After the tragic death of Kate Shappe, Betty Ross investigates further and learns from Chief Largo that the shooter was Larry Richards, the troubled teenage son of the town’s pastor. Wracked with remorse, Larry has attempted suicide, and now hides in his father’s temple.
The Hulk, still living as Bob Danner, arrives with Max Christiansen—Kate’s grieving father—hoping to talk Larry down. But Max reveals his true identity: he’s Speedfreek, a long-forgotten Hulk villain with adamantium blades and a thirst for revenge.
Speedfreek attacks the boy, but Hulk intervenes, shielding Larry. The battle is vicious—Speedfreek slices deep into Hulk’s abdomen, spilling green entrails. Yet Hulk’s healing factor kicks in fast. He retaliates by hurling a car battery, splashing acid across Speedfreek’s body and forcing him to flee in agony.
Chief Largo, ever enigmatic, arrests Larry despite the boy’s remorse and the accidental nature of the shooting. Hulk, emotionally drained, tells Larry to “go to Hell,” a line that underscores Bruce’s own unresolved trauma and the impossibility of clean justice in a world this broken.
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Hulk #430 – “Sliced and Diced” escalates the Sunville arc into a brutal reckoning, where grief, vengeance, and identity collide in a church soaked with guilt.
Max Christiansen is a made-up alias used by Speedfreek in Incredible Hulk #429–430. His real name is Leon Shappe, sometimes referred to as Joss “Leon” Shappe in Marvel continuity.
The alias “Max Christiansen” was part of his disguise while posing as the grieving father of Kate Shappe, the homeless girl who died during the clinic protest. He used the identity to gain Bruce Banner’s trust and manipulate him into tracking down the boy responsible for the shooting. Once inside the church, he revealed his true identity as Speedfreek, the adamantium-bladed assassin.
This twist adds a layer of tragic irony—Kate had run away after discovering her father’s violent past, only to be avenged by the very monster she fled
