Wiccan
William "Billy" Kaplan
Character profile
Hulkling
Theodore "Teddy" Altman, born Dorrek VIII
The son of two warring empires, forced to rule both.
Biography
Teddy Altman is the child of Captain Mar-Vell and the Skrull Princess Anelle, smuggled to Earth as an infant to survive a war both sides wanted him dead over. He grew up an ordinary New York teenager who could shapeshift, joined the Young Avengers as Hulkling because the Hulk form was the one that scared people, and spent years pretending his heritage was a footnote rather than a throne.
It was a throne. Empyre put the crown on him: Teddy became emperor of a unified Kree/Skrull Alliance, the first ruler either empire had ever shared, and married Billy Kaplan in the process. He is now one of the few Marvel characters who is simultaneously a teenage hero, a head of state and a diplomatic crisis waiting to happen.
Vital statistics
- Real name
- Theodore "Teddy" Altman, born Dorrek VIII
- Also known as
- Dorrek VIII, Emperor Hulkling, Prince of the Kree and Skrull
- Species
- Kree/Skrull hybrid
- Place of origin
- Born in space, raised on Earth
- First appearance
- Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
- Created by
- Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung
- Affiliations
- Young Avengers, Kree/Skrull Alliance, Avengers
- Groups
- Heroes Young Avengers
Power grid
Intelligence3
Strength6
Speed3
Durability5
Energy2
Fighting4
Rated 1–7 on the classic Marvel power-grid scale.
Powers
- Shapeshifting
His Skrull heritage lets him alter form, mass and appearance, from perfect impersonation to a hulking combat body.
- Superhuman Strength
His Kree physiology puts him in the heavy-hitter tier, capable of trading punches with the Hulk's weight class in short bursts.
- Regenerative Healing
He recovers from grievous injury, including regrowing limbs.
- Flight
He grows functional wings or generates lift as needed.
- Superhuman Durability
Hybrid physiology lets him survive vacuum, energy weapons and sustained bombardment.
- Longevity
Kree and Skrull heritage combine to slow his ageing considerably.
Abilities
- Natural leadership
- Interstellar statecraft
- Combat tactics learned on the job
Weaknesses
- Shapeshifting is detectable by Kree and Skrull technology
- Politically constrained by two suspicious empires
- Puts loyalty above strategy
- Struggles to separate the crown from the person
Comics history
Heinberg and Cheung created Teddy in Young Avengers #1, initially disguising his parentage as a Hulk connection before revealing him as the Kree/Skrull heir the Secret Invasion era had been building toward. His relationship with Billy Kaplan was central to the book from the beginning.
Gillen and McKelvie's 2013 run pushed the couple's relationship to the front, and the Skrull loyalists' hunt for their emperor ran through several Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy titles.
Empyre in 2020 finally crowned him. Teddy united the Kree and Skrull empires under a single throne, married Billy in Empyre: Aftermath Avengers, and has since operated as a cosmic-tier ruler who keeps coming back to Earth because his husband lives there.
Allies
- Wiccan
- Kate Bishop
- America Chavez
- Captain Marvel
- Speed
Enemies
- Kree loyalists
- Skrull separatists
- Kang
- Mother
Weapons & equipment
- Kree ceremonial sword
- Excelsior blade
- Imperial regalia of the Kree/Skrull Alliance
Trivia
- He is the son of Captain Mar-Vell and Princess Anelle of the Skrulls, making him heir to both empires.
- The codename Hulkling was a deliberate misdirection about his parentage in the original run.
- Empyre crowned him Emperor Dorrek VIII of a unified Kree/Skrull Alliance.
- He married Billy Kaplan in Empyre: Aftermath Avengers in 2020.
- He is one of the very few Marvel heroes who is also a reigning head of state.
- His shapeshifting is skilled enough to fool Skrull detection technology on occasion.
Famous quotes
I was smuggled off a warship as a baby. Ruling two empires is the easy part.
You want the Hulk? Fine. I can do the Hulk.
Two empires. One throne. One husband. I'm managing.
Timeline
- 2005
Debuts in Young Avengers #1 as Hulkling.
- 2006
Revealed as the Kree/Skrull heir, son of Mar-Vell and Anelle.
- 2013
Central to Gillen and McKelvie's Young Avengers.
- 2020
Crowned emperor of the Kree/Skrull Alliance in Empyre.
- 2020
Marries Wiccan in Empyre: Aftermath Avengers.
Gallery
Poster art is generated from each character’s signature palette. Drop official art into assets/images/ and set the img field to swap it in.
Related characters
Speed
Thomas "Tommy" Shepherd
Kate Bishop
Katherine Elizabeth Bishop
America Chavez
America Chavez
Monica Rambeau
Monica Rambeau
Frequently asked
Who are Hulkling's parents?
Captain Mar-Vell, the Kree hero, and Princess Anelle of the Skrull Empire. That parentage makes Teddy the legitimate heir to both empires, which is why so many people have tried to kill him.
Is Hulkling related to the Hulk?
No. The codename was chosen partly as a deliberate misdirection in the original Young Avengers run and partly because his combat form resembles the Hulk. There is no genetic connection whatsoever.
What is the Kree/Skrull Alliance?
The unified empire Teddy created during Empyre, merging two civilisations that had been at war for millennia under a single throne. He rules it as Emperor Dorrek VIII while still trying to live a life on Earth.