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Young Avengers Presents #2: Review

Apr 2008
Brian Reed, Harvey Tolibao

Story Name:

Hulkling

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Young Avengers Presents #2 Review by (November 14, 2020)
Kree Captain Mar-Vell was sent to Earth as a spy in Marvel Super-Heroes #12-13 but became an Earth hero as the original (for Marvel Comics) Captain Marvel in his own 62-issue series. In #34 he was attacked with nerve gas which gave him cancer which he died of in the 1st Marvel Graphic Novel. Along the way he had a very brief affair with Skrull Princess Anelle in Avengers #94-97 at the end of the Kree-Skrull War. And she gave birth to a Kree/Skrull hybrid boy who she sent to Earth with his nanny to save him from her Emperor father's wrath. The boy grew up as Teddy Altman with the nanny pretending to be his mother, believing his strength and shape-shifting power were a mutation. Until the Super-Skrull killed his 'mother' in Young Avengers #9 and revealed Teddy's true origin to him.

The Captain Marvel here was discovered in the Negative Zone by Sentry in the Civil War: The Return 1-shot. He believed he'd somehow travelled in time and he continued into his own 2008 series where he was seen in public fighting alongside the Mighty Avengers in #1, which alerted Hulkling to his presence. Then Teddy waylays him leaving Avengers Tower partway through #4.

However this Captain Marvel is really a Skrull imposter Khn'nr as part of the build-up to Secret Invasion. But his imprinting went wrong and he believes he *is* Mar-Vell. Eventually he will discover the truth but will still fight on the side of humans, dying a hero in SI#6.

Stature isn't with the team because she Registered and joined the Initiative. The others are Anti-Registration. Speed just doesn't seem to be a regular team member.

Hawkeye, Patriot and Wiccan were last in Patriot's spotlight in #1. Hulkling was last seen (with Wiccan) in She-Hulk #21. Vision was with the others here plus Speed in Fallen Son: Iron Man.

Hawkeye, Hulkling, Patriot and Vision (without Wiccan) will wander (with Stature) into Fantastic Four #556. Then Hulkling will be present when the spotlight falls on Speed and Wiccan in #3. And Stature will share Vision's spotlight in #4. Hawkeye and Patriot's next app will be FF#562 (with Hulkling and Vision). It's all very mix-and-match.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Young Avengers Presents #2 Synopsis by Rob Johnson
This issue features Hulkling with support from Wiccan and the other Young Avengers (except Speed and Stature).

Teddy Altman's father, the supposedly long-dead original Captain Marvel, has recently been seen flying around. On the splash page as the YA spring into action we 'hear' Hulkling rehearsing what he would say to him if he met him.

Now we jump forward to an actual meeting on a New York rooftop, with the Avengers/Stark Tower in the background topped with Sentry's Watchtower. Now human-looking Teddy introduces himself as Teddy Altman and witters on about how he saw the Captain leaving the Tower and called to him and now he doesn't know what to say. Marvel urges him to get to the point and Teddy blurts out that he's his son. This is startling news to CM but when Teddy mentions Anelle it gains some credibility, and then Teddy says Super-Skrull told him all about it which confuses Mar-Vell again. So he asks Teddy to explain things from the beginning.

Teddy chooses to start a few days ago where he and Billy Kaplan saw a Times Square billboard showing CM and the Mighty Avengers fighting a giant-robot (CM(2008)#1). Teddy shapeshifted to a Hulkling with wings and flew off to find out whether this CM was a fake. Billy magicked up his Wiccan costume and followed, flying by magic. Both risk being apprehended by the Registration police. En route Billy talked Teddy down and asked him to think about what he was going to do because you can't just walk up to someone and say "You're my dad". But Teddy hasn't come up with a better idea since then.

Mar-Vell latches on to Teddy being a shape-shifter, and Teddy demonstrates. He says that's his Skrull heritage, and his super-strength probably comes from his father. CM says he's got to take time to digest this, and he flies off to do what he was on the way to do before Teddy stopped him. But he promises to come back to talk to him some more.

We now move forward to the YA stopping a gang of cyborgs robbing the Empire City Bank. Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Patriot (Eli Bradley) and Vision (Jonas) are very supportive of Hulkling's attempt to connect with his father. Kate wants as little to do with *her* father as possible, Vision thinks he should have tried an official channel like Tony Stark. Eli thinks Teddy should give the man some space. The police arrive so it's time for the YA to disappear. Wiccan magics up a portal for them but Hulkling is still taking his frustration out on the cyborgs, including smashing a police car with 1 of them. He flies off to be alone.

That night Captain Marvel finds him on a rooftop. He wants to know how sure Billy is that Super-Skrull told him the truth. But he has to admit that he did sleep with Anelle. And Billy says the 'mother' who raised him on Earth did turn out to be a Skrull. She always told him his father died before he was born, and he always missed not knowing that made-up man. In turn Mar-Vell says Anelle was a good, strong woman who might have been a leader to end the continual war between the Skrulls and Kree, except she died when Galactus ate her world. But he and Anelle never saw each other again after what must have been Teddy's conception.

Mar-Vell tells Teddy how Kree sons are all raised to be soldiers. But he is prouder of Teddy because he *chose* to become a warrior, and prouder still that he is an Avenger. Teddy has to mention that the actual Avengers don't approve of the YA. Teddy finally thinks to ask how come Mar-Vell is here in the present. CM says it was accidental time-travel. Teddy throws in that he used to know the time-travelling Kang The Conqueror (actually the younger version Iron Lad).

CM says that he intends to find a way back to his own time. Teddy wants him to stay but Mar-Vell says he must return to fulfil his destiny. Teddy has to admit he knows what happens when you mess with history, but he's the only parent he has a chance to know. But then they hug and he accepts the inevitable. Captain Marvel says he still has stuff to do, but says he hopes to see his son again before he returns to his own time.

But a future Teddy in voiceover says he never saw him again alive.



Harvey Tolibao
Harvey Tolibao
Jay David Ramos
Jim Cheung (Cover Penciler)
John Dell (Cover Inker)
Justin Ponsor (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Cory Petit.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Hawkeye
Hawkeye

(Kate Bishop)
Hulkling
Hulkling

(Teddy Altman)
Wiccan
Wiccan

(Billy Kaplan)

Plus: Captain Marvel (Khn'nr), Patriot (Elijah Bradley), Vision (Jonas), Young Avengers.

> Young Avengers Presents: Book info and issue index

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