In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, She-Hulk’s Jessica Gao confirmed that Hulk’s son, Skaar, was a cameo that came directly from Kevin Fiege himself. Skaar appeared alongside Hulk at the very end of the finale episode, showing up in the middle of a family picnic just before the credits ran. No explanations given, of course, but I’m here to explain everything you need to know about Skaar, and the implications that his appearance has for the MCU.
Who is the Hulk’s son, Skaar?
Remember in Thor: Ragnarak when Thor fell off the Rainbow Bridge, was dropped through the magnatar wormhole known as the Devil’s Anus, and had to face Gladiator Hulk in the Sakaar arena? Well, turns out that while Hulk was busy being the champion, he also, well, got busy.
Skaar, in the comics, was “born” on Sakaar after his mother, Caiera, made a cocoon and threw it into a volcano post Hulk-coitus. She’s descended from an alien race known as the Shadow People, and she’s got semi-magical supernatural powers that make her super strong and durable. So Skaar was born, crawling out of lava, I guess, and he and Daddy Hulk rule Sakaar. It’s generally considered a bad and entirely traumatising time. The planet goes to shit, being king is kind of a drag, being a prince is also not super fun, society collapses, etc. etc. You know how this goes.
So, when Hulk decides to go back to Earth to get revenge on the Avengers who exiled him, Skaar is not super excited to realise that his father skipped town. He follows Hulk, swearing revenge, and when he arrives on Earth guess who meets him first? First cousin, once removed, She-Hulk! They fight, obviously, that’s what Hulks do, but Skaar was after his daddy, so it didn’t amount to much.
Planet Hulk? World War Hulk?
You might have heard about Planet Hulk or World War Hulk following the finale — these are two comic book arcs, similar to Age of Ultron or Civil War. Years-long, multi-character stories that introduce a million new characters, take forever to wrap up, and are only satisfying half the time. It’s comics, you stick with it for your faves.
Planet Hulk (2006-2007) served as part of the basis for Thor: Ragnarok, so you know the story. Hulk, forcibly exiled from Earth by Nick Fury, goes through the Devil’s Anus, becomes a gladiator, then foments a revolution with Korg. The comic run does not include Thor or the Grandmaster (En Dwi Gast, played by Jeff Goldblum). Hulk, alongside his gladiators known as the Warbound, defeat the Red King. He stays there for a while until his spaceship explodes, shattering Sakaar. End of arc. It’s actually a fairly tight group of comics, and I generally consider these kind of self contained arcs much more satisfying than open-ended/crossover events.
World War Hulk picks up directly after Planet Hulk. Hulk/Bruce Banner returns to Earth, intending to deliver a brutal fuck you directly to the Illuminati’s faces. What follows is just kind of a nonestop spree. He kills Black Bolt (on the moon, naturally) attempts to take on all the X-Men, but spares Professor X, for some reason. He charges back to NYC, takes on Iron Man: Hulkbuster, destroys him, rips apart Ghost Rider? I guess? Smacks down Doctor Strange, says fuck you to the Sentry, and generally causes havok until Iron Man does some “science” and de-Hulks Banner. I guess. I definitely didn’t read this run. World War Hulk was a hot mess and I’m not afraid to say it. So, Skaar… he shows up at the end of World War Hulk, emerging from his lava/cocoon and then jetting across the galaxy in search of revenge, because that worked out so well for his dad.
Skaar showing up at the end of She-Hulk is definitely weird, but there’s a little bit of setup in Thor: Ragnarok for his existence, at least. Who know if we’ll get a Planet Hulk prequel as the first Hulk film in the MCU proper, but until then… you can always check out the 2010 animated film, Planet Hulk, to get a taste of what might come next.
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