This article contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.
She-Hulk has been going from strength to strength with each passing week, a trend episode eight continued as the moment fans have been eagerly awaiting finally arrived – Daredevil has entered the building folks.
Jen herself was pretty happy to see Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock too – honestly, I’m so happy we live in a world where She-Hulk and Daredevil banged on-screen in the MCU.
Anyways, today’s episode wasn’t just about our new favourite duo, as the villains lurking in the background made their move during the gala, setting events up for what is sure to be a thrilling finale.
So, who are Hulk King and the Intelligencia? Let’s dive into it.
Who Is Hulk King?
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Earlier on in the series we were introduced to the Hulk King, an anonymous internet troll who appears to be spearheading a group known as the Intelligencia (more on this later).
Targeting Jen with online abuse, both us and our hero swiftly dismissed them as losers hiding behind their keyboards – and whilst they are indeed that, there’s something more going on as their plot to murder She-Hulk is revealed, presumably stealing her blood to create a suitable weapon.
The mysterious Hulk King is leading the campaign, seemingly providing the resources and funding. So, whilst there is no character of that name in the comics, the fact that they have access to a lab, money, weapons, and more provides some clues.
And then there’s the strong whiff of misogyny they continually give off too, making it almost certain that Hulk King is a man.
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Okay, so although Josh stole data from Jen’s phone, tricking her, we doubt that he is the Hulk King, more likely being one of his followers.
Instead our guess is that the Hulk King is The Leader, a.k.a. Samuel Sterns, a supervillain who was portrayed by actor Tim Blake Nelson in The Incredible Hulk.
Whilst he hasn’t popped up since that Phase One movie, we know Nelson is reprising the role for the upcoming Captain America sequel, New World Order – given that he’s already coming back, She-Hulk could indeed set the scene for that return.
Marvel Comics
As you may be remember, in The Incredible Hulk Sterns tried to cure Banner, a mission he soon gives up on when he becomes infected by some radioactive blood, turning into villain The Leader.
In the comics The Leader used Hulk’s blood for nefarious purposes and was a member of the Intelligencia, so it lines up rather well.
However, the MCU do enjoy throwing a spanner in the works so Hulk King could be revealed to be someone else, maybe even MODOK, another villain who in the comics has history with the Hulks, worked with the Intelligencia, and is pretty evil.
He will be making an appearance soon in the upcoming Ant-Man threequel, so, why not do a tease now?
Who Are The Intelligencia?
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We have referenced the Intelligencia a few times now, the name given to the group of online trolls that Hulk King appears to be leading.
However, not only do the Intelligencia exist in the comics, but they are much more sinister than a group of faceless keyboard warriors.
Long story cut short, the group is formed of some of the greatest yet most evil minds on the planet, initially coming together to share information relevant to several criminal groups, soon becoming something much more malicious.
Marvel Comics
Crucially they were tasked with the mission to take down the Hulk, thus approaching General Ross and convincing him to become the powerful yet destructive being the Red Hulk – ultimately, the plan to kill the Hulk failed.
Will we see a similar storyline followed or is the MCU simply using the group’s name? We will find out very soon.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law airs every Thursday on Disney+.
