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The cousin of
Bruce
Banner,
Jennifer Susan
Walters was a small and somewhat shy daughter of Los Angeles County Sheriff
William Morris Walters and Elaine (nee Banner) Walters (who died in a car crash
when Jennifer was seventeen). Operatives of Nicholas Trask, a crime boss who had
crossed paths with her father, shot and seriously wounded her on a day that
Bruce Banner happened to be in town for a visit. Since no other donors with her
blood type were available, Banner provided his own blood for a transfusion; as
they already shared the same blood type and DNA, his radioactive blood, combined
with her anger transformed Jennifer into the green-skinned She-Hulk when the
mobsters tried to finish her off at the hospital.
As She-Hulk, Jennifer
possesses powers similar to those of her cousin, though at a reduced level. She
also possesses a less monstrous, more amazonian appearance. Initially, the
transformation to her She-Hulk form was triggered (as with Bruce Banner's) by
anger. Like her cousin Bruce, his counterpart, the Leader, Doc Samson, and most
other persons mutated by exposure to Gamma Radiation over the years, her mutated
form was originally explained as being molded by her subconscious desire to look
like the ideal woman. She eventually gains control of her transformations when
Michael Morbius cures her of a lethal blood disease. As a criminal defense
lawyer, she defended Dr. Michael Morbius in his trial for his vampiric killings.
Eventually, Jennifer
decides that she is going to retain her She-Hulk form permanently -- preferring
the freedom, confidence, and assertiveness that it gave her compared to her more
timorous and fragile "normal" form. After her brief solo career, she
joined the Avengers. This led to her being transported to Battleworld by the
Beyonder and her participation in the Secret Wars, most notable for sparking her
long standing rivalry with the newly empowered Titania. After the heroes
returned to Earth, she temporarily replaced the Thing as a member of the
Fantastic Four.
During her tenure with
the Fantastic Four, She-Hulk had to prevent a radiation leak in a downed S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. This radiation exposure had a drastic effect on
Jennifer: she could no longer transform back into her original human form.
However, this was an agreeable turn of events for her, since she preferred being
She-Hulk, and it was revealed much later that the block was purely
psychological. Shortly after that, she appeared before the Supreme Court, where
she battled Titania again.
 
 
 
 
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