Snap Into Marvel: Emperor Hulkling Comes To Conquer The Game!
by Austin Gorton
Real Name: Dorek VII/Teddy Altman
First Appearance: Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
Powers and Abilities: A hybrid of the alien Kree and Skrull races, Teddy possesses superhuman strength and durability, as well the the same shapeshifting abilities native to Skrulls.
Comic Book Chronicles
In the context of the initial Young Avengers lineup all being analogs to the founding Avengers, Hulkling is, obviously, the Hulk stand-in. But Teddy’s shapeshifting abilities point at a different heritage, with the character eventually coming to represent the legacy of an entirely different Avenger. When the Super Skrull arrives on Earth claiming Teddy is actually a member of his shapeshifting race, the truth quickly comes out: Teddy is half-Skrull, the child of the daughter of the Skrull emperor and the Kree warrior turned protector of Earth turned Avenger, Captain Marvel.
Not only does this connect Teddy directly to the history of the Avengers (similar to how Stature is the daughter of Scott Lang and Wiccan and Speed are the children of Scarlet Witch and Vision), it makes him a key figure in the seemingly never ending star-spanning conflict between the Kree and Skrulls.
Teddy shuns his galactic heritage at first however, remaining on Earth with his boyfriend Wiccan and the rest of the Young Avengers as he sends the Super-Skrull, posing as Hulkling, to live amongst the Kree and Skrull in his place. On Earth, Teddy participated in assorted crossover events, such as Civil War and Secret Invasion, and was part of the Kieron Gillen/Jamie McKelvie Young Avengers relaunch. He even joined an “old” Avengers roster led by Sunspot in 2015’s New Avengers series. Along the way, he and Wiccan become engaged.
Eventually, Hulkling’s cosmic heritage caught up to him. Claiming the dual mantle of leadership of both the Kree and Skrull, the now-Emperor Hulkling plays a key role in the 2020 crossover event Empyre. Working to establish himself as more than a figurehead and protect Earth from the threat of the plant alien Cotati, Hulkling also found his relationship with Wiccan strained by the machinations of his court. Ultimately, Hulkling led the alliance to victory over the Cotati, affirming his political power and legitimacy in the process. In the aftermath of the war, he and Wiccan marry, with Wiccan named the Prince Consort and Court Magician.
Fit & Finish
Like Wiccan and Speed, Hulkling isn’t a character who’s had a ton of variation to his look. For the most part, he’s consistently drawn with purple clothes (Hulk’s preferred color), big shoulders, and bat-like wings that enable him to fly. This doesn’t leave much room for his Marvel Snap variants to differentiate themselves — in fact, both variants render the character from the same kind of side view perspective.
True to the fact that this is technically an Emperor Hulkling card and not just a Hulkling card, all three cards also feature Teddy wielding Excelsior the Star-Sword. The Excalibur-like sword is forged from ancient blades important to both the Kree and Skrull histories (like how He-Man and Skeletor’s swords can be fused into one). Being the first Kree/Skrull hybrid born in millennia, Hulkling was eventually led to attempt to pull the sword from the rock where his ancestor had placed it. After successfully removing the sword from its stone, Excelsior becomes a key symbol of Hulkling’s political power and legitimacy.
Form & Function
Outside of Kate Bishop, Hulkling has the best comics-to-game synergy of any card this season. The ability to copy a random 6 cost card’s ability is, like Copycat, Morph and Mystique, a nod to his shapeshifting ability. Meanwhile, because he’s an ostensible member of the extended Hulk family, he’s a base six cost with high power, just like Hulk, She-Hulk, Red Hulk, and Skaar.
That said, none of that necessarily makes Hulkling a good card. Or, at least, not a great one. A 6/11 card isn’t bad, of course, but even just in the context of the rest of the Hulk cards, he’s probably the weakest of the bunch: Hulk has more power (especially in a High Evolutionary deck), She-Hulk and Skaar can be made to cost less, and Red Hulk grows more powerful. Hulkling’s special copy ability, meanwhile, is a complete crapshoot.
An eleven-power Arnim Zola is great; no one will complain about a couple of extra Doombots. But cards like Apocalypse, Hela, and Knull offer little if you don’t have a deck designed to take advantage of their abilities. An 11-power Galactus sounds great, but keeping a lane clear to play him — on turn six — and overpower your opponent with just the one card takes perhaps more luck and skill than is worth it.
Certainly, the air of randomness that Hulkling can bring to a deck can be beneficial — especially in Conquest. But it really seems like in most cases, you’d just be better off playing another six drop in Hulkling’s place. For example, most decks could benefit from a Doom or Magneto, but why play Hulkling and risk copying Infinaut or the Destroyer when you can just play Doom or Magneto instead?
None of this means Hulkling is a bad card. It just means he’s a largely inessential one (which seems to be the unintentional theme of the season, Kate Bishop aside). He doesn’t launch a new or significantly improve an existing archetype. He can be useful, but other cards can be useful more consistently for the same cost. Hulkling has the potential to be a fun card, but he’s also probably the weakest card of the season.
