As Empyre kicks off at Marvel and launches the next great Avengers epic, Teddy Altman, a.k.a. Hulkling, is taking a starring role. His comic origins are heavily tied to his relationship with Billy Kaplan, a.k.a. Wiccan. The couple have a loving, intimate relationship that began when they were Young Avengers teammates.
Now that Hulkling and Wiccan are back in the spotlight, here's a look at what makes them such a power couple.
Legendary Powers
Wiccan is the reincarnation of Scarlet Witch and the original Vision’s son. In addition to magically warping reality, Billy can also fly, generate lightning and locate anyone, anywhere. He repeatedly struggles to manage his powers, but finds a way to get a grip with Hulkling's help.
Teddy is a shapeshifter who also possesses super strength and healing almost equal to the Hulk’s. He is the son of Kree hero Captain Marvel and Skrull princess Anelle. Although he is mixed alien race, Teddy is considered fully Kree and fully Skrull under their respective laws, meaning his lineage makes him Kree and Skrull royalty. That's how he ends up leading the newly-united empires to war with Earth in Empyre.
Young Avengers
Hulking and Wiccan are members of the superhero team known as the Young Avengers. Recruited by founder Iron Lad, they joined the team along with Patriot to defend New York in the wake of the original Avengers being disbanded following the explosion of Avengers Manor.
The two hit it off and became one of Marvel's first openly gay couples after Billy changed his codename to Wiccan from Asgardian. Since then, he and Teddy have become one of Marvel's most consistently stable couples.
Their First Kiss
Hulkling and Wiccan shared their first on-panel kiss in Young Avengers: The Children's Crusade #9 in 2012. It wasn't necessarily a big moment in their actual romance, since they had established their love for each other before, but it was a major moment for fans after watching them fall in love across seven years as teammates. It was also a huge moment for Marvel Comics as a whole.
At the time, the creative team explained that the kiss took so long because so many of the Young Avengers titles were connected to Civil War, Secret Invasion and Dark Reign, which left little space to explore this relationship in its entirety.
Overcoming the Odds
During Children’s Crusade, Wiccan’s powers overloaded, much like his mother's. Against the wishes of the Avengers, he sought her guidance and his teammates followed him. At the time, Scarlet Witch was engaged to Doctor Doom, with no memory of her children. After her memories were restored, she worked with Doom and Wiccan to perform a ritual that undid the events of Decimation.
Doom took advantage of this moment to steal Wanda’s connection to the life force, which gave him the power to reshape the world in his image. The battle that followed took a toll on the Young Avengers, ultimately leading to their break-up. Billy fell into a deep depression; Hulkling stayed by his side and they fought several more battles together, eventually getting engaged to be married.
Marvel Royalty
Wiccan and Hulkling are essentially Marvel royalty. Billy is descended from the likes of Scarlet Witch and the original Vision, which means -- in some canons -- he is also Magneto's grandson, not to mention Quicksilver's nephew.
Teddy is the first child born of both Kree and Skrull lineage. He was named the Dorrek VIII -- future leader of the two empires. This is further explained in Incoming, wherein Teddy embraces his Kree/Skrull heritage and ends up leaving his fiancé behind to lead the Kree/Skrull army.
Seeing Teddy leave Billy was unexpected, given their usual devotion to each other over everything. It seems likely their relationship will be put to the test in Empyre.