Popverse's top stories of the day

• How Disney+'s What If...? is the moonshot for the next 50 years of Marvel Studios & the MCU
• Watch: Dune: Prophecy's Desmond Hart explained: His secret identity, his past, and his possible future [SPOILERS]
• Dune: Prophecy's Desmond Hart explained: His secret identity, his past, and his possible future [SPOILERS]

With a name like Hulkling, you’d expect the young hero to be directly related to everyone’s favorite giant green rage monster. However, just like with the hero himself, looks can be deceiving. Hulkling is a shapeshifting, superpowered teenager who went from being one of the founding members of the Young Avengers to bringing an end to one of the most famous cosmic conflicts in Marvel history. If you’re looking to brush up on your Hulkling history, here is everything you need to know.

Who is Hulkling, and what are his powers?

Despite his name, Hulkling’s origins are more cosmic than radiation in origin. Until he was a teenager, Teddy Altman believed his shapeshifting powers came from being a mutant. Using these abilities and his super strength and endurance, Teddy was a founding member of the Young Avengers. During his first several appearances in Marvel comics starting in 2005, Hulkling believed he was a mutant raised by a human mother.

That changed when the Super-Skrull showed up on Earth and revealed the truth about Hulkling’s origins. He was actually the child of the Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell and the Skrull princess, making him the rightful heir to the Skrull empire. However, for a long time, Hulkling avoided anything resembling the throne and instead chose to remain on Earth.

As a member of the Young Avengers, Hulkling grew close to several other members of the team. However, his most important relationship was with Wiccan. The two would become one of the most prominent gay couples in comics, eventually getting married during the Empyre storyline in 2020.

Hulkling’s powers include superstrength, a healing factor that allows him to quickly recover from otherwise devastating wounds, and the Skrull’s famous shapeshifting abilities. When he eventually took his rightful place as the ruler of a united Kree and Skrull empire, he gained the magical sword Excelsior, which he uses to rule the cosmos and occasionally as a dinner table.

Where does Hulkling’s name come from?

So why is Hulkling named that if he has no connection to the Hulk? Well, the answer to that question isn’t so simple. Hulkling’s base form is tall, broad, and green, so he took the famous hero as the first part of his name. The second half comes from his shapeshifting nature; he considers himself a Changling so he slapped that together with Hulk and came up with Hulkling. It is as simple – and convoluted – as that.

Is Hulkling in the MCU?

Remember when Hulk showed up at the family picnic with a child he fathered while stranded on Sakaar during Thor: Ragnarok? It sure would make sense if that character, the literal child of the Hulk, was Hulkling, but no. That is Skaar, an entirely different character from Hulkling.

That doesn't mean there is no future in the MCU for Hulkling - he just hasn't appeared yet. At the end of 2023's The Marvels, Ms. Marvel is shown doing her best Nick Fury impression and recruiting a group of young superheroes. This could be setting up a Young Avengers storyline in the future. Considering Hulkling's close ties to the team, it makes sense that he would feature in any Young Avengers TV show or movie.

In fact, Hulkling was in discussions to debut in Disney+'s Agatha All Along as an easter egg, as the boyfriend of Kitt Connor's Wiccan according to showrunner Jac Schaeffer. Although that didn't ultimately happen, that its on Marvel Studios' minds is a positive.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters