Captain Marvel 2 will introduce a familiar gay hero to the MCU, reports say
Hulkling and Wiccan are rumoured to be making their MCU debut. (Marvel)
Captain Marvel 2 is rumoured to be introducing another LGBT+ superhero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – one that might already be familiar to comic book fans.
After Brazil’s biggest newspaper published an illustration of two gay Marvel characters kissing on its front page, it has emerged that the couple might soon arrive in the MCU.
Folha de São Paulo reproduced the image of Hulkling and Wicca after the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, tried to ban the sale of books with LGBT+ themes.
He ordered the removal of The Avengers: The Children’s Crusade – which features the kiss – from the Rio International Book Biennal, sparking an international row on censorship.
As debacle continues, rumours are abound that Hulkling will make his on-screen debut in Captain Marvel 2.
Hulkling and Wiccan coming to the MCU in all their gay glory?! You love to see it (please don’t just be a wafty rumour) pic.twitter.com/iFHZzLPwJZ
— Patrick Swayne (@pswayne7) September 2, 2019
The entertainment site We Got This Covered claims that the teenager will have a small role in the sequel, while Wiccan is said to be making his debut in the upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision.
According to the reports, with the couple’s romance will then take centre stage in the heavily rumoured Young Avengers film.
Who is Hulkling?
Despite the similarities in name, Hulking has no link to Bruce Banner’s alter ego.
The teenager is a Skull – a race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters which have so far appeared in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home – and the son of the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell.
Writers alluded to there being a romantic relationship between Hulkling and Wiccan (the son of Scarlet Witch) from their very first appearance, but their first on-page kiss didn’t come for seven years.
Captain Marvel 2 would be third film to introduce LGBT+ superhero.
For 11 years and 23 films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had been dominated by straight, cis-gendered superheroes, something the studio’s president Kevin Feige is keen to remedy.
In July, Feige confirmed that Valkyrie will become the first existing hero to get a same-sex love interest, in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.
“How that impacts the story remains to be seen with that level of representation you’ll see across our films, not in just Thor 4,” he said at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie will get a same-sex love interest in the upcoming sequel Thor: Love and Thunder. (Marvel Studios)
Feige has also said that The Eternals, which will premiere ahead of Thor: Love and War, will also feature an openly gay male superhero.
The producer said that the as-yet-unnamed character is married with a family, “and that is just part of who he is.”
The Eternals will star Game of Thrones actors Richard Madden and Kit Harington, along with Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh and Gemma Chan.
