Secret Invasion is an upcoming Disney+ series in which shapeshifting Skrull invaders have quietly infiltrated powerful hierarchies on Earth, and it’s up to Nick Fury to stop them. The series will revolve around powerful organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. and will see the return of Nick Fury in a significant way. With the show focusing on the Skrulls as the main enemy, one wonders if Disney will use this opportunity to introduce Hulkling, a.k.a. Teddy Altman.

Hulkling is a super-Skrull that was raised on Earth and eventually joins the Marvel pantheon of heroes in the Young Avengers. We think it might be close to time to introduce him to the MCU because Marvel has already begun planting the seeds of the Young Avengers all over the universe. There are already 7 of the ensemble’s characters active in different MCU projects, and Secret Invasion seems like the perfect time to let Hulkling out of the box.

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While the MCU seems to be progressing a bit differently than the comics in some ways, which might affect some of the narrative concerning Young Avengers characters, there are still some opportune moments for their entry on the scene. Patriot made his entry in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier alongside heroes he was related to. Secret Invasion seems like the aesthetic most prime for introducing the super-Skrull warrior that has been secretly living on Earth this entire time.

Who Is Marvel’s Hulkling?

     Marvel Comics

Hulkling, or Teddy Altman, is a member of the Young Avengers and one of the stronger heroes in the group. He is also a shapeshifter of considerable ability. In his comic book origins, he is the son of Captain Marvel and the Skrull Princess Anelle. During the Kree-Skrull War, Captain Marvel, who was still a member of the Kree people at the time, was captured by the Skrull Emperor and had a brief affair with his daughter while imprisoned. Princess Anelle was worried that her father would kill the child should he ever discover his genetic heritage, so she had her son sent away with his nursemaid. As soon as he was born, he was taken to Earth and raised by his now adoptive mother. The Skrull woman disguised herself as a single human mother working as a real-estate agent and raised the boy on her own.

While Teddy’s alien descent was slightly secretive to him, he could still shapeshift from a very young age. He grew up believing he was a mutant, and fearing he might be a social pariah, he kept his powers secret. He only revealed his shapeshifting abilities to his closest friend at school, who accepted him for who he was but wanted to take advantage of his powers for personal gain. When the Avengers disbanded in the comics, Teddy’s friend took him to the abandoned Avenger’s Mansion to loot the place. But Teddy decided to respect the ruins and intimidated his friend into leaving, thus ending their friendship.

Teddy was later recruited into the Young Avengers via an Avengers fail-safe program that Vision possessed. He took the name Hulkling because he most often shape-shifted into a younger version of the Hulk. Although the Avengers haven’t disbanded in the same way in the MCU as in the comics, there is an opportunity to fit this storyline in Secret Invasion. There was a comic in the ’70s when the Avengers briefly disbanded due to Skrulls disguised as Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor using their false authority to break up the group momentarily.

Why Secret Invasion Is the Perfect Time

     Marvel Studios

Although we have seen Skrulls in the MCU, this will be the first time audiences will see them as one of the main enemies in a storyline. It will also be the first time their shapeshifting abilities have taken center stage. That will create a good opportunity to show the life of a regular human teenager playing on his high school basketball team. One day, he goes home to his mother, who is happy to greet him, but a flash of green skin reveals exactly who she is.

That being said, the MCU has been known to deviate from the comics on certain occasions. So, it’s perfectly likely that Marvel could change the backstory for Hulkling quite easily. We know from Spider-Man: Far From Home that Nick Fury has been working with the Skrulls off-planet for quite some time now. So, it would be more than possible for Fury to bring a Skrull child back to Earth when he eventually returns. With all the cards he has up his sleeve, Fury could be the one planning this second Avengers initiative this entire time.

Of course, it’s a question of if he will return in Secret Invasion. Samuel L. Jackson’s casting in the series is just a version of Nick Fury, who is really just the Skrull Talos pretending to be him this entire time.