The following contains spoilers for She-Hulk #9, now on sale from Marvel Comics.

She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, originally became a Hulk because of gamma radiation given to her by her more famous cousin Bruce Banner, the original Hulk. She is strong, and at certain points in her history almost indestructible, but she is also known for her humor and frequent fourth wall breaks. She-Hulk’s creative teams have nearly always toyed with the meta elements of the character and her relationship to her readers. But in her latest issue, She-Hulk blames her deadly misfortunes on the readers themselves.

Indeed, She-Hulk is faced with an event where someone she cares about is once again being taken from her. So she picks a fight with her readers for forcing her into these painful storylines. And, all things considered, she has a point.

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She-Hulk is one of Marvel's Strongest Heroes - And One of the Saddest

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In She-Hulk #9 (by Rainbow Rowell, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Rico Renzi), She-Hulk has one of her ultimate fourth wall breaks in the climax of the issue. Jack of Hearts bursts onto the scene, having tracked She-Hulk’s gamma radiation to her location. He interrupts April as she attempts to steal the gamma radiation from She-Hulk. Jack of Hearts decides he’s going to destroy the zero energy contraption, but without his suit, he’s unable to contain it. Prior to the perilous aftermath of Jack’s decision, She-Hulk directly addresses the readers.

And this fourth wall break feels more emotional than any other. She-Hulk even tears up at the end as she instructs the reader to turn to the next page. She knows Jack of Hearts won’t be alive on the next page, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it. Marvel's writers will keep producing storylines where they put their characters through devastating circumstances and readers will keep reading them. This setup is baked into the very nature of the superhero genre: they sacrifice so much in order to save the world.

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She-Hulk May Never Get a Happy Ending

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Jack of Hearts seemingly dies from zero energy exposure, and as She-Hulk describes him as expendable, her demeanor is completely defeated. The villains escape, as She-Hulk processes the turn of events and blames the readers. And in a way, the audience really is responsible for these deadly turn of events. Unlike any other genre, comic book heroes never truly stay happy. Different plot lines will have them continue to sacrifice or writers will even kill them off as a plot device. And even if heroes like Jack of Hearts are resurrected, it is in service to once again selflessly saving the day. In the next issue, these ideas might cause She-Hulk to have a shattered relationship with the audience. As evidence, she recounts her achievements as the She-Hulk and it sounds disconnected, like she’s reading from a script.

In the past, She-Hulk has been portrayed as light-hearted, but it doesn't change the fact that she has been consistently used by superheroes and supervillains - and in a way Marvel's writers and readers as well. She-Hulk is clearly exhausted and she appears frustrated by all that she has been made to endure. As Jack of Hearts collapses in front of her, She-Hulk appears to endure great trauma at her loss, hinting that this situation will continue to haunt her for some time to come.