Planet She-Hulk is the first post-Imperial series we are getting from the Marvel cosmic side of thing. It is an interesting choice to start with She-Hulk as she was not a factor in the events of Imperial due to being left to watch Sakaar by Hulk. That did leave a Imperial tie-in one-shot that acted as a prequel to this series. Now that Imperial has wrapped what will that mean for She-Hulk’s status quo? Let’s find out with Planet She-Hulk #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Aaron Kuder
Colorist: Sonia Oback
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
PLANET SHE-HULK #1 SOLICITATION
“SAKAAR, PARTY OF ONE! SHE-HULK is back, and she’s… stuck on Sakaar?? Spinning out of Jonathan Hickman’s hit cosmic epic, IMPERIAL, Jennifer Walters made a promise to her cousin, HULK, to watch over the planet Sakaar and its people for a few days. But it’s been longer than a few days, and now She-Hulk is in charge of keeping the peace on a planet at war! But Jennifer is a VERY different Hulk than the one that once smashed Sakaar into submission… is she up for the task?” – Marvel Comics
HIGHLIGHTS OF PLANET SHE-HULK #1
Mental Impact on She-Hulk Being Left Stranded
While Hulk is MIA, it’s left She-Hulk forced to deal with the status quo that she was saddled with at the beginning of Imperial. We see for a warrior planet like Sakaar has forced She-Hulk to get out of her comfort zone. That is especially tough for her with her lawyer background giving her morality based on order. Sakaar is the opposite of that as chaos is what the order is as physical strength is most respected. This creates a big test for She-Hulk for the rest of this series to not just simply give into fully leaning into her powers when that temptation is there.
Focus on Brutal Political Battle on Sakaar
The people of Sakaar respecting physical strength above all means there is fighting is a way of life. She-Hulk has to be an enforcer in order to at least keep some form of peace. But as we see, the more She-Hulk shows she is on the level of her cousin the bigger target is painted on her back. Which leads to She-Hulk now being seen similar to the Hulk as defeating her will give a lot of political power in this world. It creates a lot of complications a Game of Thrones level battle for the empty throne of Sakaar. There is even Sakaar’s version of the Red Wedding towards the end of Planet She-Hulk #1.
She-Hulk Reminding Everyone Who She Is
As much as she tries not to keep order Sakaar forces her to use her powers. This is where Aaron Kuder artwork in particular shines. The big coliseum fight that She-Hulk is forced to participate in was a great showcase of her power. The big fight help to really drive home that readers can expect a mix of political and action in Planet She-Hulk. And as Kuder’s artwork showed, this series will be most at home when fighting breaks out. It is a great way to help this series separate itself out from other She-Hulk series that were more of a mix of slice-of-life and traditional superhero action.
Variety of Characters Flesh Out Sakaar
Sakaar itself is such a character that does so much for Planet She-Hulk. Stephanie Phillips does a great job at using the setting and people living on the planet to make this series so fun to read. You get the feeling that every character has their own political motives. The writing and art is very purposeful to keep your awareness up on what characters around She-Hulk say and do. It helps build a long-term future that Planet She-Hulk isn’t simply reliant on the lead to carry everything.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK IN PLANET SHE-HULK #1
Lack of Ties to Imperial Events with Hulk
For as much as it is explained how Hulk left her cousin behind the lack of any mention of Imperial is noticeable. We don’t even get someone from the new galactic council that Black Panther and Star-Lord a part of to let She-Hulk know the results of Imperial. Sakaar was where we started the Marvel’s cosmic event afterall. There isn’t even a hint that Hulk and Amadeus Cho got attacked or something else distracted them from picking up She-Hulk from Sakaar.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Planet She-Hulk #1 does everything you want from a debut issue. We get a full understanding of the situation She-Hulk is involved in on Sakaar. There are many characters around She-Hulk that have their own motives that invoke some Game of Thrones drama. In the middle of that we get fun action sequences that showcases She-Hulks power and combat ability.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
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