She-Hulk’s Villain Titania: Origin, Powers, Abilities & More
MCU Phase 4 is running smoothly and surprisingly successfully, especially in terms of the awesome TV shows on Disney+. One of the upcoming projects, She-Hulk, just recently got confirmation about the show’s villain. Jameela Jamil will portray the infamous Titania. So, who is Titania, what are her powers, and how does she fit in the MCU’s big picture?
Titania, formerly known as Mary McPherran, was a quiet high schooler who Doctor Doom persuaded to fight for him in the Secret War in exchange for giving her incredible superpowers using alien technology. She eventually became Titania, She-Hulk’s arch-nemesis, obsessed to prove she was stronger.
Titania was a part of many supervillain groups and had contact with numerous characters who were getting into the MCU as well. If we look at the comics, it’s possible that Titania will team up with the Abomination, face Jane Foster as the new Lady Thor, or maybe even join Baron Zemo. The options are endless, so let’s see how and why Titania fits into the MCU.
Titania Origin
Mary McPherran was a shy, introverted high-schooler who suffered bullying her entire life. She was tiny from birth because she was born prematurely. That’s why a local bully, Vanessa Ashwood, gave Mary the nickname Skeeter, which is short for mosquito.
Mary needed a way to get away from her harsh life and reality – and she found it in superhero comics, where she imagined herself as a superhero. The comics were Mary’s only friend until she got a summer job at a local grocery store during her senior high school year.
That’s when she met Marsha Rosenberg, who was a similarly introverted outcast. The two became friends, and soon, to appear cooler, Mary lied to Marsha that she was, in fact, the Spider-Woman. Marsha believed her but promised to keep it a secret, as Mary requested.
After that, the two got invited to a party that Vanessa Ashwood and her crew organized. It was a surprise that the bullies finally accepted Mary and Marsha, but, as it turns out, they had ulterior motives. During the party, the Secret Wars caught Denver, and Spider-Woman soon appeared right in front of the group, saving them all from debris and falling objects.
As it turns out, Marsha told everybody that Mary was the Spider-Woman, so now, they caught her in a lie, which made Vanessa and the bullies turn on Mary and Marsha once again. The two ran into the woods to escape the bullies, but they met an unexpected presence there – Doctor Doom.
How did Titania get her powers?
Titania got her powers from Doctor Doom. Doom invited Mary and Marsha to join him. He knew the embarrassment they went through, so he offered them a deal – Doom would give them real superpowers, but in return, he wanted them to fight for him in the Secret Wars. It didn’t take long for Mary and Marsha to accept the offer from Doom and make their dreams of being real superheroes come true.
The only problem is, that they didn’t become superheroes but supervillains. Doctor Doom used the energy of a strong, colossal alien storm that raged outside of his Doombase and instilled that energy into the two girls. Mary turned into Titania, while Marsha became Volcana.
The First Titania Origin
Just for reference, there was a Titania in Marvel Comics before Mary McPherran. Her name was Davida DeVito, and she first appeared in 1979’s Marvel Two-In-One #54. Davida was a professional wrestler who led a group of all-women wrestlers called the Grapplers.
They were no strangers to crime and eventually got hired to destroy a secret operation named Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. If you remember, several movies within the MCU referenced the project (Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain Marvel…).
Anyways, the mission didn’t go as planned and resulted in DeVito’s arrest. In prison, the Power Broker conducted experiments on Davida, turning her into the super-powerful Titania, but she eventually got killed with an explosive bullet in Thing #33.
However, the Hood later resurrected her, among other supervillains, to join his gang that wanted to destroy the Punisher. Titania changed her name to Lascivious, opening the door for Mary McPherran to become Marvel’s primary Titania.
It’s important to note that Mary and Davida have no connections whatsoever, nor did their powers come from the same source – all they share is the alias.
Titania’s Powers & Abilities
After Doom gave Mary superpowers, she instantly grew almost 1.5 feet, going from a small 5-footer (152 cm) to a 6’6’’ (198 cm) powerhouse, weighing 545 lbs (247 kg) of pure muscle. Apart from her body changing so dramatically, Titania’s personality changed as well, going from shy and introverted to confident and outgoing.
As for her powers, her main attribute gained with Doctor Doom’s experiments was incredible superstrength. Now, in the beginning, she could instantly lift around 85 tons, making Titania believe she was the strongest woman alive.
However, when she got into a fight with the She-Hulk, she got bested by Jen Walters, showing her that being strong isn’t enough if you don’t have the skills and experience. So, Titania became obsessed with beating She-Hulk to prove that she was the strongest. Her intense training allowed her to lift right about 100 tons (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. 2 #13).
Apart from superstrength, Titania also has incredible stamina. When going full force, Mary can keep up that pace for about 24 hours before experiencing fatigue. For reference, an average human can keep their peak intensity of physical exertion for only about 30 minutes – 1 hour.
Finally, Titania is extremely durable, as she has shown numerous times. Mary can take a punch from She-Hulk without too much damage and is also resistant to high-caliber bullets, explosions, extreme heat/cold, and much more. She is not invulnerable, but it takes a lot of damage for her to get hurt.
That being said, we haven’t seen much resistance when it comes to telepathy or magic.
There was a short time during the War of the Serpent event when Titania wielded a mystical Asgardian hammer that was forged by the Asgardian God of Fear, making her much more powerful. However, Mary lost the hammer in Fear Itself #3.
That covers Titania’s superpowers. So, what about her skills and abilities? Well, she was just strong but not skilled at first. However, after getting beat by She-Hulk, Titania started extremely intense training. She was tutored by the Champion of the Universe – one of the best combatants in the Marvel universe, making her a very formidable hand-to-hand combatant.
Titania knows how to use her street smarts and her surroundings to make the best of her superhuman strength, making her a very dangerous opponent against anyone.
Titania In The She-Hulk TV Series
We know that Titania will appear in every episode of the She-Hulk series as the show’s main villain, but what will happen and how it’ll play out remains to be seen. However, there are rumors about the plot that might shed some light on Jameela Jamil’s Titania.
In one episode of the Change My Mind podcast, an insider, KC Walsh, revealed some rumors to be true about the show. Titania ought to appear as a social media influencer or an “exercise guru,” but things don’t work out as she hoped they would. She seeks help from a life coach, who turns out to be Abomination, aka Emil Blonsky.
Remember, Titania and Abomination worked together in the comics for a while, too, so this connection would make a lot of sense. Especially now that we know the Abomination is also confirmed for all ten episodes of the show portrayed by Tim Roth.
Anyways, it seems that the Abomination will somehow get a hold of a sample of She-Hulk’s blood that he’ll pass around as a cure for anything you might need. Well, the serum he created turns anyone who gets it into a version of the Hulk – probably not as strong as Bruce Banner or the She-Hulk herself, but still incredibly powerful.
Instead of getting augmented and enhanced by Doctor doom like in the comics, there’s a big chance that this will be the way that Mary becomes Titania in the show. Seeing that the show will be a comedy, I can see titania getting obsessed with proving that she can beat the She-Hulk, just to post it on her social media. It’s just a theory but seems plausible.
Also, it seems that Titania won’t be the only person to receive Blonsky’s superpowered serum. We could see a whole bunch of Hulks entering the MCU, including Skaar, Thunderbolt Ross’ Red Hulk, and the construction workers-turned-supervillains, The Wrecking Crew. More on that later.
I wish to point out that all of these rumors are confirmed by an insider but never officially confirmed or announced by Marvel Studios, so take it all with a grain of salt. Marvel tends to be very secretive about the plot of the shows or movies within the MCU, so we might get a completely different twist on the characters.
That being said, let’s see how Titania might fit in the MCU’s bigger picture.
Titania In The MCU
Seeing that Titania’s powers came from Doctor Doom’s augmentations, many fans eagerly hope that her introduction will lead to Mr. Doom finally getting a role within the MCU.
However, seeing that everything is pointing to Titania’s powers coming from another character, I don’t see how the writers could integrate Doctor Doom in the She-Hulk storyline, too. I hope they can do it, and I’d love to be surprised, but I don’t see it happening.
What I do see happening is the rumored World War Hulk movie. First, we’ve already seen Bruce Banner having a cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so we know his time in the MCU isn’t over. Second, we’ve also seen Banner in the short teaser for the She-Hulk series.
And third, Marvel Studios finally has the rights again to make a stand-alone Hulk film – the first since Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk flop in 2008. If anyone deserves a stand-alone feature film in the MCU, it’s Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, who appeared in numerous joint performances but never as the main protagonist.
The rumors suggest that the Abomination will create a whole bunch of Hulks. We know how big of a threat for overall destruction one Hulk can be. If you have the Hulk, She-Hulk, titania, Skaar, Red Hulk, and the entire Wrecking Crew – things can spin out of control in a second.
The movie, as rumored, will revolve around Bruce and Jen partnering to stop the craziness and find a way to save the world from the Hulks and the destruction they can cause.
I wish to note that World War Hulk was an antagonist in the comics, so there’s a chance that Ruffalo’s Banner might go down the deep end, but I hope the MCU doesn’t walk down that path and adapt the World War Hulk story in a different way.
Apart from that, Titania could appear in many different projects after She-Hulk. In Avengers #270, Mary joins Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil group. Seeing that Zemo fled the scene in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it could possibly lead to a team-up between him and Titania in the MCU, as well.
That would also play into Titania possibly meeting the Power Broker – aka, Sharon Carter in the MCU. The Power Broker gave the first Titania, Davida DeVito, her powers in the comics. Although Davida won’t appear in the She-Hulk TV series, I could potentially see the encounter between Sharon Carter and Titania as a homage to the first Titania.
Another connection worth exploring is Titania’s connection to Jane Foster – Thor’s love interest, who shall become the new Lady Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder, where she’ll learn to wield Mjolnir. In the comics, Jane saved Titania’s life, curing her of cancer, but Titania turned against Jane as soon as she healed, so that might be a plot point in the upcoming Thor film.
All we have right now are rumors and speculations, though, as Marvel hasn’t confirmed anything revolving around the She-Hulk series yet. We don’t even have the release date yet, except knowing it’ll come somewhere in late 2022. Until it comes out, all we can do is wait to see which of these rumors turns out to be true.