Savage She-Hulk #23
The She-Hulk War!
Following his defeat at the hands of the She-Hulk, Radius returns to his master, the Doc. Unimpressed with this latest loss, the Doc then activates a device that seemingly kills Radius. While on a beach along the California coast, the She-Hulk rages over how she has been betrayed by everyone she has cared about. While back in Los Angeles, Zapper Ridge is troubled about the current state of the She-Hulk. Although his parents notice that there is something wrong, Zapper evades their questions before abruptly leaving the house. Hopping into his jeep, Zapper has figured out where the She-Hulk might have gone after she renounced being Jennifer Walters; his parents' beach house.
Zapper's deduction is correct, as at that moment the She-Hulk is indeed there. As she prepares to take a swim in the ocean she is suddenly attacked by a new super-powered menace, an armored being calling himself Torque. Her foe manages to stagger her with his powerful radioactive blasts, but when she tries to get close he grabs her and begins attempting to reach critical mass. Unable to break free from his grip, the She-Hulk knees Torque in the stomach, hitting a specific patch of armor causing him a great deal of pain.
While in Beverly Hills, mobster Lou Monkton has used his connections to learn the location of Shade, the mystery man who has been trying to take control of the LA rackets. While at the home of Morris Walters, the conflicted sheriff of LA contemplates the love for his daughter and the love for his girlfriend Beverly Cross and wonders what happened to create such a divide between the two women he cares about most. Meanwhile, Beverly is paying a visit to the real estate agent who has been hired to sell the home that Morris owned with his late wife, and later lived in by his daughter, before Beverly convinced him to evict her. The broker tells her that they have a buyer who is interested in purchasing the home right away. Beverly then hands him a forged Power of Attorney document and asks him to have the payment deposited in her own bank account. As they finalize the deal they are interrupted by the arrival of Councilman Frank Rhoads. With one con almost complete, Beverly Cross sets her eyes on the more wealthy and successful Rhoads, accepting his offer for a ride in his limo.
Back on the beach, the She-Hulk continues her battle against Torque, who uses his powers to ensnare her in an energy cocoon. She manages to break free and the two begin battling it out in the ocean. Remembering her foes weakness, She-Hulk manages to force Torque to discharge all his energy by affecting the control disk on his stomach. The sudden discharge of energy greatly weakens the She-Hulk and so Torque decides to unleash his full power on her. However, the jade giantess' force of will keeps her on her feet and she resists the onslaught. Torque continues to boost his power but eventually he overloads causing a massive explosion. Although She-Hulk manages to leap clear of the blast, the Ridge beach house is annihilated in the blast. This is just as Zapper arrives on the scene. He tries to get through to the She-Hulk but she is too furious about this attack from Shade and decides to track him down.
While at his home in Beverley Hill, Shade is furious that the Doc has failed in stopping the She-Hulk yet again. The Doc, however, reminds Shade that he is the puppet, not the other way around. He then returns to his lab to try and try and start fresh. Meanwhile, Lou Monkton has gathered together all the mob bosses to convince them to go after Shade using left over Starktech that was abandoned when Nick Trask went missing. By this point, the She-Hulk has failed in learning the location of Shade, but has learned about this meeting. When she crashes the party, Monkton tries to subdue the She-Hulk with some Stark armor, but she easily rips it apart. Impressed Lou offers to join forces with the She-Hulk, however after learning the location of Shade's compound in Beverly Hills, she refuses to work with the mob and heads out to deal with her foe alone.
Recurring Characters
She-Hulk, Zapper Ridge, Morris Walters, Beverly Cross, Radius, Torque, Doc, Shade, Lou Monkton, Jonathan Ridge
Continuity Notes
The plot thread involving Beverly Cross swindling Morris out of the money for selling his home, as well as her attempts to court Frank Rhoads are dropped after this issue as the Savage She-Hulk was later cancelled after issue #25.
