Big things happened in the Marvel Universe late last year with Civil War II. In case you missed it, much like the original Civil War, all the Marvel heroes were at odds with each other, this time over the ability to stop or prepare for attacks and catastrophes before they happened (there’s an inhuman “seer” involved). Of course, the camps were “yes, this is great, let’s do it” vs “no, this is bad, these people have done nothing wrong yet”. 

To get a bit more specific (and spoilery), there was a huge battle early on with Thanos, resulting in the death of War Machine and severe injuries to She-Hulk (aka Jennifer Walters) that put her in a coma. While she was out, Hawkeye killed Bruce Banner after the inhuman had a vision of the Hulk killing a group of superheroes. Jennifer is devastated by this when she finds out (Bruce was her cousin, in case you’re not in the know with Hulk lore) and has a hard time dealing with it.

That’s where the new series Hulk begins. No longer She-Hulk, Jennifer is simply the Hulk now, but she is trying desperately to keep that side of her under control. She returns to practicing law, maintaining the facade of being put together while trying to keep her rage at bay. There are reminders of her earliest incarnation as Savage She-Hulk, with the anger and inability to control the change. But there is also clear PTSD, which is something not often expressed in superhero storylines.

This is a much darker take on the character than we’ve seen before, with the trauma she’s recently gone through affecting her every move. Her inner turmoil is palpable through both the words and art in this series, and it is definitely worth reading.