For those that like a little more explicit violence in their science fantasy, Planet She-Hulk #5 is a slight step back from previous issues. There’s no gladiatorial combat like in recent issues, but unlike those more sword-and-sandal-packed outings, it finally delivers on the promise of the premise you’d expect from a book titled “Planet She-Hulk”. We’re past the murder-mystery, the palace intrigue, the arena, and now it’s time for a revolution.
Everything’s gone to pot in a pretty hectic and, admittedly, convoluted way. Sakaar en Nevo stands on the brink of war as disparate groups vie for the throne, and She-Hulk is whisked away by a leader of the Thousand Eyes, a group that’s been making things relatively unstable on Sakaar en Nevo recently and reluctantly hears what they have to say. When it’s revealed that this leader is a former member of Hulk’s Warbound, she feels a sense of relative safety, and is given a chance to rest and process what’s happening to the world she was entrusted to protect.
Marvel
Sakaar has become an increasingly dangerous place every issue, and in Planet She-Hulk #5, a Hail Mary monologue from this Thousand Eyes leader explains why. She explains that while Sakaar has always been a place for the strong, the definition of strength has changed. Now it’s about power accumulated through wealth, and that’s been the driving problem that’s making Sakaar such a dangerous place these days.
Shortly after that conversation, the Thousand Eyes camp comes under attack, and in a bid to allow everyone else to escape to safety, Jen steps up and fights an entire army by herself. It was a chills-inducing moment seeing She-Hulk take the responsibility of everyone and rise to the occasion.
It gave that “finally” moment readers have been waiting for. Though Jen started off the series looking for a way to get off world and has slowly become more embedded to the injustices going on, but until now it felt like it was framed around how it was affecting her. This is the first issue where it feels like the focus is on the people of Sakaar and the boot they’re currently living under.
The most enjoyable part about this book is the way it strips away most of the politicking and jockeying of the near-royal families vying for the throne, and instead focuses on someone with the power to disrupt the status quo. Double-dealings, backstabbings, and betrayals have given way to action that might actually result in real change. When Planet Hulk came out 20 years ago, it wasn’t just a setting, it was a feeling, and Planet She-Hulk #5 is where the book really starts to take that feeling and do something special with it, because Jen with her moral compass and penchant for reader relatability is what sets this book apart.
Marvel
Stephanie Phillips writing really shines here because it allows She-Hulk to be a hero to people who need it. Jen excels as a protector of people who need it, and the Warbound reveal was fun to see for longtime Hulk fans. While Jen is never in any real danger, everyone else is, and that’s what sets her off. The middle of the book drags a little because it reminds you of the political machinations happening behind the scenes and shifts focus away from Jen.
While it’s cool seeing Aaron Kuder draw strange looking aliens in the middle, it’s the beginning and the end where his pencils really come to life through interesting panel layouts and “There goes my hero” shots of She-Hulk stepping into a fight only she can win.
It’s a shame that the book is ending next issue. It feels like there was a bigger plan for this story that is unfortunately getting cut short. Exploring the natures of power, strength, inspiration, and duty, through the lens of She-Hulk is a really interesting concept, but it’s one that’s going to have to wait to be told for now.
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