crosses a milestone one hundredth issue [for the character], and the half-way mark of it's second season; net fans are called to arms again.
Dan Slott's other title, Thing, is lurking dangerously near the dread yellow line, and he's calling to fans to help him out. To learn more about the initiative, head to Newsarama, and learn more about pulling Dan Slott's Thing! Prizes to be won!

Now, let's get down to the real business. The fighting!

Strength: 5 (Super Strength)
Stamina: 5 (Marathon Runner)
Fighting Ability: 4 (Trained Fighter)

Let's be honest... Shulkie has her work cut out for her.
As great as her strengths are, like many characters derived from others, She-Hulk is universally a lesser facsimile of her a-list cousin, The Hulk.
Generally speaking She-Hulk, although capable of exceeding these general bounds, isn't as strong, fast, or powerful as the Hulk.

With that as the measuring stick, you'd have to regard a character like Tryco Slatterus as out of her league. Generally, a guy who can get away with calling himself Champion of the Universe, probably isn't a guy to be messed with. Afterall, prior to this, he's got a skin list of some of the most impressive bruisers in the Marvel universe! Champion's gone toe-to-toe with; the Hulk, the Thing, Colossus, and even Thor, God of thunder!

Strength: 7 (Omnipotent)
Stamina: 7 (Unstoppable)
Fighting Ability: 7 (Born Fighter)

The power primordial is the source of Champion's impressive strength, which replaces conventional motivation, like food, water and sleep, with the nature to tap into the stuff of the very cosmos. As one of the surviving elders of the universe, Champion's immediate strength is only further enhanced by the possession of the infinity power gem.

The only conceivable weakness Tryco Slatterus has is arrogance. Otherwise, on paper, you just couldn't bet against this guy.

What went down...
The Champion scoffs the prospect of fighting a female, but unwilling to forfeit, he arrogantly accepts the amusing challenge from the "lesser being".

She-Hulk, being an independently minded woman, takes exception to the remark, using it as motivation to sock it to the bastard before the bell even rings!
With a trickle of blood running from his nose, Slatterus offers an embittered compliment, and calls for the bell.

It's downill from there. The battle rages on, with most of the fighting coming from the red corner, as the aptly named Champion slugs away at the She-Hulk with rib rips, hooks, and stiff left hands.

With Shulkie reeling, Champion continues the punishment. She-Hulk's pathetic, exhausted efforts are easily dodged, while Champion remained unphased by the physical exertion.

The ruling magistrati judge finally intervenes, declaring She-Hulk woefully outmatched. While the Champion basked in the glow of victory, She-Hulk claimed she was still able to continue fighting, despite being barely able to stand.
The magistrati recognised She-Hulk's appeal, and declared a rematch for three solar months, later. Much to the dismay of Tryco Slatterus, who prided himself on his undisputed victories.

The hammer...
Hmmm... well, isn't that interesting?
Being that on this planet they live by law that decrees might makes right, She-Hulk managed to live to fight another day. Of course, despite the questionable final outcome in Skardon, by our rules we still declare Champion of the Universe the winner.

You can expect to see the result of She-Hulk's rematch sometime later in the year. [Update: Check out the rematch right here!]

As briefly mentioned earlier in this installment, while I've been quite critical of Marvel's output over the last five years - She-Hulk is without a doubt one of the greatest improvements. Over the course of the first twelve issue 'season', I think Dan Slott has really stamped his name on the character, getting a fantastic balance out of his approach to the stories.
The title no doubt still owes a lot to the establishing classics, including John Byrne's landmark work on the previous Sensational She-Hulk comics, but Slott still manages to bring his own quirky something to further enhance the character.

Of course, the appeal of the book might have been less immediately apparent without the suitably quirky art style of Juan Bobillo, who handled the early issues of both seasons.
I think the saddest thing to happen to this book, even with limited support and a forced break between seasons, is that Juan Bobillo could not be secured as an on-going artist. Though initially playing to mixed reviews, I think many a reader, like me, would now associate the artist with the very best of the character.

I think a lot of this same approch is probably being seen in the current Thing on-going, so I again strongly urge everyone to enquire further about the prizes to be won by pulling Dan Slott's Thing!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 7

NEXT: Stay tuned tomorrow, for a big ol' monthly punch-up!