BUCK BUKOWSKI
Real Name: Dennis "Buck" Bukowski
Identity/Class: Normal Human
Occupation: Assistant District Attorney
Affiliations: Dan "Zapper" Ridge, Richard Rory, Morris Walters;
formerly Jennifer Walters
Enemies: She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)
Known Relatives: Unidentified parents (depicted, names unrevealed)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California
First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk I#2 (March, 1980)
Powers/Abilities: Bukowski is a skilled criminal prosecutor.
History:
(Savage She-Hulk I#2) - Buck Bukowski was the Los Angeles assistant
district attorney who prosecuted small time hood Lou Monkton for
the murder of a bodyguard for Nicholas Trask, a local underworld
mob figure. A bit of a ladies man and a chauvinist, he was often
at odds with Jennifer Walters, the public defender and Monkton's
defense lawyer. Trask put a hit on her that was foiled by
Jennifer's cousin, Doctor Bruce Banner. Banner saved his cousin's
life by giving her some of his gamma-irradiated blood which
caused her to first transform into a 'She-Hulk' during another
attempt on her life. A third attempt wound up taking the life of
Jennifer's best friend, Jill. Believing that she was Jennifer,
Bukowski rammed his car into the She Hulk trying to save her from
the attempt on her life, but directly killed Jill in the process,
a murder he blindly pinned on the She Hulk.
(Savage She-Hulk I#3) - After Jennifer's three informants in the Monkton case were murdered in prison, Bukowski confronted her, still in hiding from the attempts on her life. He informed her he would push for his case against Monkton.
(Savage She-Hulk I#4) - Bukowski and Daniel "Zapper" Ridge were trapped in a warehouse where Trask had given Jennifer's father, Sheriff Morris Walters, stolen technology from Stark International to kill the She-Hulk who he falsely believed killed his daughter. Knowing that Jennifer was the She-Hulk, Zapper ran to stop him before Bukowski revealed the truth of Jennifer's alleged demise on television to dissuade Sheriff Walter's vengeance.
(Savage She-Hulk I#5) - Bukowski accused the She-Hulk of destroying a bridge. He was unaware the destruction was actually caused by Trask using more stolen Stark technology to travel underground and steal oil from the Roxxon Oil Company. He lost the case when Jennifer found proof of the stolen technology.
(Savage She-Hulk I#6) - Bukowski witnessed the She Hulk clash with Iron Man who was investigating the death of Jacob Fox, the truck driver who turned over the technology to Trask. He defended Tony Stark from Jennifer as she tried to link him to organized crime, but her case was dropped when she found that Stark had no knowledge of the thefts.
(Savage She-Hulk I#9-10) - Bukowski handed Jennifer a difficult case involving a couple's son being taken prisoner by a cult ruled by the Word (Jack Wordman). His actual intent was for her to do the hard work for him and then steal the glory, but he left her to try the case when the Word decided to represent himself in court.
(Savage She-Hulk I#12) - As Jennifer underwent medical therapy under former pseudo-vampire Dr. Michael Morbius, Bukowski traced her to the doctor and accused her of planning to defend him in court for his past crimes. He leaked the accusation to the press to embarrass her into dropping it, but the pressure rather forced her to take the case out of gratitude to the doctor for saving her life. As the prosecution, Bukowski lost when she proved that Morbius was unable to control himself during the crimes he committed.
(Savage She-Hulk I#17) - Jennifer's father pushed Bukowski to prove the She-Hulk was a criminal. The examination of Jennifer's totaled car, however, proved that Jill's death was set up and that the She Hulk was innocent. He had a crisis of faith as he realized that his intervention caused the death that the She-Hulk was trying to stop.
(Savage She-Hulk I#18) - Both disheartened by their involvement in Jill's death, Jen and Buck perform dismally in court against each other. After regrouping her thoughts and regaining her confidence, Jen wins a not guilty verdict for her client, Lou Monkton (despite the fact that Monkton had wanted her to lose). Buck sulked out of the courtroom without a word.
(Marvel Team-Up I#107) - Bukowski agreed to postpone the Abel murder trial so that she could defend Hildy Dawes. Buck made sure to tell her that he thought she needed the postponement to prepare her case, because she knew she would "get trashed in court by a legal genius like me!"
(Savage She-Hulk I#19) - During a feud with his daughter, Sheriff Walters hired Bukowski to start criminal proceedings against her for unsubstantiated criminal acts.
(Savage She-Hulk I#21) - Bukowski turned in the names of five dead underworld figures and guessed that a gang war was active.
(Savage She-Hulk I#22) - When Jennifer vanished so she could exist solely as the She-Hulk, Bukowski caught her boyfriend Richard Rory trying to track her down. When Sheriff Morris Walters discovered that attempts Jennifer made to contact him had been foiled by unknown parties, he had Bukowski increase his search for her.
(Savage She-Hulk I#25 - BTS) - An all-points bulletin went out that the She Hulk was ripping up a Beverly Hills estate. Sheriff Walters, Zapper and Rory rode out to confront her with the knowledge that she was really Jennifer Walters. Buck Bukowski was not among them.
(She-Hulk II#3) - Bukowski was pulled from some point in time to help testify on her behalf against the Time Variance Authority.
(Women of Marvel#1) - Bukowski and Jennifer Walters once again met in court. Bukowski's clients had sued Walters' clients for emotional distress. Walters' motion to dismiss the case went through despite Bukowski's attempts to keep the trial going. At the end Bukowski tossed a water bottle at the judge, who called for his arrest. Jennifer told the judge that there was no need for security, turned into She-Hulk and picked up Bukowski to deal with him.
Comments: Created by David Anthony Kraft and Mike Vosburg.
The original She Hulk series was obviously patterned heavily on the more successful Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man series. Sheriff Morris Walters as the J. Jonah Jameson/Thunderbolt Ross antagonist, Zapper as the Rick Jones sidekick, and Buck Bukowski as the Glenn Talbot/Flash Thompson comic relief. One recurring gag was how Bukowski's cars were continually destroyed by the She Hulk.
One plot point never resolved was how Bukowski got over his guilt after accidentally killing Jennifer's friend, Jill. He has not been seen since the Savage She Hulk series, so maybe he never did.
The Marvel Team-Up index placed MTU#107 b/t She-Hulk I#18+19, so that's where I put it. I didn't pay enough attention to see if there's a reason why the She-Hulk had to be between those issues, but Buck was his old, cocksure self, and so it would seem to have before She-Hulk I#17. Who knows? --Snood.
Profile by Will Uchtman. Update by Markus Raymond.
Clarifications:
Buck Bukowski should not be confused with:
images:
Savage She-Hulk I#22, p16, pan1 (main)
Savage She-Hulk I#3, p4, pan3 (first appearance, head shot)
Savage She-Hulk I#3, p16, pan4 (full body)
Women of Marvel IV#1, p40, pan3 (with She-Hulk)
Appearances:
Savage She-Hulk I#2 (March 1980) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#3 (April, 1980) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Mary Jo Duffy & Al Milgrom (editors)
Savage She-Hulk I#4 (May, 1980) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Mary Jo Duffy (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#5-6 (June-July, 1980) - David Anthony Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Mary Jo Duffy (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#9 (October, 1980) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Danny Bulanadi & friends (inks), Mary Jo Duffy & Al Milgrom (editors)
Savage She-Hulk I#10 (November, 1980) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Mary Jo Duffy (editors)
Savage She-Hulk I#12 (January, 1981) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Mary Jo Duffy (editors)
Savage She-Hukl#17 (June, 1981) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#18 (July, 1981) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#107 (July, 1981) - Tom DeFalco & Jim Shooter (writers), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#19 (August, 1981) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#21-22 (October-November, 1981) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Savage She-Hulk I#25 (February, 1982) - David Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Al Milgrom, Sal Trapani, Mike Vosburg, Rick Magyar, Mike Gustovich, Dave Simons, Steve Mitchell, Bob Wiacek, Joe Rubinstein & Jack Abel (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
She-Hulk II#3 (February, 2006) - Dan Slott (writer), Juan Bobillo, Marceloa Sosa, Paul Pelletier, Rick Magyar, Scott Kolins, Mike Vosburg, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, Sal Buscema, Mike Mayhew, Don Simpson, Lee Weeks, Eric Powell, Tom Grummett, Gary Erskine (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Women of Marvel IV#1 (May, 2023) - Rebecca Roanhorse (writer), Carola Borelli (artist), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
First Posted: 07/21/2002
Last updated: 10/26/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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