Hulk #6

Previously, in Hulk #5

In this final chapter of the “Deconstructed” arc, Jennifer reveals her greatest fear was losing someone she loved. Considering her life as a superhero, something that scary seems inevitable, but living in that fear is impossible. She bottled it up.

And then the monster Maise unleashed smashed that bottle to pieces.

As Jennifer’s inner Hulk emerges, the monster feeds off that fear. The other occupants of Maise’s building realize they’ve made a huge mistake. A hulk-size mistake. While the police try to maintain law and order on the streets below, Jennifer battles Maise, the monster, and her own demons.

This is very much like the battle Jennifer has been dealing with since Bruce’s death and her own near-death experience. It’s painful, can’t be rushed, and she literally has to take it a single moment at a time. The monster may know her deepest fear, but it doesn’t know her. Jennifer is able to defeat it, and save Maise in the process.

Though this threat is over, her struggles are far from over. Jennifer has accepted that, as Maise said, she is a monster, but she’s a monster who believes that life and the world is worth fighting for. I like that this complicated arc didn’t end on a high note. Jennifer still has work to do, and it won’t be easy. Though these issues lacked a lot of action, it was an interesting character study and I’m looking forward to seeing where Jennifer goes next.