This article contains spoilers forShe-Hulk: Attorney at LawEpisode 6.Episode 6 ofShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawwas largely a self-contained story that focused on the comedy of Jennifer Walters, aka the titular heroine (Tatiana Maslanay) running into her arch-nemesis Titania (Jameela Jamil ofThe Good Placefame) at a wedding. However, the episode’s ending offers a new hint towards the show’s ongoing mystery in the form of a familiar name — Intelligencia.
Within the context of the series, Intelligencia is presented as a seemingly innocuous website. However, die-hard fans of the Hulk comics will recognize the name as belonging to a much greater threat, with major ties to one of the Hulk family’s most nefarious enemies. This article will explore the comic book history of the sinister Intelligencia, and why it has major implications forthe future ofShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
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Intelligencia in the Comics
First introduced in the 2009 “Fall of the Hulks” storyline by writer Jeff Parker, the Intelligencia were a secret society of mad scientists founded by the Hulk’s longtime nemesis — Samuel Sterns, better known as the Leader. The group’s initial roster consisted of the Fantastic Four villains Mad Thinker, Red Ghost, and the Wizard, Ant-Man’s Silver Age foe Egghead, and the living supercomputer MODOK. Even Doctor Doom himself was briefly a member of the group before betraying them for his own benefit.
The alliance of evil intellectuals collaborated in the shadows, working together on all manner of sinister experiments, most prominently the transformation of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross into the Red Hulk. But despite all their schemes, the Leader’s Intelligencia wasdefeated by the Hulk family.The group would later return under MODOK’s leadership, with the Leader and Egghead replaced by Black Panther’s nemesis Ulysses Klaw and another FF villain, the Trapster. However, this incarnation was short-lived, disbanding after a few ill-fated encounters with Deadpool, Doctor Octopus and his Sinister Six, and even Doctor Doom again.
Most recently, another iteration of the Intelligencia was formed in the 2017Monsters Unleashedseries written by Cullen Bunn. The Leader, MODOK, and the Mad Thinker were once again on the team, now joined by the notorious X-Men rogue Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mister Sinister. However, this incarnation of the Intelligencia was short-lived, and its members have since gone their separate ways. Despite having a few scattered appearances, the Intelligencia has neverbeen a particularly prominent villainfaction within the Marvel Universe. However, they’re still a fun idea with a notable role in Hulk lore, so it’s no wonder that the group received a nod in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Intelligencia in the MCU
However, the MCU’s take on the Intelligencia seems to bear little resemblance to the comic book version. The name is first mentioned as part of a throwaway line in Episode 6’s B plot, in which it’s derisively mentioned as a decidedly unpleasant website. Towards the end of the episode, a closer look at the site shows it to be a Reddit-esque social media site, filled with lazy, misogynistic memes at She-Hulk’s expense and numerous posts calling to “cancel” her. However, the postsquickly take a darker turn,with numerous posts making death threats towards Jen.
At first, it seems like typical online harassment, but the final scene of the episode shows one user on the site contacting a secret lab that contains the same needle the Wrecking Crew used to try and steal Jen’s blood back in Episode 3. Whoever the shadowy mastermind targeting Jen is, they seem to be affiliated with the Intelligencia website. And considering the name’s comic book roots, this lends even further credence to the popular fan theory that the show’s main antagonist is none other than the Leader himself.
After all, it was announced earlier this month at the D23 Expo that Tim Blake Nelson would soon be reprising his roleas Samuel Sterns in the MCU,finally taking up the mantle of the Leader well over a decade after he appeared inThe Incredible Hulk. Currently, it’s only been confirmed that he’ll be appearing in 2024’sCaptain America: New World Order, but it’s looking more and more likely that he’s pulling the strings inShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawas well. After all, with the rising prominence of online discourse in shaping politics, the idea of the Leader manipulating alt-right trolls to further his schemes isn’t too far removed from reality. And if this is indeed the direction that the MCU will be taking with the character, he’s sure to fit right in with the more overtly political themes of theCaptain Americamovies.
Of course, this isstill all just conjecturefor now. Even after the confirmation that the Leader will soon be making his proper debut in the MCU, it’s still possible that there could be a different villain plotting behind the scenes inShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Even so, considering his close ties with the comic book Intelligencia, it’s becoming increasingly probable that we’ll be seeing the Hulk’s classic arch-nemesis much sooner than expected.
