Upon greeting the day this morning, I was confronted by a daunting realization.
While nothing is truly certain, the MCU’s proven a few tendencies to be as set in stone as the ten commandments. Among these is its general avoidance of multiple characters with too many shared traits, which (I can only assume) is why we’ve yet to meet characters like Beta Ray Bill or the X-Men’s Gentle. This obviously excludes No Way Home‘s trio of Spider-Men, since that was entirely purposeful, but the MCU is made for more than die-hard comics fans. Those viewers less familiar with the comics behind these cinematic hits might get confused if the MCU saturated them in legions of heroes that shared the same power sets, character traits, or — god forbid — physical likeness.
Which, it occurs to me, is set to be the case with a recent MCU addition and a character I’ve been looking forward to for years. See, the Young Avengers — I know, I’m back on my BS — is an almost-complete team in the MCU at this point, thanks to the gradual introduction of each of its key members across Disney Plus and cinematic releases. Nearly every member of the original team is gathered, between Hawkeye‘s Kate Bishop, Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s Eli Bradley, WandaVision‘s Billy and Tommy Maximoff, Quantumania‘s Cassie Lang, and Phase Four and Five’s Kang.
One character who’s notably missing? Teddy Altman, aka Hulkling. The name doesn’t entirely suit the character, and I won’t spoil that big reveal for you here, but the crux of the matter is his appearance and assumed power set. Upon introduction, Teddy is capable of transforming into a big green powerhouse capable of busting barriers and protecting his friends. His character is a vital member of the Young Avengers, and his relationship with Billy is one of the very best in Marvel comics.
But the introduction of Hulk’s son Skaar in She-Hulk might just eliminate him from the MCU entirely.
Those background MCU fans noted above would almost certainly be confused by the introduction of two young, green-skinned heroes within the same MCU era. And, since the rest of his team is already gathered, it’s about damn time Teddy enters the fold. With Skaar beating him to the punch, however, Teddy’s time might just be up before it even started.
I, for one, would be devastated to learn this inkling was true, but I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised. I’ve been assuming, for more than a year now, that Teddy would finally get his introduction in Secret Wars later this year. But the Skaar of it all makes his big entrance far less certain, and teases the possibility that Skaar is intended as a replacement of Hulkling in future Young Avengers releases.
Teddy and Skaar couldn’t be more different in Marvel comics, but the fact of the matter is that we don’t know Skaar’s MCU character at all. If the franchise really is intending on replacing Teddy with Hulk’s son, he might take on a few more Teddy-ish traits, but that wouldn’t eliminate the hole Teddy’s loss would leave.
A big piece of that is the relationship between Teddy and Billy. As one of Marvel comics’ very best LGBTQ+ couplings, it would be a massive shame to see their potential tossed away, particularly when the MCU needs a strong new angle to carry it through these lackluster times. The Young Avengers, and that lovely, wistful pairing, could be just the antidote to the franchise’s current woes, but the loss of Teddy would tarnish that potential completely. It’s not that Billy and Skaar couldn’t get together, of course, but that could easily feel forced and uneven, and that simply isn’t Teddy and Billy. They fit together in all the right ways, and — assuming Skaar maintains at least some of the traits he has in comics — there’s no way a pairing between him and Billy would feel so kismet.
There’s still no saying exactly what the MCU plans to do with the Young Avengers — if anything — and clues about its plans for Teddy are just as scarce. We should know if he’s ever getting an introduction after Secret Wars drops, since it’s high time he joined his team in the background of the franchise’s plans, but a trail of broken hearts might just follow if the cinematic world chooses to leave Teddy behind — and Billy’s is only one of them.
