The She-Hulk show hasn't been receiving the best reviews, with many experiencing Marvel fatigue and a general disappointed consensus with much of Phase 4. Regardless, viewers who are still in for the Marvel ride will find much to enjoy in the lawyer-superhero show. Tatiana Maslany is a brilliant lead who is bringing She-Hulk to life on the small screen, bad CGI be damned.
Titania has already been introduced into the show, but some fans don't think she's being developed enough. In the comics, Titania is She-Hulk's arch enemy and a pretty big deal to the main story of the character. While her inclusion in the Disney+ show is a welcome one, she needs a bit more expansion.
Titania Was Introduced From The Start
Titania is featured in the first episode of the series, smashing through the room to the court and demonstrating her superhuman strength. She-Hulk quickly dealt with her after a small fight, which resulted in Titania being knocked unconscious and promptly arrested.
Most of the focus was on She-Hulk's reveal to the public, as well as the first showcase of her fighting against a villain. Unfortunately, this fight was mostly played for laughs, which led to a lack of development for Titania. It's part of a wider problem that She-Hulk has with its pacing, it leaves little time for any storylines to be developed.
Titania Has Been Missing For Too Many Episodes
Despite being a superpowered individual that has only just shown up, Titania was released from prison due to her contacts. Since then, the show has had a sub-plot involving whether Emil Blonsky has a case, as well as his adventures with Wong. These sub-plots have been entertaining, but at the detriment of Titania's importance.
Titania has simply been referenced throughout the successive episodes, not reappearing until the fifth episode. Viewers would have expected a little more expansion on her character, considering she's billed to be the major antagonist of the first season. Yet, they've seen little of her.
Why Should Titania Be Developed?
In the comics, Titania is a genetically enhanced soldier who believes herself to be the strongest woman in the world. A narcissistic criminal with enhanced strength, durability, and agility, she is a great match-up to Walters and one of the few Marvel characters stronger than She-Hulk. The two have had many great fights in the comics, and fans were naturally hoping to see this replicated for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In Episode 5 of the She-Hulk series, Titania was simply brought back to bring up a legal battle between her and Jennifer Walters over the trademark of the She-Hulk name. While it was funny and fitting for a show about a lawyer-superhero, it felt a little lackluster compared to what the villain's viewers are used to in the franchise. It's hard for the strakes to feel important when the battle is just a legal one over the rights to a name.
Not to mention, in the comics Titania was genetically enhanced to Dr. Doom and the wife of Carl Creel, making her well-connected to other Marvel villains. Whether there are any plans to add Dr. Doom to the MCU yet remains to be seen, and likely it wouldn't be in She-Hulk. However, that's no reason the writers can't develop Titania with a different backstory.
The Problem With MCU Phase 4 Villains
Some viewers would argue that the MCU has largely had a problem with villains throughout all of its movies. In fact, a growing consensus among fans is that the villains in the MCU shows for Phase 4 have not seen much development at all. While there have been plenty of great characters in Phase 4 of the MCU, they've been few and far between compared to the many that appeared in the earlier stages of the franchise.
The problem with this is it lowers the stakes too much and restricts the storytelling since the villain and main hero haven't had enough personal conflict build up to make viewers care about their fight. Even if Walters likes to focus on being a lawyer, and is a bit more upbeat and non-serious than a lot of the other heroes, it's a disservice to not give her a proper villain to come up against.
Since Titania appears to be the main villain of She-Hulk, it could be argued that her character needed much more development throughout the series. It's clear the aim for her character has been a funny, comic relief sort of villain as her appearance in She-Hulk's sitcom-esque fifth episode, but perhaps the writers are attempting to give fans a red herring. It could be that Titania's being built up as not a threat as an intentional misdirect, until she eventually proves the threat she poses.