MadCap's Mad Rantings - "Avengers #20 and #MakeShulkyHotAgain"

...you fucked up, Jason Aaron. You fucked up hard.

Sorry for the immediate dropping into expletives, but this comic really did manage to piss me off quite a bit.




Those of you who have been with me since at least last year might remember my write up on the Twitter hashtag #MakeShulkyHotAgain as started by Twitter user @realRiceKun. It was a hashtag founded for a simple reason - Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk had been turned into a distaff counterpart of Bruce Banner aka the Hulk. Not only in appearance, but in temperament. As I described in my last post involving this, which concerned Avengers #10 of this run, She-Hulk had basically turned into the Hulk. Whenever Jennifer Walters became angry or upset, she became a gigantic hulking beast. No pun intended. Quite a contrast from her earlier characterization as a curvy, vivacious woman who was pretty much just Jennifer Walters turned up to eleven and given the ability to bench press a tank.

Basically, no inhibitions, drop-dead gorgeous, and with the ability to kick nine varieties of ass. That was all the things that Jennifer Walters wanted to be and, with a fateful blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce, she became all of those things when she became She-Hulk. There was even a point in the comics where she became locked in She-Hulk form and was completely happy with it.

Now, you could make an argument for how much of her being in skimpy attire was sexism or misogyny or cheap cheesecake or whatever have you, but that was her character as it was and that worked well up until the modern day. Cut to the modern day, she's roided out, monosyllabic, and has become a fraction of the woman she was, while being several more fractions of the character that the Hulk is in both form and in personality. Of course, the reaction from the people who love to complain about comic fans (but don't actually read comics themselves in a not at all surprising amount of cases) was hilariously shallow and predictable. I've taken the liberty of bringing up a few for your viewing pleasure.

Exhibit A

 Exhibit A, with the username and tag redacted. I actually agree with them that She-Hulk isn't an interesting character because she's drawn sexy. She's an experienced defense lawyer who is indeed very smart and independent. Dare I even say, Marvel's answer to Second Wave Feminism.

You know what she isn't? The Hulk. Which is what she's become. But, of course, it's far easier to claim that people who don't want to read comics about a miserable, boring hero (and that applies regardless of what genitals they have between their legs) are just upset because they can't masturbate over them.

And I'm not even entertaining the ComicsGate comment. It's as ridiculous as the GamerGate blaming that happened a few years back. Which apparently is still happening if you're a games journalist needing some hate clicks, but that's neither here nor there.

Exhibit B

Again, another example shows just how shallow the opposition to it is. While there are certainly those types who are decrying this change in She-Hulk's character (because there are always those types and they can't be avoided), like with many things, they are nowhere near the majority of people. However, trying to engage with those people in any sort of discussion or debate would be detrimental to what they're trying to preach. There can be no wrong-think, no alternate viewpoints. To the point where those in favor of the change have used tactics that they would go out of their way to crucify others for using.

Like, for example...homophobia.

"The right side of history"

 Charming.

But I can hear you now - "Madcap, I thought you were going to talk about Avengers #20! This is something from back in November! That was almost a year ago!" - and you would be right. However, it seems that Jason Aaron himself finally decided to weigh in on the entire thing in an issue that seems to be made up as both a hatefic and a gigantic middle finger to anyone who doesn't like the change to Jen's character...and does it in one of the most lazy, one-sided ways I've ever seen. Calling it strawmanning would be insulting to scarecrows everywhere.

To sum up quickly, Avengers #20 is a comic told entirely from the perspective of Jennifer Walters through narration. It's a tie-in to War of the Realms (which loses it points with me right off the bat). The beginning has Jen as NuHulk in a courtroom assaulted by several other versions of herself, insisting that Jennifer has brought this upon herself and has essentially ruined She-Hulk's reputation. This is revealed to be some sort of mental exercise done by Black Panther, a subplot in the book being him looking into her increased gamma emissions that have been blamed as the culprit for the change. She then goes to Australia and fights trolls.

Yeah, you read that correctly. Trolls.

While I'm well aware about the reason for them being in Australia (I'm still reading Deadpool at the moment and would definitely recommend), I will be happy to eat my hat if this was not either Jason Aaron's plan all along or was something he was only too happy to use to vent his frustrations about fans who didn't like the change to Jen. As well as getting a few swipes in, again, at the people who didn't care for Jane Foster Thor, which he also spearheaded a few years ago (and who is now coming back as Valkyrie for reasons known only to the Lovecraftian howlings upon the wind). Given that Jason Aaron is heading up the War of the Realms event, I'm much more inclined to say this was a plan all along.

This is what Jason Aaron thinks of people who didn't like the change - as trolls to be beaten to death. This, She-Hulk quite literally does...with one even proposing to her before she crushes him. Because...She-Hulk fans are masochists?

Here's the problem: venting is not an argument. While all of Avengers #20 is "Jen is happy where she is" (and normally, I'd be fine with that), it doesn't present this in a convincing way, and it gives absolutely no defense for the changes. You object, you get a "Puny God!" play pulled on you. Much like the little sycophants who babble on about how the fans don't like She-Hulk now because they can't masturbate to her, this is how a child argues. Not a grown man. This is not providing a defense or a rebuttal against the critiques...it's screaming at the people criticizing you to shut up or get beaten for having an opinion you don't like.

Jason Aaron, I'm afraid this is the end. Your poorly calculated swipe at the fans without any grace or understanding has cost you a reader, and probably others as well. I once referred to you as a genius and have praised your run on Doctor Strange that brought it back in 2016 as one of the greatest the character ever had. It is a crutch I can no longer give you leniency on, nor will I.

The worst part about the entire thing, apart from Jason Aaron assuming that all the detractors of the She-Hulk change are a bunch of whiny trolls who just need to be beaten to death, is that the comic actually defeats its central point not only once...but twice. Other than not even attempting to understand the arguments given, the mental projection courtroom scene proves that some part of Jen is most definitely not happy with the changes to herself. Given the number of alternate She-Hulks that appear in the scene, I'd say it's a large majority of them.

Why? Because She-Hulk has basically become the Hulk. There is no difference anymore, and people are understandably quite upset.

Hey, Jason Aaron! Marvel! Maybe, instead of thinking that the people who criticize your work are just looking to masturbate over a hot piece (in an era where pornography is not only widely available by internet, but also for free), maybe give some thought to why they might not like a change beyond the shallow, pedestrian arguments that fall apart given more than fifteen seconds of thought. Maybe, instead of insisting that others don't know or appreciate the character, maybe acknowledge that you might not know or appreciate the character as well as others.

Maybe, if you're trying to sell something to someone, consider that what they want is slightly more important than what you want. Artistic freedom is one thing, but don't expect people to buy your product if you're going to spend the time flipping them off when they're trying to enjoy it.

Food for thought.

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