Jennifer Walters' Most Difficult Case Yet

I like that Harrison Wilcox put Jennifer Walters in a mentor role in She-Hulks. There's the obvious advantage that it holds for a story, since she and Lyra come from such drastically different circumstances, so there's a potential for conflict, and even more for humor*. The thing that's more interesting to me is it's not something I'm used to seeing She-Hulk do.

Jennifer Walters has been on a lot of teams, worked with a lot of other heroes, but I don't see her playing the sage veteran who guides the rookie much. She has lots of friends, certainly. She strikes me as kind of like Nightcrawler or the Beast, a generally fun person that other people like to hang out with. She usually seems to be the muscle on the team, who happens to really enjoy that, because it's a nice change of pace from poring over depositions. When she was on Roger Stern's Avengers team, she was supportive of Captain Marvel as team leader (as Dr. Druid was constantly undercutting Monica's authority and confidence), but she didn't seem to be offering advice, more just keeping her confidence up.

I don't think being mentor has ever appealed to Jennifer. She's typically portrayed as loving being a giant green lady who can kick serious butt, because it's a nice change of pace from being a mousy, nondescript lawyer. Not that she doesn't recognize the seriousness of a situation, but she likes the excitement, the adventure. Being She-Hulk has been as much an escape for her as being Spider-Man was for Peter Parker. So being responsible for guiding someone else would kind of cut into that.

It's a different kind of pressure for her, especially as their both part of the Hulk family, which has a, contentious relationship with the heroes and the public. Jennifer's been the one who typically gets along with the other heroes**, and I think she's regarded well by your Average Joe, at least by Marvel Universe standards. A lot of that is probably because she's usually in control. She doesn't go on rampages, or smash anything that draws her ire, so she seems safer than her cousin. Now she's responsible for this niece of hers from the future, a future where there is constant conflict between men and women. Lyra hasn't necessarily been a threat to go on mindless rampages, since getting angry had previously made her weaker, but she could still be capable of causing a lot of damage if she reacts to an insult or miscommunication in a way that's acceptable for her world, but not for the one she's on now. A few incidents like that, and the public (and if Bruce Banner's right, Steve Rogers) swing against the Hulks, and it's trouble.

Jennifer's usually very confident, but that's related to her own actions. She knows what she's physically capable of, but she also knows physicality isn't always the proper response. She understands the rules, the customs, the way people tend to think and react, so she's pretty good at finding the proper approach. Maybe not on the first attempt, but she usually susses it out before things go too awry. Now she has to trust that she get that same kind of understanding across to Lyra, and that, she's not so sure of. What if she provides bad advice, or provides good advice, but Lyra takes it the wrong way? It's a new scenario for her.

* I think it would have been easier for Jennifer to adapt to Lyra's world, than it is the other way around. Jen's been on the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, she's been in all sorts of wild situations, so Lyra's time wouldn't have been fun for her, but it wouldn't be that impossible.

** The exceptions would I guess be her original appearances, when she was the Savage She-Hulk, and that story Avengers story Geoff Johns did where he said she changed into She-Hulk when she was afraid, then she changed and pretty much leveled a town.