The following article contains spoilers for the sixth episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
The newest episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney Plus may have just brought a group from the comic books into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Toward the end of the sixth episode titled, “Just Jen”, Nikki (Ginger Gonzaga) and Mallory Book (Renée Elise Goldsberry) were surfing a website called Intelligencia. Fans of Marvel Comics should recognize the name as it has ties to some of the Hulk’s greatest villains.
But what exactly is the Intelligencia website in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and who are the Intelligencia in the comic books? Let’s unpack these questions and speculate on what the inclusion of the Intelligencia could mean for the future of the MCU.
What is the Intelligencia website, and who is the Intelligencia in Marvel Comics?
The Intelligencia website was introduced in the sixth episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law after one of Mr. Immortal’s (David Pasquesi) ex-wives had brought it up during their settlement discussions. At the end of the episode, Nikki and Mallory surf the website before coming upon an anti-She-Hulk movement, dubbed Cancel She-Hulk. The website is a forum site, akin to something like Reddit, or 4chan. The forum was full of memes and death threats against She-Hulk with clever titles like “When u a hulk but u still dumb” and “SOMEONE JUST SHOOT SHE-HULK”
After finding that corner of the site Nikki immediately leaves Jen (Tatiana Maslany) a voicemail about it even though Mallory warned her against it. The series has been dealing with the male trolls of the MCU ever since She-Hulk was made public, and this is just the next step of that. Of course, this mirrors the real-world review bombs that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is currently experiencing and the negative reactions from male Marvel fans. However, the Intelligencia in Marvel Comics heavily differs from its MCU counterpart so far.
The Intelligencia was introduced in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1 in 2009 and they were created by Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier. The Intelligencia was a group that consisted of the Marvel Universe’s smartest villains, similar to the Illuminati which recently made their debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They were founded by M.O.D.O.K., who is set to make his debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and at a time The Leader, who is also known as Samuel Sterns, and who was played by Tim Blake Nelson in The Incredible Hulk. Part of their goal was to steal and accumulate knowledge from around the world so they could keep striving for knowledge and power.
Interestingly, Tim Blake Nelson is set to reprise his role in the next Captain America film Captain America: New World Order, so it would not be surprising to see the Hulk villain make his official debut as the Leader in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. It would also not be too far-fetched to say that a future MCU entry could see the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. team up if they have not already, to form the Intelligencia. Captain America: New World Order will not be hitting the big screen until 2024, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be coming in early 2023, so if the Leader does not pop up in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, we will have to wait a bit longer for his return.
However, a storyline in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law seems to be hinting that someone obsessed with She-Hulk’s blood will be appearing in the series, as just in this last episode they showed a figure getting a Hulk-sized needle ready in a lab. As you may recall, Samuel Sterns was experimenting on Bruce Banner’s blood throughout The Incredible Hulk with his gamma-infused blood eventually making its way into an open wound on his head, seemingly turning him into the brainy villain. So it would not be too surprising if the man after Jen’s blood turned out to be the Leader, but whether or not he will be a part of the MCU’s Intelligencia — which will likely be different from the website unless they run it for some reason — is yet to be determined. If he does turn up in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law he could bring another Hulk villain with him, or at least set a couple up.
In the comics, the Intelligencia worked with Red Hulk at least once in a story that involved many Hulk characters, including Red She-Hulk and Amadeus Cho. In the comic books, the main Red Hulk is Thunderbolt Ross – who was played by William Hurt in the MCU. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Marvel will have the Red Hulk as a character, or at least the Thunderbolt Ross version as William Hurt passed away earlier in 2022. His last appearance in the MCU was in Avengers: Endgame. By Captain America: Civil War he had become Secretary of State so it would be weird if the character was made into the Red Hulk at that stage in his career.
With all that being said, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is not a Hulk show, it is a She-Hulk show, so we might not get Red Hulk first, we might get the Red She-Hulk. This might explain why someone (hopefully the Leader) is after She-Hulk’s blood, as Hulk may have been too big of a target to attack. So the Leader could have turned his eye to She-Hulk after her public appearances as the Jade Giantess set her up as an easier target. If the Leader — who turned Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) into the Abomination — were to get his hands on She-Hulk’s blood, a post-credits scene with him creating the Red She-Hulk would certainly make sense.
Falling even further in line with this theory regarding the formation of the Intelligencia and the creation of Red She-Hulk is that in the comic books Red She-Hulk is none other than Betty Ross who was played by Liv Tyler in The Incredible Hulk. With Natalie Portman recently making a long overdue return in Thor: Love and Thunder, it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that Liv Tyler might return for a villainous turn for the character. She is also something of a scientist herself and therefore could easily fit in with an MCU version of the Intelligencia if they choose to do so.
Of course, a majority of this is just speculation based on the comic books and upcoming cast and character announcements, but some of these theories were worthy of the Intelligencia themselves, so we had to include them. We should know more about the Intelligencia as the last three episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law roll into Disney Plus on Thursdays.
Published: Sep 22, 2022 02:47 pm