The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Okay, so it’s a touch late.

And if you’ve read Incredible Hulk #106, you’ve got a pretty decent idea of what went down – well, in broad strokes, you do.

At least that’s how She-Hulk writer Dan Slott explains it, speaking to Newsarama about this week’s issue #18. As the cover (and Hulk #106) gives away, the issue features the big showdown between Iron Man and She-Hulk – a battle that She-Hulk ultimately loses, but oh, what a battle.

We spoke with Slott about the issue.

Newsarama: Dan, let’s start with the issue that goes on sale this week, #18. A touch late; but - people who've read Incredible Hulk #106 - didn't that show what happens in this issue?

Dan Slott: Yeah – there’s a lot of stuff on my plate, and I’m sorry this one slipped back a little, but to answer the question, it’s like that old MTV slogan – you think you know, but you don’t really know. There’s a lot of stuff going on in issue #18 that won’t just affect what’s happening in World War Hulk, it will also affect what’s happening in The Initiative. It’s an important issue. We’ve already seen the start of it in #106 and the World War Hulk Prologue, and there’s a lot – a lot more to come.

You think you know how the fight ended if you read #106, but you really don’t know what happened right afterwards. There’s really something good in there. People who’ve been…commenting in an…agitated manner about Civil War and about Iron Man…you’re going to want to read this. One of the things I think we’ve done well in She-Hulk is that this book really speaks to the fans of the Marvel Universe – especially the hardcore contingent, which includes me. Suffice to say, people who have had a lot to say about Civil War and Iron Man’s behavior…trust me… in She-Hulk #18…how should I say it….?

NRAMA: They get a voice?

DS: You’re going to love the issue. You’re going to want to bronze it.

NRAMA: From the cover, and what’s been shown in #106 – this is the showdown between Tony and Jen that’s been brewing for a while. The feelings that boil over in #18 – are they related to Civil War and the Registration Act, or are they related to Tony’s actions in relation to the Hulk?

DS: Oh, it’s Civil War, it’s what happened in the Illuminati Special, it’s World War Hulk. There’ve been a lot of throughlines in the Marvel Universe that can be mapped out. There’s a real roadmap through the Marvel Universe, and She-Hulk is one the characters that has had a lot to say and do in this journey that the entire Universe has been on.

NRAMA: So, for example, does She-Hulk find out about the Illuminati in #18?

DS: You’re going to have to read it to find out.

NRAMA: Broad strokes – what’s going on in #18?

DS: It’s two Avengers, two agents of SHIELD, to fellow Pro-Registration advocates from the Civil War finally come head to head in the big showdown with fisticuffs. There will be punching and hitting, and some things that will change the relationships between these characters forever. This is going to be a big “see She-Hulk #18 for years to come in other books whenever Jen and Tony are even near each other.

NRAMA: So this is the end of the friendship that had the benefits?

DS: It is the end. You’ve had moments where Jen has clearly been at Tony’s side, fighting, and following his platform of superhuman law and order. What happens in this issue won’t allow for that anymore.

NRAMA: But that said, Jen’s apparently had no problem with Tony’s views on Registration, so would it be a fair assumption that the tipping point in #18 follows along the lines of blood being thicker than water?

DS: One of the running threads we’ve had in She-Hulk is: does might make right? We deal in Marvel Law, and a lot of times, it’s easier for She-Hulk to punch her way through a problem than it is for Jen Walters to file the right papers and look at the right side. There’s a lot of “brains vs. heart,” “sex vs. romance,” “ingenuity vs. will” in the series.

So is blood thicker than water? I think there’s more to it than that – there are problems of hypocrisy, problems of right and wrong. Yes, the whole reason Jen is part of SHIELD and this whole “Planet Without a Hulk” arc is so that Jen can play Hulk surrogate to fill the void he’s left, and luckily, She-Hulk doesn’t have that many villains of her own, and they can move her into this position and have her be their Hulk Buster – the one who will deal with all the problems that the Hulk used to deal with, all these positive things the Hulk used to do in the world.

But from Jen’s point of view, every time she goes off on a Hulk Buster mission, its with the firm hope that this time – maybe this one time, she’ll find her missing cousin.

NRAMA: What was the line that Reed and Tony gave to Jen in regards to why she needed to do this?

DS: Honestly, I don’t think we ever saw that [laughs]. When we first saw Jen in issue #15, we saw that was her motivation, her hope – that by doing this, she’ll be able to find Bruce.

NRAMA: In her eyes, is the Hulk’s disappearance this time any kind of emergency?

DS: Not really. You have to remember, other than the time when Dr. Strange zapped Hulk away to the crossroads, there have been lots of times where the Hulk has gone missing on earth and no one could find him.

NRAMA: Such as during Bruce Jones’ run – where the Hulk only appeared infrequently, and Bruce Banner was trying to lay low and not attract attention…

DS: Right – in terms of the Marvel Universe, this has been going on for years. There’ve been many times where the Hulk has just “disappeared” from the Marvel Universe. A lot of us, as fans, I think, can attach more meaning to the Hulk’s disappearance this time than Jen has. We know that something bad went down this time, and the Hulk was shot off into space, but for Jen, this is what, the seventh time in the last five years she’s lost track of the Hulk, and no one knows where he is?

So yeah – a lot of these times when Jen gets the alarm that there’s a gamma-powered humanoid somewhere, the reaction from SHIELD is “Oh, we thought it was the Hulk, but it was just the Abomination this time. Let’s wrap him up and we’ll keep looking.” It’s kind of really…petty. They’ve really been screwing her around. We’re going to deal with that.

So yeah – you’d think, from Incredible Hulk #106, you know everything that’s going on in this issue, you don’t. Even when they show the climax, the camera keeps rolling in She-Hulk #18, and there’s some really important stuff in between what they show you in the flashback and Hulk #106. There’s some important stuff going on that will make a lot of people happy.

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