Marvel’s Star-Crossed Heroes Just Got Married After 15 Years

Things tend to move slower in the world of comic books. Heroes like Spider-Man or Superman are so popular that any changes to their status quo often take years of build-up. That’s if the character is allowed to change at all. It’s so bad that characters can be engaged for nearly a decade without ever actually getting married, as was the case for Hulkling and Wiccan, but all that waiting is finally paying off. After fifteen years, Hulkling and Wiccan are getting married in the pages of Avengers Empyre Aftermath #1.

First introduced in 2005, Wiccan and Hulkling are founding members of the Young Avengers. Hulkling proposed to Wiccan in 2010’s Avengers: The Children’sCrusade, and the two eventually learned that they were each descended from some of Marvel’s most well-known heroes. Wiccan, William Kaplan, is actually the son of Marvel’s Scarlet Witch. As shocking as the revelation was, it paled in comparison to his partner’s lineage. Hulking, Teddy Altman, aka Emperor Dorrek VIII, learned that his real parents were none other than the original Captain Marvel and a Skrull princess, making him next in line for the Skrull throne. It is, in part, this revelation that led to the events of Empyre.

In the pages of Empyre, Billy revealed that he and Teddy had previously eloped. Though they were technically married, it was a Vegas ceremony only attended by their fellow Young Avengers. The two wouldn’t get the big wedding they deserved until after Empyre ended. In the event’s aftermath, their wedding becomes one of the biggest ever seen in the Marvel Universe. Everyone from the Avengers to the Fantastic Four is in attendance and it all culminates in a rabbi reaffirming Teddy and Billy’s marriage to each other. After fifteen years of loving each other and nearly ten years of being engaged, in front of the entire Marvel Universe, Billy and Teddy are finally a married couple.

The comic is filled with small references to Wiccan and Hulkling’s history in Marvel comics. Iron Man and Captain America debate about whether the two young heroes should have registered during Civil War, the Young Avengers show up and break out in tears at seeing their two friends so happy, and Hulkling wonders how different his life would have been if his father was alive. Even more than being a cathartic moment for these two characters though, it’s a cathartic moment for readers. While comics have been growing better about representing a diverse range of sexualities, gay and lesbian characters are still often relegated to supporting roles. For all its faults, Empyre is a landmark event whose happy ending revolves around the love of two gay heroes. Avengers Empyre Aftermath #1 isn’t just the resolution of nearly two decades of storytelling, it’s a positive step forward for the industry as a whole, as well as the start of the next chapter in Hulkling and Wiccan’s romance.

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Evan Mullicane
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Evan D. Mullicane is an editor, critic, and author based out of California’s Bay Area. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys reading graphic novels and writing fantasy.

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