Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway
| Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg, & Holliway | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | She-Hulk #1 (May 2004) |
| Created by | Dan Slott |
| In-story information | |
| Type of business | Law firm |
| Base(s) | Timely Plaza |
| Employee(s) |
Awesome Andy Mallory Book Stu Cicero Ditto Holden Holliway Augustus "Pug" Pugliese Two-Gun Kid Jennifer Walters Arthur Zix |
Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway is a fictional law firm featured in the pages of the She-Hulk comic books - named after Marvel Founders Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, under his birth name Stanley Lieber, and Jack Kirby, using his birth name Jacob Kurtzberg - published by Marvel Comics.[1] Created by Dan Slott, senior GLK&H law partner Holden Holliway first appeared in She-Hulk #1 (May 2004), where he hired the titular heroine to be a lawyer for his law firm, but as Jennifer Walters.
As a law firm specializing in superhuman law, they represent superhumans whenever they need any sort of legal help. These cases can run from libel lawsuits (such as the one launched by Spider-Man against J. Jonah Jameson in She-Hulk #4) to defending superheroes from damages (such as in She-Hulk #10, where The Constrictor sued Hercules for $168,000,000). Their legal cases also run into the outer-worldly territory, such as across time, space, and the mortal plane.
To help with legal precedents, actual Marvel Comics (especially those published with the approval of the Comics Code Authority) are routinely cited as legal documents. As a result, their library basement consists entirely of comic books, although they were forced to change over to trade paperbacks when the law offices were destroyed in She-Hulk #11 (March 2005).
Initially representing heroes, the law firm began representing villains, which leads to some conflicts of interest, considering Jennifer Walters's status as a superheroine.
In She-Hulk #21 (2007), the firm name becomes Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Book.
The main offices of the firm are in Timely Plaza (a reference to Timely Comics) in New York City, which, according to Dan Slott, is near the New York Supreme Court.[1]
Personnel Roster
- Goodman, Lieber, and Kurtzberg (first names all unknown), the first three senior law partners of GLK&H. Their names are based on founding members of Marvel Comics, namely Martin Goodman (the first publisher at Marvel), Stan Lee (born Stanley Lieber), and Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg).
- Holden Holliway. The only regularly seen partner at GLK&H. He is currently on sabbatical while he tracks down his delinquent granddaughter, Sasha Martin (a.k.a. the teen supervillain, Southpaw).
- Awesome Andy, formerly the Awesome Android, used to be the robotic lackey of Mad Thinker. He gained self-awareness and is now a general office worker at GLK&H, doing heavy lifting and other menial tasks. He was also responsible for Mallory Book's rehabilitation and developed a crush on her, although he left the firm after she rejected him. He was last seen returning to his creator, his memory apparently wiped by himself.
- Mallory Book, another lawyer at GLK&H. Is antagonistic towards Jennifer Walters for reasons not yet fully understood. She was left using a wheelchair when the law offices were destroyed, although she has since recovered. She is also the Leader's attorney during his trial (She-Hulk v.2#19). She now heads up the firm and rehired She-Hulk, provided she work as Jennifer Walters. Her "Ultimate plan" whatever it was, was revealed by RTZ9 as ultimately not important in the great scheme of things and petty.
- Stu Cicero, works in the law library basement. He was almost killed by Boomerang, but because of the shift from comics to trade paperbacks, they were thick enough to prevent a weaponized boomerang from stabbing him. He is also in possession of an official No-Prize from Marvel Comics. He was shot and appeared to be disintegrated by Arthur Zix in She-Hulk #10 (October 2006) upon discovering Zix' true identity. However, he had been merely teleported to Duckworld, pseudo-homeworld of Howard the Duck (She-Hulk v.2 #19). Now back he's taken up a job at Marvel Comics.
- Ditto, the shape-shifting process server, who assumes the form of trusted individuals to serve legal notices. After he gave up the whereabouts of Jennifer Walters to Titania, his then-roommate Awesome Andy ceased communications with him. Discovering the murder of Stu by Zix, Ditto has been forced to take Stu's place, despite his lack of knowledge of comics. (In a typical in-joke, when Ditto claims to know nothing of comic continuity, Zix responds "From what I've heard of comics these days, that shouldn't be a problem.")
- Sasha Martin, who is also known as the supervillain Southpaw. A glimpse into the future reveals that she will become a lawyer herself, influenced by her grandfather. Currently on the run.
- Augustus "Pug" Pugliese, Jennifer Walters' roommate, colleague, and occasional work-out partner. Holds an unspoken crush on her, although she's married to John Jameson. He took a potion from a witch and now only sees She-Hulk as a friend and is that witch's indentured servant.
- Two-Gun Kid, the time-displaced former Avenger who was initially brought in as a lawyer, but due to him needing to catch up on over 100 years of changes in the justice system, he decided to focus on more of a bailiff-type role, which allows him to keep his guns.
- Jennifer Walters, also known as She-Hulk, she was recruited at GLK&H due to her experience in the superhuman community. As Holliway hired Jennifer Walters (as opposed to She-Hulk), one of the terms of her employment is that she comes to work in her normal form, a policy that has since been relaxed with Arthur Zix in charge. Now he's gone and after a brief leave she is back on the payroll.
- Whiz Kid, a superfast courier in the firm's mail room. She was a member of the Liberteens, but was apparently killed saving her teammates.
- Arthur Zix. The mysterious lawyer who first appeared in the second She-Hulk series, he is left in charge at GLK&H while Holliway is on sabbatical. He has a much more relaxed approach to law and allows Jennifer Walters to come into work as She-Hulk. He put in changes at the law firm to allow them to start defending the supervillain community. Ultimately revealed to be a disguised RT-Z9 (or simply "Z9"), She-Hulk's robotic recorder and bailiff while she works for the Magistrati (agents of the Living Tribunal). A more complete version of his name is "Rigel Type Zeta 9". He appears to be a variant of the Rigellians' Recorders. He is now destroyed, having been used by a villain in his attempts to find a safe place to plot his attack on creation.
References
- 1 2 Sanderson, Peter (2007). The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City. New York City: Pocket Books. p. 3. ISBN 1-4165-3141-6.
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