Who Is The Villain In She-Hulk? Titania Explained
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is rapidly expanding, a little like our own universe, but instead of literally bending space, they're doing it by continually adding new characters to the mix. We've already had the most ambitious crossover event of all time with "Avengers: Infinity War," but clearly, that was not enough characters.
While so far, the Marvel Disney+ series have focused on established characters with new villains, the coming months will bring shows focused on entirely new-to-the-MCU heroes. First up? She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, the cousin of our resident green, Bruce Banner. Just like "WandaVision," "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," and "Loki" before it, "She-Hulk" will play with genres by combining a legal comedy with the superhero antics of the MCU.
As a new entrant to the ring, She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany, will tangle with the familiar faces of Hulk-slash-Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and "The Incredible Hulk" villain the Abomination (Tim Roth). However, her true rival will be Titania, played by "The Good Place" star Jameela Jamil. The Illuminerdi reported that Titania will be "a glamorous social media influencer, Kardashian-esque with a dark side." In truth, this sounds like a huge departure from the Titania of the comics. Here's everything you need to know about her.
Titania has a long, lasting rivalry with She-Hulk
As the Marvel comics tell it, Titania, or Mary MacPherran, grew up small and picked on, wishing she could have superpowers to get back at her bullies. As luck had it, Doctor Doom found her and her friend Marsha when they were transported to Battleworld, a patchwork planet where heroes and villains were gathered to fight in the "Secret Wars." He needed extra supervillains in his army, so he offered them powers in "Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars" #3: Mary became Titania, gaining super strength and durability, while Marsha became Volcana, gaining plasma powers.
It is amidst this epic battle that Titania and She-Hulk first encounter each other and become rivals. While they have countless battles, Titania's most notable encounter with She-Hulk comes in "She-Hulk" #10-12 (2004), when Titania acquires one of the Infinity Stones — the Power Stone — and nearly defeats her rival before being tricked and beaten. Most likely, we won't see any Infinity Stones in "She-Hulk" (despite their apparent abundance evidenced in "Loki") but we can bet Titania will develop some obsession with beating She-Hulk.
Titania is one half of a romantic villain duo
Now, it must be noted that Titania is strong enough to go up against the likes of Thor, but is bested by the agility and smarts of Spider-Man in "Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars" #8 — giving her a bout of super-specific arachnophobia. As an official supervillain, Titania spends much time in and out of the specialized prison the Vault, fighting various heroes in between incarcerations and teaming up with other villains, like the Frightful Four.
The one thing Titania really has going for her is her relationship with fellow supervillain Carl Creel, the Absorbing Man. They marry each other in "Avengers: Unplugged" #4 and then become a dastardly duo, even working with Baron Zemo for a while. However, despite their occasional interests in leaving villainy behind, the pair can't give up the life of crime forever. But rather than jumping the shark, as their story continues through the years, Titania gets full-on eaten by one in "She-Hulk" #23 when she's shrunk down with Pym Particles — don't worry, she survives somehow.
The comics paint Titania as a weak girl who turned to revenge upon gaining power but is stuck with a lifelong inferiority complex. It already sounds like the "She-Hulk" version will be fairly different, considering she's a social media influencer, but some of this history may make its way into her character regardless. We'll just have to see when the Disney+ series arrives in 2022.