Update: Goodbye She-Hulk, hello Winter Hulk?
The third chapter in the upcoming ‘World War She-Hulk’ arc of Marvel Comics’ ongoing Avengers series will see She-Hulk graduate from the Red Room and be minted as ‘Winter Hulk.’
(opens in new tab)
Marvel couldn’t avoid the Game of Thrones homage, with this teaser hyping ‘Winter Hulk is coming…’
Winter Hulk is the latest Marvel mash-up that mixes She-Hulk with Winter Soldier (AKA Bucky Barnes), who was the inspiration for the Red Room (also known as the Black Widow Ops Program) and later became an instructor there during his years as a mind-controlled Russian operative.
“World War She-Hulk, the upcoming arc in Jason Aaron and Javier Garrón’s action-packed run on Avengers will continue into September with Avengers #48!” reads Marvel’s announcement of this turn of events in Avengers #48. “This explosive new arc will see She-Hulk facing off against Red Guardian and the Russian Winter Guard, who are tasked with bringing Jen to justice. After being taken prisoner and sent to the notorious assassin-training academy known as the Red Room, She-Hulk will be transformed into something terrifying and the Winter Hulk will be unleashed upon the world.
“Who will dare to try to stop her?” the description continues. “Find out in this exciting new chapter in the saga of She-Hulk when Avengers #48 hits stands on September 1st!”
So who would try to stop her? Her long-time friends and teammates the Avengers would seem to fit the bill – hey, it is their title this is all happening in.
‘World War She-Hulk’ begins in July with Avengers #46.
Original story follows…
She-Hulk has been through a lot in her years, but joining Russia’s Red Room – the training ground for Black Widows like Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova – is something completely different.
(opens in new tab)
As revealed in the just-released Marvel Comics August 2021 schedule, She-Hulk has been recruited to be the next Black Widow.
(Would that make her… the Green Widow? We’re getting ahead our ourselves.)
“The Red Room is the secret furnace where some of the world’s greatest assassins and super-killers have been forged. And now She-Hulk is its newest recruit,” reads Marvel’s description of August #47. “As the Avengers race to rescue Jen Walters from the Russian Winter Guard, is it too late to save She-Hulk…from going red?”
This is the second part of the upcoming ‘World War She-Hulk‘ arc slated to begin with July 7’s Avengers #46 from writer Jason Aaron and artist Javier Garron.
(opens in new tab)
“[‘World War She-Hulk’] was the first Avengers arc I wrote in 2021, in this new year so full of promise. But it represents a shift to a darker tone for the series, as I begin to tie together some of the book’s ongoing threads,” Aaron wrote recently.
Of course, this She-Hulk/Black Widow situation is primed to come out just as Marvel Studios’ Black Widows opens in theaters, and in the build-up to Disney Plus’ She-Hulk television series.
Avengers #47 goes on sale on August 4, followed soon after by Avengers/Hulk: Free Comic Book Day Special on August 14.
Make sure you’ve read the best Avengers stories.