We've just watched She-Hulk episode 7, and we left it with one big question about this show: who is Hulk King? The show has currently teased its big villain as a mastermind from the Intelligencia organization that wants to kill She-Hulk, but the Hulk King name (displayed as #HulkKing in the show) may be throwing some people off the scent.
While She-Hulk episode 7 may be seen by some as a relatively minor episode — mostly contained off-premises, and focused on a story regarding Jen's self-worth — but it does continue to push ahead the central story of the conspiracy against She-Hulk.
So, below, after I sound the spoiler warning horn, we'll go over what we know about the villains (and wanna-be villains) of She-Hulk, and how it all points to a big clash that will likely set up an upcoming Marvel movie.
She-Hulk episode 7 ending explained
At Emil Blonsky's retreat, we met Wrecker (Nick Gomez) one of the goons of the Wrecking Crew, who was fresh out of the Yurt. Jen reminded us that he's one of the guys who tried (and failed) to steal her blood. But, to be honest, while we didn't get much of an explainer for his actions, he did seem harmless and not-malicious.
Throughout the episode, Jen was dealing with being ghosted by the charming guy Josh Miller (Trevor Salter) she hooked up with. The two met at Jen's friend Lulu's wedding, where flashbacks showed us that Josh literally said it was his "plan" to talk to a beautiful woman.
Then, at the very end three days earlier flashback revealed Josh stole data from Jen's phone after they hooked up. He's clearly a member of the people behind Intelligencia, a Reddit-esque web forum where people are uniting to try and kill She-Hulk.
This is the big clue, as the Marvel Comics do have their own Intelligencia.
She-Hulk episode 7: is Hulk King the Hulkling?
If you google "Hulkking" like I have, you'll get results for Hulkling. Don't think the two are the same. Hulkling is a half-Kree, half-Skrull hero who has appeared in the comics, primarily in the Young Avengers.
He would have no reason to be taking She-Hulk's blood. Instead, look to the future of Marvel's movies.
She-Hulk episode 7: Hulk King sounds like The Leader
The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), who is confirmed for Captain America 4: New World Order, is our bet. Tom's Guide editor Tom Pritchard suggested the possibility to me, and it completely checks out.
In the comics, The Leader has used Hulk blood — which Wrecker's gang was trying to take from Jen — for nefarious purposes. And The Leader is about to need to give those superpowers to someone, if he's going to take on Sam Wilson's Captain America.
Speculation online has pointed to an appearance from the evil Red Hulk in the MCU. At one point people thought he'd be in the Thunderbolts movie, but that would probably mean he'd be played by the late William Hurt who passed away this past March.
So, since The Leader is our top bet to be Hulk King (we hope this character won't be called #HulkKing), we can definitely see the end of She-Hulk season 1 being used to set up Captain America's next adventure.
Analysis: When is She-Hulk going to show Hulk King already?
She-Hulk has two episodes left, and it feels like the show will debut him in one of two ways. My bet is that we cut to the chase and reveal Hulk King at the start of the episode 8, as the MCU Disney Plus love to spend the penultimate episode showing us what we haven't already seen. WandaVision did it, and so did Moon Knight.
That said, it could go the Hawkeye route and expose Hulk King at the very end of the episode, as Wilson Fisk was revealed. Or, it could wait a beat and use a post-credits scene for the reveal.
That said, She-Hulk waiting until the very end to reveal its villain isn't a practice we really like. When some Marvel shows do this, it often feels like they're meandering. She-Hulk, thankfully, doesn't suffer from this, as each episode has been worthwhile.
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