Warning: contains spoilers for The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1.
In a recent comic, Marvel has updated the origin story of the Young Avengers. In The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulking #1, readers are treated to a new origin story for Wiccan and Hulkling, altering – and building upon – previous stories of their meeting. Hulkling and Wiccan’s relationship helped the Empyre story arc receive a GLAAD Outstanding Comic Book award, as the arc brought to fruition the couple’s long-anticipated wedding. In other words, Hulkling and Wiccan are an iconic couple, so a change to their meeting could be cause for concern. While the new update does not completely change their previous meetcute, it builds upon it and adds additional depth to their relationship’s origins.
The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1, written by Anthony Olivieria with art by Jan Bazaldua, sheds new light on the origins of Wiccan and Hulkling’s relationship as well as their relationships with others. The issue finds Wiccan and Hulkling facing off against the Last Annihilation separately – worlds apart but together in their hearts. The individual newlyweds must face off against the forces of Dormammu shortly after their wedding. The issue also shows readers a new side of the origins of Wiccan and Hulkling’s relationship. While readers were previously introduced to one origin story in Young Avengers Special #1, The Last Annihilation takes a deeper dive without altering the previously established canon for the couple.
In The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1, Hulkling (Theodore “Teddy” Altman) and Wiccan (William “Billy” Kaplan) are shown as attending the same high school. The issue shows them briefly interacting and acknowledging each other in a third period science class, as well as them bonding in the school hallways over their shared love of comics and other nerdy things. Most importantly, it shows Teddy and Billy taking on a team of bullies together after a football game and has them have a heart-t0-heart (and share a kiss) outside of the destroyed Avengers’ Mansion. Iron Lad arrives to recruit both of them to the Young Avengers (which is secretly being set up in the MCU). While the final part of this story tracks with what readers have been previously shown in terms of Hulkling and Wiccan’s recruitment to the Young Avengers, it’s the lead up to this recruitment that adds something new. In Young Avengers Special #1, it is implied that Hulkling and Wiccan attended different schools before meeting on the team of the Young Avengers.
The relationship origin story in The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1 is not directly at odds with the previously established canon, though. In Young Avengers Special #1, Wiccan (whose problematic name may be an issue for his eventual addition to the MCU) and Hulkling are recruited individually to the Young Avengers team. The recruitment at the end of The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling actually works quite well with the previously established story – this appearance of Iron Lad, while messy, serves to reconfirm their joining the Young Avengers, rather than to negate his previous recruitment efforts.
There is nothing in the story to put the previous actions of Young Avengers Special #1 into a non-canonical limbo of sorts – the writing is careful to keep those things established still. What this comic serves to do is place Hulkling (whose family secrets have just been revealed) and Wiccan’s relationship prior to their joining the Young Avengers. Giving them an established relationship – and several key moments while still in high school – serves only to strengthen the depiction of their relationship going forward.
The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1 is available now.
About The Author
