Skaar’s She-Hulk and MCU connections, explained

Families reunions can be full of unexpected surprises. She-Hulk. What parents are going make fools of their children on the dancefloor? Which uncle will get too drunk at the open bar and become a bit of a smuggler? What cousin is likely to show up at the open bar with a mysterious son who has planet-shattering powers from an alien world, and which uncle will it be?

If that last scenario seems far fetched, it’s only because you haven’t spent enough time with the Walters/Banner clan, whose reunion in the finale of She-HulkSurprise guest joined us.

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for the final episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.]

Image: Marvel Studios

A final scene from the She-Hulk finale, as promised, explained exactly why Bruce jetted off into space all the way back in the show’s second episode. This is a brief clip of the green-skinned Skaar (an all CGI character that has no dialogue but which was credited to Stargirl Wil Deusner (actor) mentioned, but didn’t explain, the events that saw Bruce leave Earth with a relatively small but still significant adult (teen?) Son from another planet.

Comic books are once more able to provide the Skaar context (with two As and a K).

Who is Skaar, the Hulk’s son?

Image: Marvel Studios

While Skaar’s debut may have come as an unexpected twist in She-HulkLong-time Hulk fans know the characters have a complex, deep and relevant history that is available to them.

Skaar’s comic origins have their roots back in 2006’s “Planet Hulk” storyline. Written by Greg Pak and drawn by Carlo Pagulayan and Aaron Lopresti, that story found Earth’s heroes collectively sighing impatiently at Bruce Banner’s periodic fits of Hulked-out rage, and tricking him into an intergalactic flight that exiled him to a distant galaxy. Sakaar was his final destination, an alien world that is dominated by gladiatorial fighting among captive warriors.

Over the course of the next year-and-change of comics, the Hulk found himself a champion of the arena, a leader of a band of rebel warriors against their brutal society, and finally a triumphant ruler of a free Sakaar — only to watch helplessly as the very shuttle that brought him to the planet caused an explosion that wiped out its capital, leaving the Hulk a lonely exile yet again.

If all of this seems slightly familiar, that might be because it provided a very loose inspiration for 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, This hilarious buddy comedy was based on the sad history of Planet Hulk and created a road trip companion comedy that Banner and God of Thunder will remember. But one important element of the movie’s comic inspiration remained off-screen until now: While living on Sakaar, the Hulk’s comic counterpart met and married a fellow rebel named Caiera the Oldstrong, who died tragically in Sakaar’s destruction… but not before leaving behind two very alive, and very angry, sons.

Wait! Who is Caiera, the Oldstrong?

Image: Greg Pak, Ron Garney/Marvel Comics

Look, I know the question of “Hulk has a son?” confirms, canonically, that the Hulk fucks, which then raises the question “With who?” Just don’t get gross about it, this isn’t Mallrats.

Caiera was a native Sakaarian rebel leader, one of the last to hold what Sakaarians called the Old Power, the ability to channel the planet’s energy into increasing her own strength, stamina, and durability. She used her powers to ensure her unborn children survived Sakaar’s destruction and then became one with the planet.

Let’s get back to the kids

Skaar is the first of these boys. Skaar was raised in the ruins of his fallen society and developed a gladiatoric chip to protect his father. So just as the Hulk returned to Earth to get revenge against the heroes who had exiled him in 2007’s “World War Hulk” crossover, Skaar followed behind him swearing revenge. Jen Walters was actually the one who met Skaar after his arrival. She had a combination of Hulk-sense and family bonds. Skaar, however, was not interested in their first brawl.

He arrived right at the time Banner had temporarily been transformed into a human being. And since it wouldn’t be sporting to kill dad without a fair fight, the two of them instead formed an unlikely father-son duo, with Banner trying to mentor his semi-savage offspring in the ways of superheroing, and Skaar doing his best to take it to heart… even while promising that he’d finish up his revenge just as soon as Banner got Hulked-out again.

The Odd Couple dynamic feels perfectly on point. Equal parts intense and warm, it’s a great mix of tenseness and warmth. She-Hulk series. This first season has covered a fair amount of ground in the emotional life of Jen Walters — dating, identity, bodily acceptance, the challenges of work-appropriate attire for those who periodically get punched by Asgardian construction workers. But at its heart, it’s been about two things: the bonds of family, and learning to embrace (albeit reluctantly) heroic destiny. Both of those lessons are ones that cousin Bruce urged Jen to take to heart back in the show’s pilot episode, and seeing him take on another familial protégé makes a certain amount of sense, even as it adds another wrinkle to the increasingly knotty and chaotic Banner family tree.

Image: Greg Pak/Marvel Comics

Of course, family relationships in Marvel Comics are rarely simple, and Hulk and Skaar’s father-son bonding trip was no exception. The key bit of trouble was that second son that Hulk left behind on Sakaar: a boy named Hiro-Kala, whose life was somehow even more troubled and lonely than his brother’s.

Hiro–Kala lacked the strength of Skaar, and as a result, he grew up weak and unpopular and would ultimately succumb to madness. The defeat of Skaar and Hulk finally created a bond between the father-son pair and ended their love-hate relationship. It also resulted in Hiro-Kala’s tragic death, which was the inevitable twist that seems to plague members of the Banner clan in media and comics adaptations.

Skaar is now somewhat of an outsider in comics. Hulk titles are working to reduce the number of gamma powered supporting cast members surrounding Bruce and Jen. For a time, he joined up with Thunderbolts chief Luke Cage, to help babysit for the evil Dark Avengers during a period when they were filling in for Cage’s team. Skaar, under the control of Doc Green’s shifty alter-ego Doc Green, was soon depowered by The Hulk. This was a moment when wise readers simply shrugged their shoulders, smiled wanly, and muttered “comics!” in a soft voice.

But nothing in superhero fiction ever disappears forever, and this week’s She-Hulk is a small reminder of both the family bonds that tie the Hulks together, and the inevitably chaotic histories that can’t help but pull them apart. This seems like a great teaser to a second season, if I may be so bold.