The She-Hulk Finale Seemingly Set Up A Major Hulk Storyline
This post contains spoilers for the season finale of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law."
Season 1 of Marvel's "She-Hulk" ended on a surprising note, with She-Hulk/Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) breaking through the fourth wall and into the writer's room to question the cliched storylines inherent within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this clever, super-meta self-callout, Jen questions the problem with regurgitated MCU plotlines (such as variations of the SUPER ORIGINAL Super-Serum plotlines) and how female pleasure is depicted in these superhero offerings. The results are fun, with Jen taking control over her own storyline (it is her show, after all) ... even though the episode ends with a formulaic reveal that potentially sets up a major Hulk storyline from the comics.
During Jen's family get-together, she brings Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) along, and we love to see the two looking awkwardly coy in this setting. Enter Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who had gone AWOL since we last saw him on a Sakaarian spaceship, and he introduces a new member to the family. It is none other than Skaar (played in motion-capture by Wil Deusner), Hulk's son, whose presence suggests potential storylines that the MCU could adapt in the near future.
Who is Skaar, and what's his deal? As the show's season finale says absolutely nothing about this new character, let's put our nerd glasses on and dive deep into Skaar's comics history.
Skaar, Son of Hulk
Skaar made his first Marvel comics appearance in "What If? Planet Hulk #1" and then proceeded to be officially introduced in "World War Hulk #5," a comics miniseries by Greg Park and John Romita. Quick backstory: In Pak's "Planet Hulk" storyline, Bruce Banner gets together with Caiera the Oldstrong, a member of the Shadow People of Sakaar. Unfortunately, Caiera dies after a catastrophe on her home planet, but Caiera's child survives and emerges from a cocoon that falls into a lake of fire. Abandoned on a hostile planet, this child, Skaar, grows at an abnormal rate and is taken in by ferocious creatures. Growing up among them, Skaar learns that he needs to kill in order to survive and works towards claiming the Old Power from his mother's lineage.
In the course of a sprawling storyline, Skaar confronts a dude named Axeman Bone, which triggers a string of events that help him gain the Old Power. Instead of using this power to help prevent an impending Sakaarian catastrophe, Skaar intends to use it to destroy the planet instead, and he marches into battle with vengeance against Axeman in mind. The death of countless innocents prompts his mother's spirit to reason with Skaar, and he pays heed and is exiled to Earth (he still manages to invoke Galactus, but that's a whole other can of worms).
Also, a brief rundown of Skaar's powers includes superhuman strength, stamina, and durability, along with immunity to fire, and rapid wound regeneration. In the non-Hulk side of things, Skaar can use the Old Power to harden his skin to make it rock-solid, which allows him to destroy everything in his path with greater impact. This sounds like a powered-up version of the classic "Hulk smash" to me.
How does Hulk's run-in with Skaar fit into comics canon?
According to the comics storyline, Skaar's time on Earth was filled with run-ins with She-Hulk and the Fantastic Four, while he harbored increasing hatred towards his father for abandoning him. Comics-Skaar blamed his dad for every bad thing that happened to the planet of Sakaar, and the two engaged in a Hulked-out brawl even though Bruce seemingly had no memory of having a son. They eventually reconcile after some time and spend time together as a family.
As the events of "She-Hulk" mostly concern Jen, the Sakaar storyline only acts as a backdrop to set up the next phase of events in the MCU. Has Bruce's little excursion to Sakaar (where he lived for years before the events of "Thor: Ragnarok" sent him home) changed things between him and his son? Although Skaar did not look particularly elated at the family gathering, he seemed to be on okay terms with his father, although we cannot be entirely sure. No matter what happened back on Sakaar, and how Bruce managed to reconcile with Skaar, the latter's presence on Earth could very well lead to a host of events concerning Skaar's twin bro, Hiro-Kala. Skaar's presence also ties in well with the MCU's next phase, wherein long-held mantles are passed down to worthy superheros, which can usher in a bunch of unique storylines starring the next generation of characters.
Which potential Skaar storylines could the MCU bring to life?
It would be difficult to adapt many Skaar storylines for the current MCU. Example: Skaar's seemingly evil twin wanted to destroy Earth as a way to enact revenge on his father (I cannot keep up with the daddy issues – even Jen mentioned them to K.E.V.I.N. in the finale), which prompted Skaar to imprison him on a planet called K'ai. This gives rise to the Microverse storyline concerning Arcturus Rann, who brings K'ai back to the Microverse.
However, the mega-bombshell storyline that the MCU could be gearing toward is World War Hulk, a major crossover comics event where Bruce seeks revenge on the Illuminati after they exile him to Sakaar. Skaar plays a prominent role here, which explains why he was quickly introduced in the "She-Hulk" finale. Although K.E.V.I.N. jokes that we won't see Jen/She-Hulk on the big screen, the possibility is not out of the question, as Marvel might just grant us a revamped version of the World War Hulk storyline, especially considering that the Illuminati is already a part of MCU canon. However, the premise will need to be drastically retooled considering how the MCU differs from the source material.
Another potential storyline we might witness is Skaar's involvement with the Dark Avengers, where he is recruited as a double agent. Once again, the comics aspects of the narrative needs to be heavily altered in order to fit the current course of the MCU, but the events could still play out and become an essential part of the MCU canon. There's also a Green Springs Project storyline concerning Skaar that involves none other than Abomination/Emil Blonsky!
No matter what the future holds, this is almost certainly not the last we will see of Skaar in the MCU.