Over the last five episodes She-Hulk has taken delight in introducing some of the Marvel Universe’s most deepcut characters. This week is no different. In episode six we join Jen as she attends a close friend’s wedding. It’s all fun and games until the final moments of the episode. It’s here we get a hint that a darker plan is in place and Jen’s new wedding bud may be a part of it. So let’s break down the end of episode six, the new villain team, and what they want with She-Hulk.
While Jen is having fun at the wedding, Meanwhile, Nikki and Mallory discover a nightmarish online cesspool called the Intelligencia which likely rang a bell for Marvel Comics fans. Who are these new villains to the MCU fold?
Who Is the Intelligencia in Marvel Comics?
First introduced in 2009’s Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1, Intelligencia began as an organization for supervillains to share their nefarious information. We see that reimagined in a very contemporary way this episode. Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier created the group to essentially give the Hulk his own supervillain antagonist team. And what a team it was. There have been many notable members of the comic book Intelligencia. Doctor Doom, M.O.D.O.K.—who we know will appear in Quantumania—Chameleon, and even deeper cut villains like Awesome Android, Egghead, Wizard, Trapster, and the Red Ghost all appeared. Soon they evolved from an information sharing network to actual evil plotting and scheming.
Their most dastardly plan—that feels very relevant to their appearance in She-Hulk—was revealed in 2010’s Hulk #23 where readers learned they were behind the creation of Red Hulk. So it’s very likely that whatever we’re seeing here could lead to that eventuality.
How Did She-Hulk Change the Intelligencia?
The version of the Intelligencia in She-Hulk is a clickbait-style website with a dark secret. As members know it’s actually a hateful anti-She-Hulk site. Multiple death threats, posts about the best ways to kill the hero, and other horrific posts fill its pages. While Mallory believes it’s just trolls, Nikki is far more worried. Nikki calls Jen to reveal all to her bestie. But she gets Jen’s voicemail as her friend is busy drunk eating fries with her handsome fellow wedding guest, Josh.
Is Josh Part of the Intelligencia?
This is the biggest question after Jen’s wedding escapades. Josh seems to know exactly what Jen wants to hear after her legal tussle with Titania last week. He’s kind, thoughtful, and most importantly he’s a Jen fan, not a She-Hulk one. Though it does feel pretty coincidental that Josh just happens to be there with Jen in the exact right position for the pair to be watched.
We’ll have to wait and see, but we will say that Josh’s passion for Jen does put our hero in a vulnerable situation if an evil organization is potentially trying to steal her blood. Why? Well, as we saw in episode three, She-Hulk’s skin is incredibly thick. But in her Jen form she’s likely far easier to pierce with a needle… and as we saw in the final scene, someone has a lot of those.
What Happens in the Final Moments of She-Hulk Episode Six?
The final moments of She-Hulk episode six introduce us to a high-tech lab where it seems a team of scientists are very interested in Jen’s blood. Not only are they cyber-stalking her via security camera—either with or without the help of Josh—but they are also monitoring her vitals.
We immediately discover this is connected to the Intelligencia site we saw as that site had a logo which featured a Hulk face—redrawn to look like Pepe the Frog—with a crown. And as we join the lab we see that same avatar pop up under the name HulkKing. And he wants a status update from the lab. Other clues we get about the people behind the lab are the bent needle from episode three, hinting that the Wrecking Crew were employees of HulkKing and his crew. Plus the Intelligencia have learned their lesson as they are preparing a new super-needle to steal Jen’s blood. The identity of their villainous leader is currently unclear, though there are some likely options.
We’ve long wondered if Tim Blake Nelson’s Leader could be behind the mission to gain She-Hulk’s blood. That still seems likely as he may want it to cure his own Hulk-tendencies. Plus, he was an Intelligencia member in the comics. It could also be the original Thunderball, Dr. Elliot Franklin, perhaps sick of being a henchman. The nature of the Intelligencia’s misogynistic website also opens new options. Perhaps this is nothing more than a hateful Hulk fan who wants to cure Jen so his hero is the only Hulk? Could it be one of the men that Jen went on a date with? Or even Titania, the ultimate She-Hulk hater? As always there is another option which would lean into some classic Marvel Comics and Hulk history.
What Is the Intelligencia’s Plan for Jen?
If we’re thinking bigger than a hateful fan then there are two big options. One we already touched on is that it would connect to the Leader and his need for Jen’s blood. If he wants it for selfish reasons that could explain it, but as he’s about to feature in Captain America: New World Order there’s another potential too. As Jen got her powers from Bruce it means her blood includes an adapted version of the Super Soldier Serum. It seems likely that the notion of Super Soldiers will play into Captain America: New World Order, so we could be seeing that seeded.
But our bet is much closer to the Intelligencia comics canon. We think that the most likely reason they want her blood is to create another She-Hulk or Hulk… with a crimson hue. If the Intelligencia are indeed trying to create Red She-Hulk that could be a great way to reintroduce Liv Tyler as Betty Ross into the MCU. It could also be something that’s just seeded in this season and continued in future MCU projects. Either way, the Intelligencia are up to no good. And they are clearly the big bads behind the attempts on She-Hulk’s life and blood.
Featured Image: Marvel Studios
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