She-Hulk Episode 7 was titled “The Retreat”, and as teased earlier in the series, we got to take a trip to the self-help retreat run by Emile Blonsky, aka The Abomination. Blonsky’s little counseling retreat actually has a some clientele, made up of hilariously obscure Marvel villains. One of those villains just-so-happens to be one of Ant-Man’s oldest foes: The Porcupine!
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She-Hulk Episode 7 Spoilers: Porcupine Needs Therapy
In the comedic reality of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Porcupine (Jordan Aaron Ford) is a villain with some serious issues that Blonksy is helping him work out. Porcupine has trouble facing or connecting with the outside world and the people in it – so he’s basically living in his thick suit of spikes, straw, and his green gas mask. Over the course of the therapy session that She-Hulk attends, Porcupine turns out to be one of the most insightful members of the group, helping Jen face her issues over how She-Hulk is overshadowing Jen Walters. By the end of the episode, Porcupine makes the small progress of at least removing his mask – a somewhat regrettable decision for the group, as Porcupine’s lack of bodily hygiene has left him smelling rank!
Who Is Marvel’s Porcupine? Explained
Marvel Comics introduced Porcupine all the way back in 1963, in Tales to Astonish #48. The mantle has been held by three different men, but the suit seen in She-Hulk was inspired by the original Porcupine, Alexander Gentry. Gentry was a scientist who designed weapons for the Army. He built what he saw as the ultimate battlesuit, based on a porcupine. The suit would have quills and blades is could shoot out, along with gases and chemicals, fire, and all sorts of other weapons. When Gentry feared that the Army would never properly pay him for his creation, an opted to keep it himself. Porcupine battled Hank Pym’s Ant-Man and Janet van Dyne’s Wasp, and was involved in some classic Marvel events like Doctor Doom’s crashing the wedding of Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards and Sue Storm.
The second Porcupine, Roger Gocking, was more of a comedic B-villain, who eventually did land in a Super Villain Anonymous self-help group and became a crime-solver alongside Spider-Woman and Ben Urich. Billy Bates was the third Porcupine – though he was never officially named. He was a mutant who was assassinated by an anti-mutant hate group. His powers made him want to adopt the Porcupine name.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law streams new episodes Thursdays on Disney+.
